Warm Weather Challenges at the Winter Paralympics
Britain's Scott Meenagh competed in a T-shirt during his Para-biathlon and cross-country skiing events.
Athletes in T-shirts and fans applying suncream have raised questions about whether these are the Summer or Winter Paralympics. American skier Patrick Halgren described the conditions at the Milan-Cortina Games as "tropical" and "like surfing," highlighting the unusually warm weather for a winter event.
Since 1992, the Winter Paralympics have traditionally been held in March, typically starting just under two weeks after the Winter Olympics conclude. This scheduling often results in spring-like conditions rather than typical winter weather, with temperatures reaching as high as 26°C during the Beijing Games four years ago.
While Cortina has not experienced such extreme temperatures, it has been warm, and until a significant snowfall occurred overnight before the final day of competition on Sunday, snow was only present on the groomed competition pistes. Several days of bright sunshine combined with some rain caused the snow on courses to become soft and slushy, which then adhered to athletes' skis and snowboards.
Last weekend, a third official training session for the Para-alpine skiing downhill events was cancelled to preserve piste conditions. Despite the organisers' efforts to maintain the tracks, conditions during Friday's men's giant slalom events were challenging. British visually impaired skier Fred Warburton described the course as a "bathtub of Slush Puppie."
"The snow surface was changing every single gate, so we never knew how the ski was going to react. It was almost like survival of the fittest," said his guide, James Hannan.
The sitting event that followed was particularly difficult, with 18 out of 37 athletes unable to complete the course.
"The organisers need to look at scheduling with obvious changes of the climate that we're experiencing," Warburton stated. "Both the Olympics and Paralympics want to be top spectacles of skiing and allow athletes to put their best work down. We need to look at the schedule and move it forward in future. That's way beyond my pay grade, but it seems pretty logical to me."
Warburton's concerns were echoed by retired American Paralympic snowboarder Amy Purdy, who expressed on TikTok that she did not believe the Paralympics should be held at this time of year. Her comments followed adjustments to the snowboard cross course after numerous crashes during training, attributed partly to the course design and partly to the warm conditions.
Considering a Change in Scheduling
Fans wearing sunhats and sunglasses have been seen enjoying the events in Cortina, underscoring the unusual warmth for a winter competition.
Should the Winter Paralympics be scheduled at a different time? Craig Spence, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) chief brand and communications officer, noted the complexity of changing the winter sports calendar.
"Changing the winter sport calendar is easier said than done," Spence said. "If we were to move forward Olympic events then the Paralympics would follow, but the weeks prior are when the international federations are involved. We need to take into account the wishes of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), of the IPC, the winter sport federations, the media rights holders, because some of the major sporting events are coming to a climax during this moment."
Despite these challenges, adjustments will be necessary in the future. In 2023, the IOC reported that by 2040 only 10 countries will be able to host snow sports due to climate change impacts.
Artificial snow has become standard at recent Games. At Milan-Cortina 2026, 1.8 million cubic metres of artificial snow were used across both the Olympics and Paralympics, which was less than the planned 2.4 million cubic metres due to heavy snowfall during the Olympics.
IPC president Andrew Parsons highlighted the ongoing concern about climate change and the resulting scarcity of natural snow.
"What we are seeing for the future of winter Games is that we will have less hosts able to provide a good field of play, and we need to be prepared for that," Parsons said in an interview with last year.
Future Venues and Athlete Safety
Looking ahead, the 2030 Winter Paralympics alpine skiing events will be held in Courchevel, a French Alps resort at a higher altitude than Cortina. Similarly, Snowbasin in Utah, the venue for the 2034 alpine skiing events, is also at a higher altitude. These locations are expected to offer better snow conditions.
However, the focus is not only on optimizing snow quality for performance but also on athlete safety.
"I'm here to represent the disability community on a snowboard, and I want to give the best show that I can," said American three-time Paralympic gold medallist Brenna Huckaby. "But I'm not going to kill myself in the process. I've got two kids at home, and I'm already disabled. I'm not trying to disable myself more."
Research led by Daniel Scott, a professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada, in cooperation with the IOC, suggests that the Paralympics should be moved to an earlier time of year. One proposal is to move the Winter Olympics forward by two weeks so the Paralympics can be held in late February. Another suggestion is to schedule the Paralympics two years before or after the Olympics to take advantage of the more climate-reliable month of February.
Parsons emphasized the importance of balancing the desire to expand the Games to new locations and audiences with maintaining optimal competition conditions.
"We want to take the Games to new places, new audiences, but at the same time we need to preserve the integrity of the competition in the sense that the field of play needs to be optimal so the athletes can perform," Parsons said on the eve of the 2026 Games.
"That balance is important, that we have a lot of discussion between the IPC, the IOC, the international federations to find the best solution. The Winter Games should remain Winter Games, for snow and ice sports. That's my particular position. We have to find the solutions."
