Chris Pascone
Imagine a wilderness lake enclosed in virgin black ice. There’s a paper-thin covering of untouched white snow on top. This downy layer gives proof that people have yet to test the fresh ice. After all, for the rational folks, the choice is clear: play it safe and wait.
But there’s an alternate train of thought. What if this hard water is actually a glassy dance floor ready to transform a gloomy fall day into a dreamy glide session? What if that secluded lake nestled among the towering red pines is a rock solid canvas waiting for an artsy skate brush strokes? Yes, it’s a risk, but there’s a right way to do this.
The key is to check ice depth before going out. A week ago, the puddle lakes in the Ely area already had 3 inches of ice—I know because I checked for myself. I took the family on an ice reconnaissance mission, scoping out various lakes. Some were wide open water. Others had clearly just iced over. But then there was a third category: shallow lakes nestled deep inside the forest. Out of the wind. Without running water flowing in or out. We settled on Norberg Lake in Bear Head Lake State Park as our target.
I took my SOG Tomahawk and used the piercing spike end to knock on the Norberg ice. If it takes more than five whacks to break through, that’s a good first sign. I can measure the thickness using this spike as well.
Having passed the tomahawk test, I next gave Norberg Lake the daughter test, sending my kid who is half my weight first (joking!) I was the first one to step out and walked parallel to shore over shallow water. Shoot for shady east shorelines.
Also do the basics: wear a life jacket at all times, have ice picks around your neck, carry a throw rope in a backpack.
One thing is for sure: You can’t test the ice from your living room. So get out there! Spend some time scoping out ice conditions on various lakes. Pull the trigger only when you’ve put your time in researching true ice conditions.
Be romantic, too. Wild ice is nature’s invitation to explore a peaceful parallel universe. You can be practical while still allowing yourself to experience nature’s finest physics lesson of transparent fresh ice.
With light snow coming down upon us as we glided around Norberg, we felt safe, secluded, and satisfied that we had trusted ourselves, and the ice. Have a nice skate.
