Apr
25
25
You may have seen an email forward in early 2008 claiming that pictures of frozen waves came from Lake Huron. I’m always skeptical of claims like that, so I had to check it out. My favorite urban legend debunking source, snopes.com, verified that the description is completely fake. However, the pictures are real. They were taken in Antarctica at a base called Dumont D’Urville in 2002, and you can see more pictures from the series at a CalTech website.
I, as an avid surfer, can attest to the debunking by snopes. I have done plenty of surfing in Antarctica, and have found myself being enveloped by one of these “frozen waves”. My crew had to use over 30 portable hair-dryers to melt me out of one of those beauties. Lake Huron, while good at generating frozen waves in its own right, does not develop the size of frozen waves seen in the photo. The largest frozen waves I have surfed on Huron were no larger than 6-7 feet.
Do you need any special surfboard to surf the ice waves of Antarctica? I’ve been meaning to get down there for the surf season, and I want to make sure I’m prepared with the right equipment.
I know Bill Talleucher. And you, sir, are no Bill Talleucher!