Winter season officially started just recently and that means the temperature dropping to zero and even negative. To a lot of countries, that also means roads covered in snow and frozen everything like streets, mountains, bridges, different forms of water, and much more.
Apart from the freezing cold weather and sipping your favorite freshly brewed coffee or hot chocolate, there’s a lot more to the winter season than most of us usually know. Those who love the cold weather, nature, and science, you’d definitely love this.
You probably haven’t seen an ASMR like this before.
When talking about ASMR, what usually comes into our minds are videos where a person would gobble in on a platter of different mouth-watering food. Well, this one is entirely different because nothing is edible in it – a frozen lake, a man on skates, and his audio-recording device.
Back in 2018, a mathematician named Mårten Ajne decided to go skating at a small lake outside Stockholm, Sweden. He went out there for a hunt, not for some wild winter animals but for the thinnest and most pristine black ice possible.
They call it “Wild ice skating,” or “Nordic skating,” it is a “type of ice skating, just like hockey, figure skating, or speed skating. Unlike those other types of skates, Nordic skates are designed specifically to excel on natural ice, also called ‘wild ice.’ Nordic skates are often mounted with bindings and boots designed for Nordic cross-country skiing.”
Put your headsets on and slide that volume up because things are about to get “otherworldly.”
That’s how they described the audio that they were able to pick up while gliding through the thin black ice of the small lake. Both Ajne and his cameraman skated on top of the lake covered by thin ice that measured 45 millimeters or just a little over one and a half inches.
Given that thickness, most people usually consider wild ice skating dangerous. Worry not because it can still carry the weight of a skater just like Ajne. It’s just like how an arch or a dome normally works, the support is coming from its sides, and since the thin ice naturalized from the lake, the water underneath it helps prevent the ice from breaking.
However, Nordic skating still requires experience and careful advance planning. Before hunting for the thinnest and most pristine black ice possible, one must consider factors like temperature, atmospheric conditions, and even satellite images of the Earth’s surface.
Even with all those being said, Nordic skating still doesn’t warrant your 100% safety.
It’s still recommended to be done in groups just in case accidents or any unforeseen circumstance arises. The chances of stumbling over hurdles along his hunt were something Ajne didn’t mind facing because he loves challenges himself.
“If it doesn’t work, you learn from your mistake and try again,” said the adventurous skater.
In fact, one of the over 28.6 million viewers of the video had the same experience as Ajne.
“I got to do this once in Maryland, about a 4 or 5-acre pond. Such a flat surface, it was incredibly smooth. The sound reminds me of tight cables that are hit with a sharp rap.”
Nordic skating is indeed dangerous, but nothing beats the satisfaction that it gives to someone like Ajne.
Make sure to put the volume to maximum first before watching the video below.
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