Warm winter cancels Georgetown ice driving programs for season

The Audi Club RMC and Artickhana had to cancel all their ice driving events on Georgetown Lake due to lack of ice.

Published on Feb. 18, 2026

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An unusually warm winter has melted all opportunity to host ice driving on the Georgetown Lake in Colorado. The Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Audi Club of North America and Artickhana, two organizations that usually host ice driving events on the lake, had to cancel all their planned events for the season as the lake did not have enough ice to safely hold the activities.

Why it matters

Ice driving events on Georgetown Lake are a popular winter activity that draw participants from across different skill levels to learn and practice winter driving techniques. The cancellation of these events due to lack of ice highlights the impact of climate change and warm winters on outdoor recreational activities that rely on frozen bodies of water.

The details

The Audi Club RMC usually hosts two ice driving sessions on Georgetown Lake in the winter, but had to cancel their event scheduled for this past Saturday as the lake conditions were not suitable for driving. Artickhana, another ice driving group in Georgetown, also had to cancel all of its events for the season. Pagán, the Audi Club RMC board vice president, said the club usually brings out 24 participants to the lake for each ice driving event and had 100 people signed up for the potential spots this season. He noted that he had never seen the lake with running water in the middle of February, and last year the ice was measuring about 16 inches thick, allowing for full-size vehicles to be driven on it.

  • The Audi Club RMC usually hosts two ice driving sessions on Georgetown Lake in the winter.
  • The Audi Club RMC had to cancel their event scheduled for this past Saturday (February 17, 2026).
  • Artickhana had to cancel all of its events for the 2026 season.

The players

Audi Club RMC

The Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Audi Club of North America, an organization that hosts ice driving events on Georgetown Lake in the winter.

Artickhana

Another ice driving group in Georgetown that had to cancel all of its events for the 2026 season.

Chris Pagán

The Audi Club RMC board vice president.

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What they’re saying

“It's pretty sad. We want to be out there, it's fun to be out there, for all different walks. Sad for sure.”

— Chris Pagán, Audi Club RMC board vice president

“Driving on the ice especially when its icy-icy vs snow is very different. The idea is really to help people understand how much lack of control you really don't have in those conditions.”

— Chris Pagán, Audi Club RMC board vice president

“Different experience levels come out and either get re-acclimated with winter driving or just completely learn how to do it.”

— Chris Pagán, Audi Club RMC board vice president

“The fact that it is the way it is now is pretty shocking. I had a full-size pickup truck, trailer and full-size sedan in the back of it on the ice last year.”

— Chris Pagán, Audi Club RMC board vice president

What’s next

The Audi Club RMC and Artickhana will have to wait until next winter to potentially resume their ice driving events on Georgetown Lake, depending on weather conditions.

The takeaway

The cancellation of the popular ice driving events on Georgetown Lake due to lack of ice highlights the impact of climate change and warm winters on outdoor recreational activities that rely on frozen bodies of water. It underscores the need to address the effects of global warming to preserve winter sports and activities for future generations.