Ice team shares ‘important instructions’, because danger is lurking
Apart from the odd day, the skating last week was wonderful, but the ice team is now sharing ‘important instructions’. The tracks are perfect, and yet danger is lurking.
We are talking about the Austrian Weissensee. The mountain lake in the state of Carinthia beckons recreational skaters, certainly with ice as fine as this. Only there is something going on.
Here and there the ice is 20 cm thick, but that is mainly the ice on the looped circuit. People can misjudge the ice thickness outside those tracks. Sometimes there is no ice there at all.
The ice team’s important instructions
“Watch out”, Bernhard Jank warns. “Under the drifts of snow there is no ice left – there is a risk of breaking through there.” On natureislauf.at the ice team member urges people to stay on the prepared sections.
Normally all sorts of people walk across the frozen, snow-covered lake, between the prepared tracks. That is clearly not the idea now. The ice team shares important instructions:
- Do not leave the prepared surfaces
- Avoid drifts of snow
- Observe the barriers
Wonderful skating
Last Saturday rain and warmth temporarily stopped the fun. On Friday the ‘fourth’ Alternative Dutch 11-City Tour was still held.
On Tuesday the ‘third’ tour was already on the programme. By and large it was a sunny, wonderful week of skating, with the odd cloud and a little snow.
In the period ahead the ice will be beautifully smooth. The showers turned out rather useful, as is clear now that it is cold again. “The rain washed everything well and the wind polished it all”, Jank says.
Mixed feelings in the Netherlands
Many Dutch skating enthusiasts will have mixed feelings about the positive ice reports. The first and second Alternative Dutch 11-City Tours, on 24 and 27 January, were both cancelled because of heavy snow and thaw.
Not all the Dutch travellers who had made the trip could wait for better conditions. Because accommodation for the following week was already full, for instance, or because the journey home was already booked.
That a largely fantastic week of skating followed is something you want for people, and will no doubt feel bittersweet at the same time. We have our fingers crossed that those unlucky ones have better luck next year.
You can skate recreationally on the Weissensee outside the official event too. If you have not been yet: seize your chance. There is nothing like skating on natural ice.
An experience not to be missed: skating the remarkable Weissensee yourself
Skating the Weissensee in Austria: these are the rules on the ice
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Magical ice between the mountains. Oases that are a feast for the eyes under the sun. Team dionvacation is made up of recreational skaters and sun lovers, people who savour life. We share that zest for life from the Weissensee all the way to the Catalan coast. The holiday home ‘Vida Daurada’ (the golden life) suits that lifestyle, between mountains and sea. All articles are written by our own travel editors. Vida Daurada sponsors the Sun destination section.