The Empire State Games have continued on in Lake Placid despite the lack of state funding for the last two years.

This year, however, the Games faced a dearth of something even more important than funding — snow.

Lake Placid had almost no snow on the ground before the Games began on Feb. 2, and a snowfall of less than two inches on Feb. 3 didn’t help much.

Organizers of the Games scrambled to find ways to accommodate the events that were largely dependent on snow — cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, biathlon, ski orienteering, and more.

The biathlon had to be canceled, ski orienteering was icy and dangerous, and cross-country skiing had to be done on man-made snow in one small loop, rather than point-to-point on a trail.

Climate change

The dilemma faced by the Games is not isolated, but rather part of a trend, according to Tammy Morgan, an organizer of an Adirondack Educators group and an Adirondack Forestry group, as well as a high school teacher and Saranac Lake resident. She has studied climate change and its impact on winter sports cultures and shared her observations.

The change in climate is attributed, in large part, to an increased amount of carbon released into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuel.

According to a ClimAID report published in November, and a book called Climate Change in the Adirondacks, by Jerry Jenkins, the baseline temperature for Lake Placid is currently 42 degrees Fahrenheit. Based on current trends, the baseline temperature by the 2050s could increase by as many as 5.5 degrees, to 47.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

The average amount of precipitation in the Adirondacks is 38 inches, and, according to the ClimAID report, could go up by 15 percent to 43.7 inches, which, with the increase in temperature, would be mostly rain.

The 600-page ClimAID report models climate change in New York for the next half-century. Released by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, it was based on three years of university research.

From 1960 through 1990, the Adirondacks had an average of 72 to 90 days of snow cover in the winter. The prediction is that, by 2070, the same area could have less than 45 days of snow cover in the winter.

Ski resorts in the northeast have three climate-related criteria that must be met in order for them to remain viable — the average length of the ski season must be at least 100 days; there must be a good probability of being open during the lucrative holiday season; and there must be enough nights cold enough to make snow.

Taking into consideration the climate change predictions, only the northern most part of New York, near Canada, would be viable for ski resorts by the end of the century.

For Lake Placid, climate change could signal the end of winter sports opportunities, both recreational and competitive, which would include the Empire State Games.

Some extreme weather has already increased in frequency and intensity, according to the ClimAID report.

The Empire State Games are seeing the negative impacts associated with a lack of winter weather.

Locals voice frustrations

There were far fewer participants this year than usual, due to a number of factors, including an insufficient amount of snow for athletes to train on leading up to the Games, the cancellation of events, and some former competitors not wanting to spend money to compete in less than ideal conditions.

Darwin Roosa, of Altamont, an avid cross-country skier and biathlete, and an Empire State Games competitor for many years, noted that the biathlon competition at the Games was canceled because the shooting range terrain was all dirt and ice, but no snow.

Roosa is also president of the New York State Ski Racing Association, Nordic, and said, out of seven other races scheduled throughout the state this year, five have been canceled because of the mild weather.

“Everyone at the Games was talking about how frustrated they were about not being able to train…Some people said they’d been driving hours on the weekend to try and find some snow,” said Roosa. One couple living in Lake Placid was driving three hours to Canada every weekend in order to train.

Roosa himself said he had driven over two hours to the Tug Hill area, which usually gets hit by lake-effect snow, but even that region had very little precipitation.

“Climate change was a huge part of the discussion at the Games; people are talking about whether this will happen again next winter. People are even saying they’re wondering if they should be moving if they’re really serious about skiing — but where would you move to? Colorado? Alaska?” asked Roosa.

Susan Hawkes-Teeter, and her husband, Philip, of Berne, have been participants in ski orienteering at the Empire State Games for over 20 years.

“This was the worst year ever, in terms of participation and conditions,” said Hawkes-Teeter. “It was nobody’s fault, but it’s been a bad skiing season for everyone, everywhere in the state…People didn’t have a chance to train or do qualifiers.”

There was about an inch of fresh snow over a layer of ice on the orienteering course, and Hawkes-Teeter said it was “pretty treacherous” because it was so slippery. Removing skis and walking is allowed in ski orienteering, as long as the skis are carried, but Hawkes-Teeter said it is something she has rarely ever done. This year, she did take off her skis because the conditions were so bad.

“People were very well aware of the conditions, and we only had about one-third of the usual number of participants,” she said. “There was a lot of concern about whether the Games would even happen, and, if they did happen, did we even really want to go?”

Hawkes-Teeter said she and her husband had barely trained for the Games, because there was only one weekend in Berne when there was enough snow to ski. She was only able to ski on two other occasions, when she drove to trails that did have snow.

“Hopefully, we will have a better year of snow next year and participation will be higher,” she said.

The only way climate change will be reversed is to decrease carbon emissions. According to Morgan, climate and energy issues must be seen by the government as economic opportunities for stimulating sustainable job growth.

Even without government commitment to climate solutions, citizen-led environmental movements could play a vital role. Citizens wishing to halt the effects of climate change should focus on recycling, composting, using less gas for transportation, and conserving energy.

“Our choices can make us more or less vulnerable to climate change,” says the ClimAID report. “Future generations will suffer the consequences of past and current generations’ actions.”

That may apply to the Empire State Games. Without cold weather and snow, the Games won’t be able to continue, and future generations will not be able to experience them.

“Our organization wants to see the Empire State Games continue and get built back up to the level they used to be 10 or 20 years ago,” concluded Roosa. “We certainly want to have it continue for the youth, for the development aspect, and to give them a goal to work with…That’s our intention.”

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