Post Thanksgiving, most people are looking for a way to counteract overloading on gravy and pecan pie. Despite lack of snow for skiing, there’s one winter sport you can enjoy now–ice skating. Just one hour burns 387 calories.
The day after Thanksgiving at Whitefish’s Stumptown Ice Den, you don’t find too many Scott Hamiltons and Kristi Yamaguchis on the ice. Maybe a few aging figure-skaters-in-their-own-minds trying to throw a miniature salchow, or a hockey player or two darting in and out like glissading jackrabbits. But mostly you find families with kids learning to skate.
Ice skating is rather cheap entertainment—and much less expensive than skiing. A family of four can skate for $29, including rentals, and still have a few dollars left over for hot chocolate.
Decked out in hockey skates and helmets, which are included in the rental, a pair of young brothers pushed metal bar frames in front of themselves for stability. For less tripping and splatting, an eight-year-old girl swapped her toe-toothed figure skates for smooth hockey blades. One woman alternated between clinging to the wall and her husband. But all had grins.
Located on Wisconsin Avenue in Whitefish, Stumptown Ice Den runs public skate sessions daily—Mondays through Fridays between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., sometimes broken up by two hours for figure skating or hockey. Friday and Saturday night sessions run 7:30 – 10 p.m. Call 863-2477 for the exact schedule.
To see experts on ice, the annual ice show comes to town December 8. The Rockin’ Holiday on Ice start at 7 p.m. featuring National Champion Nicholas LaRoche.
After burning 387 calories ice skating, you can rest on your laurels, knowing you did something good for yourself. Or, like most of us, attack the leftover pie.