By Emily Patrick
Though wild ice skating has been around for thousands of years, with the first known pair of ice skates fashioned from animal bones dating back to 1800 B.C., I’d never heard of the sport until photographs surfaced of an audacious pair testing the waters on Moosehead Lake just recently. Like many others, I wondered if someone should warn the pair of the danger they were in, assuming they were tourists who strapped on a pair of ice skates and took off across Moosehead’s wild expanse, simply not knowing any better.
Not one to pass up a good story, our Editor tracked down the pair through social media and they were kind enough to share one of their breathtaking videos with us and make time to chat with me over the phone.
Brothers Dain and Auri Bukauskas have been wild ice skating for years, and it turns out they knew exactly what they were doing out there on Moosehead. Strapping on a pair of Nordic skates and heading out onto wild ice may be a calculated risk, and one the brothers and their colleagues don’t take lightly, but the payoff is the thrill of a lifetime when conditions are just right. It was, “Just a magical experience,” the brothers say of their recent skate on Moosehead.
Wild ice skating is just what the name implies: it involves a pair of ice skates, typically of the Nordic variety that allows the skater to lift the heel (think of cross-country ski bindings), on lakes, ponds and other bodies of water that are not groomed or regularly maintained. The sport really took off in New England around the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, with many seeking adventure in wide-open places.
Dain says his first adventure out onto wild ice was with a partner who grew up wild ice skating. They ventured out to a small, local pond which, to their disappointment, was covered in snow. It should go without saying, skating on wild ice requires just the right mix of conditions, and usually skaters are forced into a slim window of opportunity. Dain thought, “There must be a Facebook group for this,” or some sort of way to communicate over long distances where conditions were not too hot, not too cold…but just right.
Sure enough, the Maine and NH Skating and Ice Report group turned out to be a goldmine of information. Dain and his partner were able to find a pond just a mile East with “perfect ice.” The Facebook group is also full of tips and tricks, gear recommendations, and occasional ice safety workshops. The skaters as a group take their reputation very seriously, and safety always comes first. Even the most experienced skaters strive to mitigate all risk. Some general rules: never skate at night or alone, when you’re first starting out stay close to the shore and your vehicle, and be prepared with the right gear.
The closest store to Moosehead that sells wild ice skating gear is Nordic Skater out of New Hampshire. Luckily, most of the gear needed for skating can be found at any outdoor retailer: a dry bag with a change of clothes, ice claws, throw ropes, a bike or ski helmet, and maybe even some hockey pants for that extra knee and tailbone protection. Another must is a pole to test ice thickness with- Dain tests thickness with a special tool he’s made himself. It’s something he’s been prototyping for years and hopes to have on the market soon! Dry suits are often utilized by more advanced skaters in riskier settings, but are not a necessity as they are expensive and not usually needed.
Still, with preparation and the best gear money can buy, wild ice skating involves risk. The most experienced skaters can fall through the ice, though it’s something they try to avoid, of course. It happened to Dain several years ago as he ventured out onto a sheet of perfectly black, smooth ice he thought was worth the risk. He heard and felt the ice start to give way and shouted, “I changed my mind!” Just as the ice broke open, he was able to “flop” part-way back to safety. Fortunately, he was able to get back onto safe ice relatively quickly and went on to have a great skating day, only feeling the chill when he stopped moving that afternoon. I was surprised at his answer when I asked how the experience felt.
“Empowering,” he said. I can infer that doesn’t mean he’ll be purposely plunging through the ice anytime soon, but as with any sport or new experience, facing one’s fear and coming out on the other side is indeed empowering, and that lesson can be applied to wild ice skating, or any of life’s challenges.
Though the brothers describe Moosehead as the “crème de la crème” of wild ice skating when conditions are just right, they had never skated Moosehead before. This is due to the fact the sport has mostly taken hold in Southern Maine, and there aren’t many fellow skaters reporting ice conditions on Moosehead- yet. It’s a long drive to test a short window for most skaters. That’s probably why I grew up on the shores of Moosehead Lake and had never seen any “wild ice skaters” out on the ice that I could recall.
No, Auri and Dain finally found their way to Moosehead via a different route. They regularly monitor ice conditions with real-life satellite images. They say once you stare at the images long enough, you start to recognize patterns- and perfect ice conditions. Near the end of December, conditions in Spencer Bay on Moosehead looked just right, and with one brother in Quebec and the other in Portland, what better place to “meet in the middle” for a once-in-a-lifetime skate than on Moosehead Lake? It turned out to be the perfect place and time and, unlike other lakes and ponds the brothers have skated together they said, “Moosehead felt like a true adventure.”
Auri and Dain sounded the call on their Facebook group and lured in 8-10 other skaters that day. Some of their fellow skating friends said skating on Moosehead that day was one of their best skating days- ever.
So, with a long and colorful history, what does the future of wild ice-skating look like- on Moosehead or elsewhere? Just like Covid-19, climate change is considered an enemy to most, but just like the pandemic, there’s a silver lining to be found for wild ice skaters. The brothers say that while many skiers are “lamenting” a lack of snowfall and increase in rainfall over the past few winters, it’s these very conditions that slightly open the short window available to skaters to find skate-able ice. As the right ski conditions become harder and harder to find in New England, it’s possible the sport of wild ice-skating can slide into the top of many Mainers’ winter activity lists in years to come.