Skating natural ice...

[superfluent]

The last few years I've become obsessed with tour skating. Tour skating or "nordic skating" as it's also called basically means skating long distances on natural ice (like lakes, rivers, creeks and even the sea).

I particilarly like the combination of outdoor experience and the speed you achive so effortlessly -we use special skates with long (~20"), thin blades provide superior glide over normal ice skates.

Note, skating natural ice is -just like rock climbing- *extremely* dangerous if don't have the knowledge, required security equipment and know how to use it. Do NOT go tour skating on without an experienced tour skater and the right equipment.

Here are three clips (I'm not in any of them) of tour skating:
Checking the ice...and it is thin... (I know, I also hate the soundtrack...)
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh0KEDK1pFg]YouTube - Biskopsöfjärden - Tour Skating[/ame]

Skating to the edge of the ice, battling the wind:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO8rTYvsiaA]YouTube - Gräsö - Tour skating[/ame]

How thin ice can you skate?
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ3Yj6XVh_A&NR=1]YouTube - Tjock is?[/ame]

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[Yooper]

Wow- that looks like fun. I'd love to try it, but the snow is WAY too deep here to attempt something like that. I imagine you have to do it somewhere cold, without much snow. I love to skate and ski, so that looks like a wonderful combo.

 

[TerapinChef]

That's wild! The ice is so thin!

 

[DeathBrewer]

lol, i thought i was going to have to flame your for drinking natty ice for a second there

awesome stuff!

 

[superfluent]

Wow- that looks like fun. I'd love to try it, but the snow is WAY too deep here to attempt something like that. I imagine you have to do it somewhere cold, without much snow. I love to skate and ski, so that looks like a wonderful combo.

You usually look for ice that has just formed so it's free from snow -the downside is that it is usually pretty thin...

Compared to cross country skiing tour skating is pretty similar but skating is just so much more effortless.

H

 

[pjj2ba]

I grew up in Michigan along a river that would often flood in the late fall so the flood plain in the woods would have these temporary ponds that would be 3 ft deep at most. When we got a freeze we'd take our bikes (single speed Schwinns with banana seats) down there and race across the barely thick enough ice, dodging trees as we went. Often the ice was so thin, if you fell, or even just stopped on it, you'd go through the ice. It was rarely over you knees in depth so it only meant a cold bike ride home. We'd race back and forth from shore to shore. If the ice was thicker, that just meant we could ride on it longer until we eventually broke through. Ahh good times.