The annual Ice Out Benefit, which benefits the Lake Placid Volunteer Ambulance Service, is back on for this year. A $5 ticket gets you one guess each for Mirror Lake and Lake Placid, with three winners chosen from both lakes. Tickets can be purchased at Wise Guys, Terry Robards, American Legion, Station Street Liquor, Big Z’s, Central Garage and The Bookstore Plus. Guesses can also be submitted via venmo (@lpvas46) with your contact information and an ice out date and time for each lake.

Lake Placid science teacher Sam Baker is proud to be working with the Lake Placid Volunteer Ambulance Service for this fundraiser.

“Talk about an important community service, right?” he said. “They are a very valued service and something that we’re certainly happy to contribute whatever we can.”

Baker’s ninth and 10th grade earth science students have been learning about climate and how it impacts the Adirondacks. This fundraiser is also a tangible example of a useful metric that can be used to trace climate patterns over time.

Lake Placid High School Earth Science students, with their teacher Sam Baker, have been helping with the annual Ice Out Benefit for the Lake Placid Volunteer Ambulance Service. They are pictured here on Mirror Lake. (Provided photo — Sam Baker)

For the sake of measuring a precise moment when the ice is melted, the students placed a chair in the middle of Mirror Lake (which can be watched on a live cam at lakeplacidlibrary.org). They will be monitoring to see when the chair falls through the ice.

Last year, the benefit was cancelled for the first time in almost 30 years, following warm temperatures that led to an early thaw in mid-March. This was the earliest recorded ice out date since records start in 1919.

Baker’s class has been working with Paul Smith’s College and Dr. Curt Stager, a professor at the college, to monitor ice thickness throughout winter. Paul Smith’s also provided the students with past data. This winter, the Lake Placid students said the thickest ice measurement was about 20 inches.

This came as a bit of a surprise for Roan Mathur, a sophomore at LPHS, who said he didn’t realize the ice got that thick. His class learned how to use an auger to drill holes in the ice and measure the thickness.

They went out on the lakes a few times times this winter to track the thickness. Liam Gotham, a freshman, said they were able to see and feel the different layers in the ice formed by periods of thawing and freezing.

Lake Placid High School Earth Science students, with their teacher Sam Baker, have been helping with the annual Ice Out Benefit for the Lake Placid Volunteer Ambulance Service. They are pictured here on Mirror Lake. (Provided photo — Sam Baker)

Mathur said ice thickness is a tangible way to see climate trends, something that impacts everyone.

“The climate’s just changing so rapidly in so many parts of the world,” he said. “We need to know the Adirondacks are no exception. We still have to remember to try to take care of our climate as much as possible.”

For Anika Mian, a sophomore, education is an important first step. She said there is always a need to better understand the effects of climate change.

“If we’re thinking about our future, if we want to find a way to stop it or make it less hurtful to environments, then learning about it is probably the best thing, rather than starting too late,” she said.

The students said that discussions about climate can sometimes be depressing, but they appreciate that an event like this brings the community together.

Chairs are out on Mirror Lake and Lake Placid for the annual Ice Out Benefit for the Lake Placid Volunteer Ambulance Service. (Provided photo — Sam Baker)

“More people can learn about climate change in a fun or exciting way that makes people want to learn about it,” Gotham said.