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Bruce Bartleson (PhDGeol鈥�68) is pretty comfortable on thin ice.听

As soon as temperatures drop below freezing, the 83-year-old resident of Gunnison, Colo., resumes his winter tradition of 鈥渨ild鈥� ice skating. Much like backcountry skiers, Bruce treks to some of the coldest places in the state, in his case in search of untouched ice on lakes, rivers and reservoirs.听

Then he glides on the expanse of ice for hours, surrounded by the peaceful sights and sounds of baby直播app鈥檚 wilderness.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 much different from skating at a rink in Boulder,鈥� said Bruce, emeritus professor of geology at Western State baby直播app University. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want music or hot chocolate or hot dog stands. We like miles and miles of black ice for as far as the eyes can see.鈥�

Bruce is part of the unofficial Gunnison County ice 鈥渢ribe,鈥� which consists of about 25 dedicated ice skaters who start tracking ice throughout the state as early as Halloween. Sometimes the pristine ice is easily accessible; other times the trek in is long, cold and grueling.听

Either way, it鈥檚 always worth it, said Bruce.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 really just magic ... everything goes away,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou start skating on the ice and you鈥檙e kinda like floating in space. It鈥檚 like powder skiing or diving into a coral reef. It鈥檚 more aesthetic.鈥澨�

Though Bruce grew up ice skating on a flooded baseball field in Chicago, he didn鈥檛 try wild ice skating until the nearly snowless winter of 1975-1976. His first skate was at Blue Mesa Reservoir, on the upper reaches of the Gunnison River, which had frozen over and produced an expansive sheet of glistening ice.听

鈥淚 was pretty much hooked after that,鈥� he said.听

The Blue Mesa Reservoir holds a special place in Bruce鈥檚 heart because it was the first place he and his wife, Deirdre, went skating together, nearly 40 years ago. They had just started dating and decided to go for a midnight skate under the full moon.听

They鈥檝e been skating together ever since.听

It's really just magic.

鈥淭hat night really tied the knot for us,鈥� said Bruce, who has used the same pair of speed skates since 1951.听

Safety is always a concern.听

To test if the ice is safe, skaters toss a rock the size of a softball 10 feet in the air. If the rock breaks through, it鈥檚 unsafe to skate on. But if the rock bounces off, the adventure is on.听

Bruce has never fallen in. Suffice to say, he never hits the ice without an ice pick, life jacket and throw rope 鈥� and something warm to drink.

听

Photo by Dave Kozlowski