Volunteer Heather Rudisill pushes ice blocks downstream to the site of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Ice Palace on Jan. 29, 2023. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

Construction of the Ice Palace, the centerpiece of Winter Carnival, is kicking off on Monday.

That means there will be less than two weeks for the Ice Palace Workers 101 and volunteers to build the Ice Palace before the start of this year’s “Creepy” Winter Carnival on Feb. 2.

That’s more time than last year, when IPW 101 constructed the Palace in six days, an amazing feat for the all-volunteer crew. But two weeks is still far less time than was normal just a few years ago.

This may just be the new normal. As Enterprise Staff Writer Aaron Marbone reported earlier this month, last month was the second-warmest December in the Adirondacks on record, behind December 2012. As the climate warms, winter traditions such as this one will inevitably need to transform and adapt to survive.

We have faith that this tradition will survive for years to come, at least in some form. We’ve faced this particular ice issue before: In 1974, Lake Flower didn’t have enough ice to make a palace work, and the IPW made a palace out of snow instead.

If there comes a time when an Ice Palace just isn’t possible, well, no matter. Winter Carnival Committee Chairman Rob Russell said it best at the committee’s meeting earlier this month:

“Winter Carnival will happen regardless. My feeling is that after all, Winter Carnival is a spirit which is alive and well in Saranac Lake. … It doesn’t matter how cold the thermometer is reading, how thick the ice is. How thick the Palace is. It’s the spirit of Carnival and it shall forever be in the community of Saranac Lake.”

We are grateful that the IPW 101 have a good shot at getting the Palace built this year. But they’ll need our help.

Volunteers interested in lending a hand can go to the Lake Flower Boat Launch on River Street any day, any time. On Monday, prep for the Palace is expected to start around 9 a.m.

Once arriving at the boat launch, volunteers should go into the trailer on site. They should write their name and email address on the clipboard inside for insurance purposes, then look for Winter Carnival Committee Member Liz Murray for more information. Volunteers are asked to dress for cold weather; microspikes or Yaktrax are recommended. Children between the ages of 10 and 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Ice Palace construction is expected to continue every day until the start of Carnival on Feb. 2.