The Netherlands waited 24 winters for a cold press like this. Not too much wind, not too much snow, and the temperatures sink like a bicycle into a canal. This is due to the fact that these are the precise conditions necessary for the ultimate Dutch sporting event: a 200-kilometer fast water ice skating race through 11 cities in Friesland.
It is known as the Elfstedentocht. And it’s pronounced … don’t worry.
Because it depends so much on the climate, the race has only taken place 15 times since 1909, most recently in 1997. There has never been such a drought. The Dutch feared that climate change would mean they would never have a sufficient or sufficient winter cold – until they went out last weekend and found that the weather was beginning to cooperate with the teenagers’ temperatures.
There is only one problem now: the Elfstedentocht stars line up in the middle of a pandemic. Under current Covid-19 restrictions in the Netherlands, the race would not be allowed to happen, even if the ice grows thick enough.
This has not stopped Dutch speed skaters from tracking their weather and government and praying for a way to make this possible. The most famous people in the country right now are meteorologists.