Saturday, February 23, 2013

Bad Photography Saturday: Ice

The only place I like ice is in my drink.  I don't like to walk on it.  I don't like to drive on it.  I don't like to recreate on it.

This is a Thursday afternoon photo of Mountain Lake in Scranton's East Mountain section.

As you can see, someone drove something onto the ice, and lived to tell about it.

Many years ago, I was on an ice covered lake in Lycoming County, doing a story on someone who had fallen through the ice and who was safely rescued.  The place where a photographer and I were standing was okay.  The ice was of sufficient thickness.  However, it's natural for the ice to crack and fracture a bit when you're standing on it.  I stepped and heard an enormous cracking sound.  I nearly jumped out of my skin and required a change of undergarments.  The people on the lake got a good chuckle out of my fear, but we got our story.

Our area is lucky in that we have a number of first responders, fire departments and ambulance corps trained in ice rescue, but if you fall through the ice on a remote lake, there's no way they can get there in time.

This is the time of year that worries first responders.  The weather is a tad warmer, or at least, it's supposed to be.  The sun is stronger.  The ice is thinner.

Please, be careful.