Wild Ice Skating Is The Craziest Winter Sport You’ve Never Heard Of
SHARE
@porschlund
Apparently, ice skating in a rink with a bunch of other humans with blades strapped to their feet isn’t enough of a thrill for some people. And it seems that skating on frozen lakes isn’t pushing far enough, either. There are some adventurers out there trying to skate on the thinnest black ice around — so thin that it cracks beneath them as they speed along.
The sport is called “wild skating.”
It’s also known as “Nordic skating” or “wild ice skating.”
Skaters seek ice that’s about two inches thick.
The water underneath helps to hold the skaters’ weight.
There are some skaters who like it even thinner.
They try to find ice that’s recently frozen, sometimes 3.5 centimeters thick.
The ice cracks as skaters go over it.
Skaters leave beautifully terrifying cracks behind them along their paths.
It takes some calculations to decide what ice is safe.
For instance, ice needs to be thicker if there’s salt in the frozen water.
But the thin ice makes for gorgeous scenery.
Since it’s newly frozen, the ice is nice and shiny.
Skaters always prepare as if they might fall in.
That means safety gear and quick-drying clothes.
Skaters move quickly across the ice.
And unlike the circles in a rink, they cover a lot of ground.
Wild skating is more popular in Nordic countries.
But there are North American wild skaters in the U.S. and Canada.
There are wild skating communities around the world.
And websites dedicated to finding the best ice around.
If you’re not looking for razor-thin ice, you can still skate cross-country.
But you’ll need to upgrade from your hockey or figure skates to Nordic skates.
[h/t Travel and Leisure]
Next on
