Siberians mark end of the snow season with swimsuit skiing day

The largest bikini snow show was at Sheregesh, which already holds the world record of 1,835 downhill skiers and boarders wearing swimwear. The Kemerevo region resort probably had more participants this year - an estimated 2,000 - but this was not an official record attempt. 

An end to the ski reason was also marked the same way at Sobolinaya Gora resort in in Irktusk region, close to Lake Baikal. Here hundreds took part but on the Pacific Island of Sakhalin there was a variation on the theme. 

Here skiers came downhill banya-style, wearing towels or white sheets as if just out of the sauna. Many carried bundles of birch-twigs, traditionally used by Russians to thwack the skin, so improving circulation. 

Experienced skier Sergey Klimov, 54, said: 'I and my friends began to try such downhill runs about 15 years ago. We even skied naked some years.'