© 2024 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Watch this speedskater grab a rare opportunity to glide on Lake Michigan

The beginning of March brought on some unusual conditions along the coast of West Michigan. The ice off the coast of Grand Haven was as smooth as glass - perfect for skating. 

On the evening of March 2, West Michigan Speedskating Club member April Chernoby grabbed the opportunity to take a spin on the Big Lake.

Watch her GoPro footage below: 

http://youtu.be/VY1i-ZrHIdA

"The ice conditions were unique - approximately 7 inches thick and smooth as glass," Chernoby wrote to us in an e-mail.

"So clear a person could see the sandy bottom through the ice. This unique opportunity was enjoyable for two days, both days the sun was shining making the icebergs sparkle. Lake Michigan is now snow covered and will rapidly deteriorate with the warming temperatures. Nonetheless, thousands of people have been enjoying the ice covered lake, pier and lighthouse at Grand Haven."

Ice on Lake Michigan peaked at 76% this year on Feb. 28, 2015. Nowhere near the record of 93% set last year on March 8, 2014.

A few days earlier, just down the coast at South Haven, someone sent their GoPro airborne with a quadcopter to view the ice there:

 
http://youtu.be/bxX7jmjyzmg
 

Mark Brush was the station's Digital Media Director. He succumbed to a year-long battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in March 2018. He was 49 years old.
Related Content