MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
As the climate warms, it's getting harder for people in colder parts of the country to count on the right weather for traditional winter sports - things like outdoor ice skating. In Maine, those skating enthusiasts delighted this month in a string of cold, snowless days that froze lakes, ponds - even some rivers. Maine Public Radio's Ari Snider laced up his skates and joined the wild ice bonanza.
(SOUNDBITE OF ICE SKATES GLIDING)
ARI SNIDER, BYLINE: Frank Whittier says he's been hitting the ice near his home in southern Maine a lot recently.
FRANK WHITTIER: It's truly panic mode. Everybody's, like, texting, and - where are you going? I have one friend who went three times yesterday, three different lakes, just chasing black ice.
SNIDER: Black ice - Whittier is not referring to the roadway hazard, but rather to smooth, clear ice, unblemished by snow or rain or thaw. For outdoor ice enthusiasts like Whittier, it's the holy grail.
WHITTIER: It is absolutely like a glass carpet out there. It's crazy, crazy beautiful.
SNIDER: And he's not the only one dropping everything to get after it.
STEW STRAWBRIDGE: How you feeling, better?
NINA: Yeah.
STRAWBRIDGE: First time all year, right?
(SOUNDBITE OF ICE SKATES GLIDING)
SNIDER: Stew Strawbridge has pulled his fourth-grade daughter, Nina, out of school for a session on nearby Runaround Pond.
STRAWBRIDGE: I mean, we usually get it once a year, maybe twice, but right now we've got a stretch. It looks like it might last, like, 15, 20 days.
Bend those knees, remember? Just like as if you're pushing a chair - yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF ICE SKATES GLIDING)
STRAWBRIDGE: Remember, you got some big bumps over there.
SNIDER: On another lake not far off, Marina Gray is cutting a swift, upwind line across the glassy surface.
(SOUNDBITE OF ICE SKATES GLIDING)
MARINA GRAY: It's kind of effortless, almost. And I'm sure, you know, once the wind pushes me back, I probably will have to do, like, 10% effort to try to really get some speed.
SNIDER: Gray says she fell in love with outdoor ice skating as a kid. Now, she says she's something of an evangelist.
GRAY: I'm trying to get all my friends to go out. My friend with me today - she actually just bought her skates an hour ago.
SNIDER: This is how most information travels in the wild ice community - a tip from a friend, a video dropped in the group chat or a detailed scouting report posted on Facebook. The ever-shifting nature of the ice is part of the thrill, but it's also part of the risk. Even today, under sterling conditions, those who venture to the northern reaches of this lake return with warnings of open water. Gray wears a pair of ice picks around her neck in case she breaks through.
GRAY: Just something about being on a frozen lake seems kind of daring and, I don't know. I like to push the limits and enjoy the elements outside.
WHITTIER: Let's stay in touch, 'cause I could easily...
SNIDER: But those elements are changing. Maine winters are getting warmer and more erratic due to climate change. Frank Whittier, at the pond near Portland, says he's seen it firsthand.
WHITTIER: We're truly cherishing this moment, but we're not getting as many of them. Our lakes are unequivocally not freezing as much in the winter.
SNIDER: That means when the ice is this good, there's no time to waste.
WHITTIER: All right. So let's see if we can get out of here, get some clean wind.
SNIDER: In the waning daylight, Whittier steps onto a sort of skateboard with metal runners instead of wheels, lifts a handheld sail overhead, and glides away.
For NPR News, I'm Ari Snider in southern Maine.
(SOUNDBITE OF MELANIE MARTINEZ SONG, "VOID") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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