Following this column's recent exposé on the dangers of skating on natural ice, several readers - including David Wardle of Mawson - shared their own close calls on frozen lakes.
"Your article reminded me of the panic I felt years ago when cross-country skiing with my three boys on a frozen Three Mile Dam near Kiandra," David reveals.
"I was reprimanded by a friend who worked for Snowy Hydro and told what an irresponsible father I was - and looking back, I probably deserved it," he admits.
Thankfully, David and his boys made it across and back safely, but he confesses that even now, "the thought of it gives me the horrors".
But the column didn't just unearth near misses; it also brought to light the extraordinary story of Thredbo pioneer Cees Koeman who confesses "skating runs in my blood and because I'm a Dutchman, I can skate on thin ice".
Indeed, born in the north of Holland, Cees grew up skating on frozen canals, learning how to judge whether the ice would hold his weight.
It was valuable practical knowledge that proved useful after, as a young man, he moved to the Snowy Mountains.
While natural ice-skating opportunities aren't nearly as common here as in his homeland, the right conditions occasionally arrive. And when they do, Cees hasn't needed much encouragement to lace up.
Take, for example, a bluebird day in June 1956 when he was working at the chalet at Charlotte Pass. On a day off, after finding a pair of skates in the storeroom, he "ran all the way to Lake Albina", a glacial lake tucked into the rugged backcountry below Mount Townsend.
"It was a brilliant sunny day and I skated on the lake for hours by myself," recalls Cees. "It was just wonderful." I bet.
Like many Dutch-born skaters, Cees was unfazed by conditions that would make most Australians think twice. Or maybe three times!
In fact, when I asked him how thick the ice was, he laughed.
"You Aussies always ask that, and I always answer, 'thick enough'," he quipped.
"As schoolchildren growing up in the north of Holland, we often tested if the ice would hold us ... those games taught me how ice behaves."
That knowledge was put to the test during that adventure on Lake Albina when, after hours of skating, ominous cracks suddenly began opening beneath his feet.
Now, while most of us would have made a frantic dash for terra firma, Cees reacted rather more calmly.
"The ice started cracking and a little bit of water came through the cracks, so I thought it's probably time to go home," he recalls.
Seventy years later, what has stayed with the daring Dutchman from that day wasn't a sense of fear, but the unforgettable sound.
The cracking ice reverberating around the hills was, he recalls, "just magic". There was no wind, beautiful sun, and it became an experience he has never forgotten.
A few years later, after landing a job at Thredbo, Cees was handed a rough sketch by his immediate boss. It turns out that Dick Dusseldorp, the developer of the resort, wanted a lake built at Friday Flat, partly with outdoor skating in mind.
Cees promptly teamed up with bulldozer operator Tim Golby, and together they made not one, but three small lakes.
If you look closely you can see them shortly after you turn off the Alpine Way into Thredbo.
"We actually moved the river," Cees says matter-of-factly. "It doesn't sound like much, but it was momentous."
While the recreation plans for the lakes never eventuated, that wasn't going to stop Cees. Whenever they froze over, Cees - who went on to become a mountain manager at Thredbo- made a beeline for that ice.
Especially during the particularly cold winters in the 1970s, Cees and a Czech skater made the most of their alpine rink.
"We had a lot of fun on that ice back then," he recalls.
"They call the main lake the snowmaking pond now, but it would be nice if they called it 'Cees Lake'," he muses.
By 2015, Cees had become something of a Thredbo ice-skating celebrity - known as "the guy who 'risks his life' to skate on the lake at Friday Flat".
A video posted online that year shows him gliding across the frozen Friday Flat pond with remarkable ease. Two women walking nearby were so amazed to see someone skating that they filmed the spectacle and before long, the footage spread quickly online.
Shortly afterwards, a "keep off the ice" sign appeared beside the water.
"It was, of course, because of me," reflects Cees.
Today, the skates brought out from Holland by Cees's father still hang above his fireplace at Kasees Lodge at Thredbo, which Cees built in the early 1960s.
However, whether they will ever touch Australian ice again remains uncertain.
"We could skate whenever we had good ice in Thredbo, and now we're not allowed," he laments.
For a man who spent much of his life transforming Thredbo from a fledgling alpine village into one of Australia's best-known ski resorts, that one of his fondest memories remains that magical day skating on Lake Albina shows Cees's enduring love for skating.
With this coming week marking the official end of a winter to forget in the high country, here's hoping 2027 delivers much colder temperatures, more snow and, for Cees, enough ice to dust off those skates at least one more time. Of course, the weather Gods may have other ideas.
While we bid farewell to winter, spring has well and truly sprung. The air is laced with pollen (achoo!) and I've already had to replace the spark plug on the mower. Oh, and a special note to that swooping magpie in South Kama Nature Reserve who obviously thought my Akubra would be improved with a small hole.
One of this column's go-to places to enjoy the change of season is the former Sherwood Homestead site, nestled in the foothills of the Brindabellas near the Blue Range Recreation Area. Nothing screams spring more than a stroll amongst the field of snowdrops, jonquils and daffodils planted by early settlers Eliza and Henry Phillips in the 1860s.
When I popped out there last week, I thought I'd have the place to myself. I was wrong. First, a Gungahlin couple arrived for happy snaps, followed by a pack of 19 bushwalkers led by Kathy Handel.
Kathy was leading a joint walk of the Brindabella Bushwalking Club, Canberra Bushwalking Club, and National Parks Association of the ACT.
"Everyone loves it here," Kathy gushed. "It is always an amazing sight and a lovely surprise to people who haven't been here before."
On my visit, the jonquils and snowdrops were in full flower. However, the heritage 'Rip van Winkle' daffodils were only just starting, so they ought to be peaking right about now.
Getting there: You can walk or ride to the site from Mountain Creek Road (6.8km return), or Blue Range Recreation Area (7.2km return). For detailed directions, consult a bushwalking club or the ACT Parks and Conservation Service.
Rating: Easy - Medium
Cryptic Clue: 1970s sitcom. Phonetically at least.
How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to [email protected]. The first correct email received after 10am, Saturday August 29 wins a double pass to Dendy, the Home of Quality Cinema.
Last week: Congratulations to Roger Shelton of Spence who was the first reader to correctly identify last week's photo as the buoys marking the exclusion zone at Lake Burley Griffin just above Scrivener Dam. Roger just beat several readers including Ray Lindsay, Jennifer Lovell, Amber Collins and Geoffrey McDougall.
As to the purpose of those pavers in the water, several readers thought they were to provide a firmer footing for workers when adjusting or maintaining the buoys. Others were a little more creative in their suggestions.
"Doesn't the Governor-General tippy-toe across these on a daily basis and the round pavers are to give her a running start," mused Barry Snelson of Calwell. "Aren't they for underwater hopscotch?" wrote Simone Roberts of Kaleen.
The real reason? They were installed last summer by members of the Canberra Open Water Swimmers to provide a safer point of entry and to protect their feet from the sharp rocks where they regularly swim on the up (safe) side of the buoys.
While kangaroos are often seen grazing in our suburbs, it is rare to see one sunning itself in the Rose Gardens at Old Parliament House. This one was spotted by Adriana Bianchini during her lunch break for two days running. I'm reliably informed that it's since been moved-on by rangers to nearby bushland .
CONTACT TIM: Email: [email protected] or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, GPO Box 606, Civic, ACT, 2601
