If you grew up in Alberta, you’ve likely skated outdoors on a frozen pond or prairie slough.
We called that ‘skating.’
But a new fad has taken over social media called wild ice skating – skating on a frozen pond or lake but with a marketing twist.
Wild ice skating has taken off in the Canadian Rockies because the epic scenery makes your social media shares ever more envious.
If you’re interested in enjoying wild ice skating for a unique immersion into nature or your Instagram moment, here is our guide to safely enjoying the sport.
A Narrow Window
Wild ice skating requires a frozen lake with ice thick enough to support a skater’s weight. The ice surface also has to be snow-free. Those perfect conditions usually last only a few weeks each year, from mid-November to early December.
The best scenario is a clear cold spell that freezes the lakes in November. Once a major snowfall happens, wild ice skating is over unless you and your friends are willing to shovel the snow off the lake (wild-shoveling anyone?).
This year, warmer than usual weather means that some lakes are slower to freeze to safe levels than in previous years.
The poor ice conditions have Parks Canada warning potential wil ice skaters to take precautions.
“It’s really important to check the ice for yourself. It’s something Parks Canada does not monitor. It’s really something people have to determine on their own and evaluate their own risk with that,” said Lisa Paulson, Banff field unit visitor safety specialist to the Rocky Mountain Outlook.
Safe Ice Conditions
What is safe ice?
The Canadian Red Cross says that ice must be 15 cm (6 inches) thick for a person to skate on safely. If you are skating in a group, the ice should be 20 cm (8 inches thick).
Also, check out the colour and texture of the ice.
Clear, blue, smooth ice is the safest. White opaque ice is half as strong, and grey ice should be avoided.
To be safe, you should measure ice thickness for yourself. Paulson recommends bringing an ice screw, usually used by ice climbers, to screw into the ice to test its thickness.
Ice thickness can vary across a lake, especially near stream inlets and outlets, so either test these areas or avoid them altogether.
Safe Skating
Just like any other outdoor activity, safety should come first.
- Dress in layers. Skating around can get you heated up, and you’ll need to shed layers so you don’t sweat. Once you stop, put on extra layers to prevent chilling.
- Always wear a helmet. Even experienced skaters can fall on the uneven ice surface of mountain lakes.
- Bring floating ice picks with you in case you break through the ice. These small picks are attached to a cord that you run through your jacket sleeve, giving you a grip to pull yourself onto the ice. These are available at most sporting goods stores.
- Wear a PDF. Even where others are skating around, and the ice looks safe, you never know when you might hit a soft spot and plunge into freezing water.
- If unsure, stick to shallow lakes, stay along the shore or hire local guides to take you out.
If you do plunge into a lake, remember the 1-10-1 rule coined by Dr. Gordon Geisbreicht – aka Professor Popsicle, which states that you have one minute to control your breathing and get calm, 10 minutes to try and self-rescue (easier with a PFD and ice picks), and one-hour in the water before hyperthermia sets in.
In the Rockies, people fall through the ice each year, and there is always an inherent danger in wild skating (otherwise, the name doesn’t make sense).
Where to Go?
Vermilion Lakes, Two Jack Lake, Johson Lake and Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park are all wonderful lakes for skating, especially if you can get there when the ice is safe and snow-free.
Otherwise, Lake Louise and the Bow River in the Banff townsite have skating tracks cleared for the winter season.
In Kananaskis, Spray Lakes, Gap Lake and Mount Lorette Ponds offer skating possibilities.
Lake Annette, Patricia and Pyramid Lakes are good candidates for wild ice skating in Jasper National Park.
Finally, one of the ultimate destinations for wild ice skating is Abraham Lake, west of Nordegg. The famous methane ice bubbles rise below your skates, making your outing even more magical.
Also, because Abraham Lake is in a rain shadow, there is less snow and the windy conditions there make the possibility of snow-free skating beyond the regular wild ice-skating season elsewhere.
No matter what you call it; skating, lake skating, wild ice skating – the activity is invigorating and a special part of the Rockies Life.
