Adventure on Ice

Thick and blue, tried and true
Thin and crispy, way too risky

My story involves ice—lake ice and ice skating. Back in the ‘80s, when winters were really cold, they sometimes delivered that unique sequence of weather conditions needed to form perfect ice on ponds and lakes, even here in southern New Hampshire. If the ice set during the long, cold December nights before the big snows, it became glass, which made for exhilarating ice skating.

I learned to skate on rinks made by flooding tennis courts, so I was excited the year a local shallow pond froze like glass early one December. I can remember skating around the edge on new ice that looked to be about three inches thick, safe for one person according to my son’s Boy Scout manual

The ice was so clear I could see all the leaves and debris on the bottom as I skated across—a weird sensation. It was also scary as the ice cracked under my skate blades, so I never skated more than an arm’s length from the edge. But great adventure!

A few more cold nights and I was able to venture farther out. Then it snowed and I traded skates for skis. But the memory lingered. I looked forward to more really cold Decembers with ice forming before the arrival of the snowstorms.

Another winter, all 222 acres of Baboosic Lake froze, first around the edges and then way out toward the middle, although I could see a spot of open water where the gulls kept the water stirred up. But the ice was well over a foot thick in many places, so I ventured out to find the smoothest patches. What a thrill to skate straight up and down the lake to the point of exhaustion. What a view I had, gliding alone in the middle of the frozen lake, looking off to the distant hills.
 
Early one winter the entire lake froze like a piece of thick plate glass. It was miraculous—not a ripple or blemish, clear blue ice, which hairline cracks showed to be well over a foot thick. We could skate straight across, up and down, around and around, inspecting all the summer cottages.

One beautiful March day I was lured to the ice by the sun. Alone, I set out on my route across the lake. It must have been after an Olympics; I tucked down and slid into my speed-skating zone. Suddenly I saw ripples of open water straight ahead. Wrenched from my zone, I made a screeching skater’s stop. I did a quick about-face, totally unnerved by the waves in my path, even though I realized almost immediately that the rippling water I’d encountered had just seeped across the thick ice from a nearby inlet. Nonetheless, I headed for safe ice at the other end of the lake.

I relaxed again and was enjoying the warm sun on my face and the beauty of nature in late winter when a gunshot jolted me from my reverie. Of course it wasn’t a gunshot, only the ice cracking in the warm sun, but logic didn’t prevail at that moment. Total terror overtook me; the deadly sound trumped the visual reality of the very thick ice. Although my heart stopped, my legs became motorized. Back in top speed-skating form, I tore across to the safety of the shady cove and the shoreline, the “gunshots” cracking all about.

I’ve never told anyone this story because I didn’t want to admit my folly: skating alone, far out on a large lake in late winter. Perhaps Baboosic will never freeze again like it did that winter, so others won’t be able to repeat my recklessness.

Despite the mounting evidence for global warming, we’ll probably have ice thick enough for winter sports this winter. If the season continues with little snowfall, we may even get some great skating. I hardly need to point out that skating alone is a dangerous idea, or that late-winter skating is especially risky because the ice changes quickly as the sun gets stronger and the ice thins out from underneath.

The N.H. Fish and Game Department already issued one warning earlier this season through its web site: “N.H. Ice Conditions Unpredictable—Check Before You Go Out on Ice.”

Winter has made its appearance in New Hampshire at last, but the warm weather and uneven temperatures that have prevailed in the state so far this season mean the condition of ice on New Hampshire's waterbodies is unpredictable at best and could be treacherous. New Hampshire Fish and Game officials urge outdoor enthusiasts to play it safe and check ice carefully before venturing onto ice-covered waters.

And, if you skate out far and long, don’t skate alone.

By Anne Krantz, Community Tree Steward & Master Gardener

2/7/07  

Call the UNH Cooperative Extension's Family, Home & Garden Education Center 's Info-Line toll-free at 1-877-3984769 for
"Practical Solutions to Everyday Questions." Trained volunteers are available to answer your questions Monday through Friday from 9 am to 2 pm.