Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 2 86 These moments are priceless in their rarity and unpredictabili- ty. Wild ice is fickle and fleeting. We have learned the art of chas- ing great ice, which is dependent on attentive weather watching combined with the willingness to drop everything when a cold snap transforms our watery play- ground into a field of ice. Even though clear, smooth ice is the ultimate, the simple thrill of playing outside in this transitory world is enough to draw us onto ice of varied conditions. A light dusting slows down our skates, but as long as we can still evalu- ate the strength and thickness of the ice, it can still pass as a great skate. Drifts of snow along with ice heaves and pressure cracks turn our gigantic ice rink into an obstacle course, but it also makes you a better skater. Sometimes we are able to pro- long our ice skating season even after a snowfall. Armed with our shovels, we clear a rink that con- veniently has snowy sideboards for a game of hockey or a skate in the first light of the day before the school bus arrives to pick up our daughters. But that too can be short-lived as the weight of the snow causes the water below to seep to the surface and our rink turns to slush. Winter is not always silent. Lake ice has its own language, its own music that will stop you in your tracks day or night. The win- ter song starts when the ice ex- pands and contracts, triggering a series of pops and crackling, and then it turns into something more melodic as the sound vibrates like the pluck of a cello string or a thump on an enormous timpa- ni drum. The ethereal sound is hauntingly beautiful, as the lake comes alive to serenade those who will stop and listen—to hear and feel the voice of the natural world. Winter is not always silent. LAKE ICE HAS ITS OWN LANGUAGE, ITS OWN MUSIC THAT WILL STOP YOU IN YOUR TRACKS DAY OR NIGHT. Flathead Lake

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