Morgan McReynolds, general manager of Big Slide Brewery & Public House (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

We are living through a record-breaking winter — and not the kind of record desired, as it’s been the warmest and appears to be heading toward being the shortest as well. Visitors and competitive athletes are drawn to the North Country in December through March, and often well into April, for the opportunity to engage in winter activities and events.

The Olympic Regional Development Authority closed the speedskating oval early, and the toboggan chute on Mirror Lake barely got opened before it was forced to close, a similar challenge for those wanting to participate in dogsled rides on the lake. Backcountry skiing, ice climbing and snowmobiling were all significantly curtailed, plus ORDA has faced the difficulty of hosting a wide range of outdoor events ranging from the World Cup Ski Jump and North American Aerials to the North American Bob and Skeleton and the USCSA Alpine and Nordic Nationals under very trying conditions, essentially saved by state investments in snowmaking and grooming and dedicated and skilled staff.

Fortunately, under the upgraded Olympic Center roof and its enhanced refrigeration system, ORDA has been hosting CAM/AM Hockey events and has the ECAC Men’s Hockey Championships and the U.S. Figure Skating National Intercollegiate Finals on tap along with the IBSF Bob & Skeleton World Cup coming up on the refrigerated track out at Mount Van Hoevenberg. But for backcountry recreational enthusiasts, March looks grim.

The impact of the warm and wet days has hit the retail business hard, but not all equally. Some have done quite well, others have gotten by and some have been hard. Nobody wants to experience a similar winter anytime soon. In the short term, the best would be for our region to defy past trends of overcast April days and for April 8 to be bright, sunny and well-promoted by the weather channels so that the total solar eclipse is an over-the-top success.

In the meantime, being able to pivot is vital.

Danny Ayers of ZACK NATION: A Pulp Culture Odyssey (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

“The weather pattern is starting to look OK, but the problem is that we are already into dark syrup, and we’ve only made about a third of our crop,” said Rob Hastings of Rivermede Farm in Keene Valley. “The sugar content has dropped. I’m afraid that getting through those long, warm periods woke the trees up too much. I think it’s going to be a pretty slim year. Fiddlehead ferns are already coming up; that’s crazy this time of year.”

Hastings said their Main Street store is holding its own, but they have felt the backcountry ski and ice climbing traffic loss, as he said other Keene businesses also did.

“Snow brings them on, and the snow we got today was not enough to entice,” said Hastings. “You can only survive so many temperature jumps up into the 50s.”

The lack of snow hurt the Scotts Cobble Nordic Center. Businesses like High Peaks Cyclery took a hit but did their best to pivot and make the best of the changing circumstances.

“The warm and rainy weather has been affecting business,” said Brian Delaney of High Peaks Cyclery. “People want to get out and so things, and we’re still selling skis, and Whiteface has been great, but the backcountry was nonexistent, and it would be great if we were allowed to skin up Whiteface every day. That would be a good thing of the backcountry-Nordic community. Scotts Cobble did very well during President’s Week because we had the snow, the groomed trails were fantastic, the restaurant was open and people had a blast. But now we’ve been closed for over 10 days, can’t take the school and corporate groups that were going to come, so we are pulling up stakes.”

April Kirschman of Terry Robards Wine & Spirits (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

Delaney said that on the positive side, people are able to ski at Whiteface, buy and rent bikes and use the Adirondack Rail Trail. They took a would-be group of ice climbers rock climbing. He said there are always outdoor activities, perhaps not the ones people came for, but you can make sure they have a great time and leave singing the region’s praises.

“We’ve been renting ice skates for ten years, and this has been our most challenging season,” said Jake Burns of Locker Room 5 on Main Street. “But life goes on. We stay positive. The whole equation makes the town work — the variety of visitors coming for the wide variety of activities. While we took a hit, we are optimistic. Summer is just around the bend.”

At ZACK NATION: A Pulp Culture Odyssey on Main Street, according to Danny Ayers, they get a bit of a reverse effect. When people can’t ski, they spend more time shopping. Thus, their business has done well. His insight was shared by several other businesses along Main Street and beyond.

“We’ve had a good winter,” said April Kirschman at Terry Robards Wine & Spirits on Saranac Avenue. “They’ve been purchasing our wines and bourbons. The warm and rainy weather drives some people inside, which includes visiting the many specialty shops.”

While not exactly a specialty shop, Big Slide Brewery & Public House on Cascade Road is popular. Their business has been strong, but there has been an impact of a slightly different sort.

Brian Delaney of High Peaks Cyclery (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

“The weather doesn’t seem to have impacted us too much,” said Morgan McReynolds, general manager. I think the weather hasn’t been too bad for many people, so they haven’t canceled their plans to come. While our business has been down slightly, we still have had a very good weekend business. I feel that people are coming in a little earlier in the day than usual, such as in the afternoons, and staying a little longer.”

Overall, several lodging facilities have done well.

“The weather has not had as much of an impact on us as you might expect,” said Garrick Smith, general manager of Grand Adirondack Hotel. “We’ve been pretty insulated primarily because of all the events coming through between CAN/AM, the World Cup and ski races. The weather has been tough on the transient short-term visitors motivated by good ski conditions. Everyone in the Northeast has been impacted; we are all in it together. Business does tend to die down a bit now. Our markets south of us are starting to think about spring. The weather has hurt a lot of ancillary business; we are certainly grateful for all of the efforts made by ORDA to host events and keep their venues in the best shape possible. We are fortunate and unique to have ORDA. Hopefully, this year is the exception, not the rule.”

(Naj Wikoff lives in Keene Valley. He has been covering events for the Lake Placid News for more than 15 years.)