Downtown Colorado Springs may not see much snow for Christmas, but one corner of Acacia Park is managing to stay cold enough for ice skating. Since 2013, the city has built a temporary ice rink at the north end of the park for the annual “Skate in the Park” event. Run in collaboration between the city and the Downtown Partnership, the rink attracts an estimated 20,000 visitors over the course of December and January. Early on Monday evening, the rink attracted dozens of families who were skating or watching from the sidelines. The youngest kids were pushed around on seal-shaped slides while older visitors used skates rented on-site. “It’s just one of our holiday traditions each year,” 17-year-old Bella Guzman said. Bella is the eldest of four siblings, and her family was making a final December visit to the rink before she graduated from high school. Keeping even a small outdoor rink open has been especially challenging in recent weeks as Colorado Springs has seen multiple record or near-record temperatures. Monday reached a high of 72 degrees, breaking a 70-year-old record for the warmest Dec. 22, according to the National Weather Service. Andrew Rummel is the parks operator and administrator for both the temporary rink in Acacia Park and the indoor Sertich Ice Center in Memorial Park that operates throughout the year. Rummel said the cooling systems to keep the ice open have been pushed in recent weeks. “This has been the warmest we’ve seen, in terms of the most days above 60 degrees,” Rummel said. “We’ve had pretty prolonged warm periods this year, so that has been the most challenging aspect.” The rink is rebuilt each winter with an industrial-grade cooling system to keep the ice cold. Two large refrigerators sit just outside the rink’s boundaries to power the system. Underneath the ice, a series of hose lines circulate glycol at subfreezing temperatures to combat the warm air. The cooling infrastructure meant that, according to Rummel, the rink was more likely to close for a day due to rain or heavy snowfall than because of heat. There were plenty of skaters to take advantage of the Acacia Park ice skating rink on a day with temperatures in the 60s on Tuesday. Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette Keeping the ice in good shape also requires frequent maintenance by the park workers manning the rink. “Skate in the Park” operates in cycles of two hours for public access and skating, followed by an hour break to resurface and smooth out the ice. The rink was halfway through a public skate block at 5 p.m. Monday and the ice was showing signs of heavy use. A thin layer of water pooled on the rink by the entrance on the western side. Frequent loops of the rink had started to leave grooves along the edges, which Bella Guzman said could be tough to navigate. “I’d rather skate through the puddle than some of the other areas,” Bella said. The rink is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas, but Rummel said the days leading into the holiday and the weekend after are among the busiest times for the park all winter. The Acacia Park rink will be open through Jan. 31. Jay Martin, a local father who has also made the Acacia Park rink an annual visit for his family, got off the ice later that night. Martin said the weather effects were noticeable but that it was still a fun time. “When you have teenage boys, it’s not easy to find something they want to do. And they both wanted to do this,” Martin said. ...read more read less