North Elba Park District employee Ward Smith waters down freshly-packed slush in a run at the Lake Placid Toboggan Chute Saturday morning, Feb. 18. The attraction had closed last weekend after the ice runs melted during unseasonably warm weather. Town workers were hoping to open the chute sometime the next day or mid-week. It was the first day of the Presidents' Week holiday, and many visitors were in town. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

LAKE PLACID — North Elba Park District workers were at the Lake Placid Toboggan Chute on Mirror Lake the morning of Saturday, Feb. 18, taking advantage of the colder weather and fresh snow to rebuild one of the two runs, which had melted due to unseasonably warm temperatures. Bottom line, it will not be open this weekend.

The attraction was closed last weekend after only being open one day so far this year, on Feb. 5, but residents and visitors were eager to see it open once again, especially during the Presidents’ Week holiday. Main Street was already bustling with tourist traffic by the time North Elba employees were at the lake to work on the chute Saturday morning.

“We know it’s a busy week for everybody,” said Willis Clark, of the North Elba Park District. “We want it to be open. Of course, we want it to be safe for everybody as well. … We just do what we can. We can’t beat Mother Nature.”

The problem wasn’t the ice on Mirror Lake. It was plenty thick where it had been plowed, with at least 12 inches needed to open the slide. It’s the ice runs on the chute itself that had melted away and have to be rebuilt.

Visitors stopped by the chute on Saturday morning inquiring about the work town employees were doing. Clark was answering questions from one visitor on the Mirror Lake ice while Ward Smith finished watering the slush-packed run at the top with a hose.

The Lake Placid Toboggan Chute at Mirror Lake remained closed when this photo was taken Saturday morning, Feb. 18, 2023. Warm weather had melted the ice runs more than a week earlier, forcing the closure of the attraction. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

In order to rebuild the ice run on the Toboggan Chute, there first needs to be snow, which there was from the day before and snowbanks from earlier snowfalls.

“We carry the snow up the run and fill up the lanes,” Clark said. “Once we get the lanes full, we hook up the hose at the water spigot up top, turn on the water, and we water the snow and pack it to make slush and smooth it out until it freezes.”

Once it freezes, the slide can continue to be watered to build up the ice. Temperatures had dipped into the single digits Friday night, but by 10 a.m., when town workers had done everything they could for the day, the temperature had risen to about 18 degrees F.

It was sunny with a stiff wind sweeping across the lake as visitors began skating on the plowed-out areas and taking dogsled rides behind the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort and near Brewster Park at the other end of Main Street.

“Right now, we’re at the point where we have to let it set,” Clark said shortly after 10 a.m. “When the cooler temperatures come again tonight, we will come back in and hopefully be able to water more to open tomorrow.”

Upon inspection Sunday morning, town workers decided they could not open the chute that afternoon, as they had hoped.

“Temperatures did not fall enough to allow us to build up the ice on the tower,” North Elba Park District Manager Butch Martin said on Sunday morning. Things look promising after Tuesday.”

The workers needed temperatures in the teens and single digits.

“It would not have been safe for customers,” Martin said.

It was in the mid-20s Saturday night, and the National Weather Service called for a high Sunday around 39 in Lake Placid, highs in the mid to upper 30s on Monday and Tuesday and a high around 25 on Wednesday. Lows are expected to be in the teens on Tuesday night.

Town employees are now hoping to open the Toboggan Chute by mid-week.

“I wish I had better news but Mother Nature is playing hard ball with us,” Martin said Friday.

The Lake Placid Toboggan Chute opened for the season on Sunday, Feb. 5, as temperatures rebounded into the 30s after two days of dangerous, subzero wind chills. More than 200 people enjoyed the attraction that afternoon, but it was the only day it’s been open so far this winter.

Visitors pay admission ($20 for adults, $10 for students) at a shack at the bottom of the chute, where they are handed a toboggan for the group. After climbing stairs to the top of the structure, groups sit on their toboggans, and Park District employees push them down the runway. After the plunge, the toboggan will slide as far as it can go on the plowed ice below. There is no way to steer it.

According to the toboggan rules and regulations, passengers should keep their arms and legs on toboggan at all times; and clear the track when the ride is complete (as another toboggan is right behind you). Also, visitors are warned that, due to friction when sliding down the toboggan chute, some types of nylon ski pants may wear through. Therefore, durable pants, such as jeans, are recommended.

“We are not responsible for damaged pants,” the Park District states.

The current toboggan chute — which was built by Jeffords Steel and erected during the winter of 2016-2017 — includes two runs. Sledders — up to four on a toboggan — climb to the top of the chute, where North Elba Park District staff send them down to the ice, which is cleared off for hundreds of feet. At night, the landing is illuminated with floodlights.

The old slide, which was demolished and scrapped, had been converted into the toboggan chute from a Lake Placid Club ski jump in 1965.

The Lake Placid Lions Club is expected to hold its annual toboggan races on Saturday, Feb. 25, the second weekend of Presidents Week, weather permitting. Registration starts at 6:25 p.m., and races start at 6:30. There are prizes for sleds traveling the farthest on the ice.

Get updates about the Toboggan Chute on the town of North Elba’s Facebook page or online at www.northelba.org. On the website, click on Departments, Park District, then Toboggan Chute.