Column: Part of Acadia’s winter magic is ice climbing

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 17, 2024

Acadian winters have magic. Snow highlighted the peaks, ice lined the bays and the seeps and springs that trickled all summer were frozen solid. Ice flowed over rock in some places, while in others frigid water rolled halfheartedly down a mountainside before turning to temporary stone, freezing the roiling chaos of a waterfall in place. This is where the ice climbers come to play. If it calls to you, try it. There’s nothing quite like standing mid-waterfall, mid-winter. Everything is suspended — the ice, the waterfall, you between ax swings. All waiting to see what will happen next. Or, just go to Acadia. Have hot cocoa on Sand Beach (which is still very sandy after the storms if you were wondering), and laugh at how wild our world is. Laugh that there are people who find it fun to swing around on frozen falls. ~ Clark Tate