For skaters, the prospects are nearly irresistible.
Following a December warm-up, wind and sub-zero evening temperatures blitzed much of Southcentral, leaving thick slabs of ice atop most fresh water. Westchester Lagoon, for instance, has 24 inches, according to the city's weekly trail and ice status report.
Wilderness skaters, keenly aware that they're one big snowfall away being sidelined, have embraced the prospects at such varied locations as Kenai Lake, Placer River, Portage Lake, Eagle River and the usual assortment of in-town lakes.
The reward?
"Just awesome skating," avid backcountry skater Jim Renkert after his weekend trip up the Placer River Valley towards Skookum Glacier.
The risk?
A frigid plunge that could be fatal.
About a week ago, 40-year-old Kerry Felton, vice president of a volunteer search-and-rescue team in Kodiak, died while ice skating on Island Lake, which was covered by about a foot of ice. And last month, Tim McDonough and wife Ann Myren, broke through the ice on Chilkoot Lake in Haines, where they had skated regularly for 20 years. Myren, 55, managed to scramble to safety and then help pull McDonough, 56, out of the water.
Both incidents happened at night to skaters familiar with the lakes but unable to see signs that might have warned them off. Neither carried ice claws -- usually clipped together on a lanyard worn around the neck.
"This isn't the first time the lake has claimed a life," said Nick Szabo, treasurer for the Kodiak Island Search and Rescue group. Island Lake is a popular Kodiak destination for skating, cross-country skiing and snowmachining.
'Bang!' we were swimming
According to a report by Tom Morphet of the Chilkat Valley News, McDonough and Myren were skating some 40 yards offshore in moonlight when the ice gave way.
"It was just like, 'Bang.' We were swimming," McDonough told Morphet. Myren went down in a separate hole about 10 feet away.
"Each time I got up on the ice, it broke," McDonough said. "I would pull up on my arms, and it would break."
Soaked clothing weighed him down. Gear stuffed in coat pockets snagged on the ice ledge.
Myren got out first.
"The back of her skate caught something solid," McDonough said, "and it was a push-off from there."
Myren then edged over to McDonough, dangling her skate over the water.
"I grabbed her skate, and I pulled myself right out," he said.
To help distribute their body weight, the couple waddled on their bellies for about 40 feet until they reached marks left by previous skaters, Morphet reported. At the parking lot, they struggled to remove frozen skates in 15-degree chill.
"That was one of the hardest things," McDonough told Morphet, "sitting down and getting your fingers to work."
Since then, the couple has purchased new ice claws that allow a skater to pull himself out. They were fortunate too, that they skated together and are both experienced swimmers.
"If Ann hadn't been there," McDonough said, "I would have needed something. I was getting heavier and heavier and it was getting harder and harder."
McDonough and Myren have skated on the lake about 20 years. They'd gone twice during the day before their scary evening plunge.
Be prepared
Like backcountry skiing or snowmachining in areas known to avalanche, skating on lakes and rivers will never be risk-free. But there are things skaters can do to minimize danger:
• Skate with a partner.
• Carry a weighted throw bag with a life line.
• Take ice claws for climbing out of open water onto solid ice. They're available at NordicSkater.com and at some local retailers.
• Steer clear of any open water, even it appears to be overflow.
Despite the risks, there's lots of good ice out there, and most Southcentral backcountry skaters are checking their blades for sharpness.
Sean Stash of the National Forest Service's Glacier Ranger District drove to Kenai Lake on Sunday to find about 10 inches of clear ice coating the lake and a party-like atmosphere on shore.
"I think the whole community of Moose Pass was down there," he said. "The ice was super-clear and it's smoooooth. There was a hockey game going on, a fire pit, hot dogs, tables set up."
Not all ice is smooth
Another popular late- season location, Portage Lake, was not nearly as inviting.
"It was plenty thick, but it looked as though the ice formed and the water dropped a little bit. There were big slabs of ice sticking up for about the first 50-75 yards from shore," Stash said.
"After 75 yards, there's a whole bunch of hoarfrost and skates go right through it. It's bumpy underneath. Think of skating on an orange peel that's magnified. So it's as if you have a bunch of golf balls right under the surface causing ripples all over.
"On hockey skates, it chattered right through your brain. There were some people near the glacier, and you could hear their skates from two miles away."
Away from the lake, 10 members of the Anchorage Adventurers Meetup Group headed to Portage's marshes, ponds and creeks Monday for a skate on smooth ice that participant Meg Parsons called "fabulous."
If an anticipated midweek snowfall holds off and temperatures increase as forecast, expect conditions to be ideal this weekend.
Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.
