Dante chose an ice lake for his ninth circle of Hell in The Inferno. This was the place to punish the worst of the worst.  I grew up hating ice.  I skied as a kid, and in those pre-grooming, pre-snow making days trails were treacheries of ice slipping me up at every turn and having me land on the same spot, which became increasingly painful with each fall.

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It was only in the last few years that I appreciated how beautiful and creative ice can be.   It forms marvelous figures, colors, and quasi-geologic formations.  This appreciation first came while driving up Kaatterskill Clove on route 23a, then winter hiking, but I never lost respect for the inherent danger.

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I had the privilege of being house doctor at Mohonk Mountain House during the ice storm of February, 2022.   Several photographs of this section cover that event at the Mountain House.

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