WEISSENSEE, Austria — The Elfstedentocht is a legendary Dutch speed skating race and a victim of global warming: it hasn't been held in 22 years; the longest such period since its inception. Since 1989, organizers have held an "Alternative Elfstedentocht" race in Weissensee, Austria, where the ice is reliably thick enough to skate the grueling, 200km tour. Photographed for The New York Times

As dawn breaks, skaters wearing headlamps set out on the first lap of the 200km Alternative Elfstedentocht on January 25, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria. The tour is held annually four times and this edition, the second of the year, featured over 1000 skaters. The fastest time was just over 6 hours, 45 minutes, the longest was nearly twice that at just over 11:38.

Steam rises in frigid -18 celsius temperatures as skaters wait for the start of the Alternative Elfstedentocht.

Marieke Lassche, 59, gets dressed before the start of the Alternative Elfstedentocht on January 25, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria. Lassche completed the 1986 edition of the Elfstedentocht in the Netherlands.

A skater warms her hands after abandoning the event during the Alternative Elfstedentocht on January 25, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria.

A skater whose face mask has formed an icicle participates in the Alternative Elfstedentocht.

Skaters are seen during the Alternative Elfstedentocht on January 25, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria. To minimize the number of laps required, the organizers fold many turns into one area of the lake - one lap is 12.5 kilometers long. Depending on the conditions of the ice, some years the course is extended to the east end of the lake, allowing for a 25km lap length.

Speed skating jerseys, hung by the hotel's staff, decorate balconies of the Arlbergerhof Hotel on January 26, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria.

Erben Wennemars, 43, two-time Olympic bronze medalist poses for a portrait on January 26, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria. His training regimen in Canada prevented Wennemars from competing in the 1997 Elfstedentocht; he hopes someday he will have the opportunity to complete it.

Klasina Seinstra, 50; women's winner of the 1997 Elfstedentocht and 4-time winner of the Alternative Elfstedentocht, poses for a portrait on January 26, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria. Seinstra currently coaches a team of speed skaters.

Skaters pass each other during the Alternative Elfstedentocht on January 25, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria.

Skaters stop to eat raisin bread and drink hot water spiked with sugar at a feeding station during the Alternative Elfstedentocht on January 25, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria.

Norbert Jank, 72, the so-called "Ice Master," poses for a portrait on one of the vehicles he uses for preparing the course for the Alternative Elfstedentocht on January 25, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria.

A license plate on one of the vehicles used by the team that prepares the ice is seen during the Alternative Elfstedentocht on January 25, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria.

Blood runs down the ice-encrusted face of a skater after he fell during the Alternative Elfstedentocht on January 25, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria.

Skaters pass by cracks in the ice during the Alternative Elfstedentocht on January 25, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria.

Twan Schimmel exults as he crosses the finish line around 6pm, nearly 11 hours after starting the 200km Alternative Elfstedentocht on January 25, 2019 in Weissensee, Austria. Many groups of skaters use the event to raise money for charitable causes; Schimmel, whose 13 year-old nephew suffers from a heart condition, was raising money for research on the disease.