New England’s winters are fading. Cross-country skiers are adapting to an icy, artificial new normal.

At the Weston track, which over the years has produced champions and inspired life-long passions for the sport, skiing atop manufactured snow is increasingly the norm.

Human-made snow is more akin to a tiny ice pellet than a six-sided snowflake. When it first comes out of a snow gun, it makes for slow skiing. But once it’s groomed, it packs down into a course that is often harder and faster than real snow.

Elite skiers have had to master the new norm. Julia Kern, a two-time World Championship medalist and 2022 Olympian who learned to ski at the Weston track, said the artificial snow she skis on in competition has often gone through several freeze-thaw cycles, making it icy and “sugary.” Like table sugar, the snow doesn’t bind together. When it is warm, the snow can get pushed to the side, leaving behind a sheet of ice.

“That’s where all cross-country skiing is headed,” she said. “It’s rare that I get to ski on natural snow.”

Kern, who is competing in this Olympic Games, may be in luck. The picturesque town in northern Italy where the cross-country skiing competitions are taking place received steady snow in the days leading up to the Opening Ceremony.

Still, a study published in late January in the journal Current Issues in Tourism found that without snow-making, only four of the 93 potential host locations for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics will be able to host snow sports by the middle of this century. With human-made snow, the number of reliable locations jumped to 52 for the Olympics and 22 for the Paralympics, which follow later in the season.

“For a competition venue nowadays to be a viable major international competition venue, they have to have snow-making equipment,” said Daniel Cnossen, a former Navy SEAL and decorated three-time Paralympian. He trained at Weston while getting graduate degrees at Harvard University.

Competitors have needed to adapt. Limited snow-making has reduced the size of some courses, adding more turns and traffic. The corners of the tracks can be icy and sharp, requiring technical skill to navigate them. Skiers have also changed how they apply wax to their skis to improve performance, which must be fine-tuned to the conditions.

At the Weston track, longtime skiers will tell you that conditions aren’t what they once were. Natural snow transforms the track into a wonderland. But fewer days with snow cover have increased its reliance on snow-making, using water drawn from the nearby Charles River to create a loop about 1.5 miles long.

Weston’s snow-making capability — combined with lights that keep it open at night — is especially valued given the lack of nearby alternatives. About two dozen high school ski teams practice there, as well as college athletes, youth programs, and recreational skiers.

On a recent weekend morning before the deep cold set in, the freeze-thaw cycle coupled with an overnight rain damaged the track, thinning the already-narrow skiable area and turning much of the surface to ice. Younger skiers were stumbling and falling.

Amy Clark eased her son, Julius, 5, around the slippery track while his older sister practiced with a ski program. Julius traversed a particularly treacherous downhill stretch in a crouch.

When he made it to the bottom, he slumped to the ground. “Mama, it’s too icy,” he said, patting the ground with his red mittens.

The weather is not the only cause for concern at the Weston track. A recent proposal from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation to improve the golf course under the ski track has skiers worrying about losing one of the only courses near Boston during construction. And some wondered why the renovation did not include long called-for snow-making upgrades that would extend the skiable area.

“You’re talking about hundreds of kids in those high school programs,” said Chris Doyle, a board member of the Friends of Leo J. Martin Skiing, a nonprofit organization that supports winter recreation at the track. “They’re not going to drive to southern New Hampshire. Those programs would just stop.”

She argued that the state government could make its investment in Weston stretch further to help both skiers and golfers.

A DCR spokesperson said the agency expects construction will begin in the spring after the ski track closes for the season and be completed before the next ski season begins. The spokesperson added that the project includes a hookup that could tie into a new snow-making system, a multimillion-dollar investment, though it is not yet funded.

At the track, skiers with the Eastern Massachusetts Cross-Country Skiing’s youth program lined up to put a sticky wax on their skis for improved grip. Despite the less-than-ideal conditions, there was a palpable excitement in the air among the children to be outside and with friends.

“It’s tough conditions,” said James Stock, the youth head coach. “But that’s part of skiing, being able to adapt.”

Stock’s day job is at Harvard, where he serves as vice provost for climate and sustainability. He said that while the warming trends in New England are undeniable, there should still be enough cold days in the coming years to make snow, keeping the tradition of cross-country skiing alive.

But for the parents at the track from New England, there was some sadness that their children may not often experience the sport the same way they had.

Ben Kennedy, Gibson’s father, grew up cross-country skiing with his own dad. He remembers the days he could take off skiing from his backyard as a child in Vermont and Pennsylvania.

Kennedy hopes his kids will stick with skiing and maybe even pass it down to their own children someday. But it’s harder to do when snow is more difficult to find.

“You have to really want to continue doing it,” he said.

Kate Selig can be reached at kate.selig@globe.com. Follow her on X @kate_selig.