e-skater
01-29-2007, 04:50 PM
George Sommerdorf, Jr., died last Friday while skating on Donner Lake in Northern California. He fell through the ice and no one could help him.
He skated at our rink once in a great while. He was a very private person. I didn't even know he had a daughter and sister. Apparently, he skated quite a bit on frozen ponds up in the Northern CA foothills/mountains. He was experienced in the venue, yet still, this happened to him. It was 40 degrees that day, and it appears certain portions of the lake ice became thinner.
The article in our regional paper said he first started skating when he was three. I believe it. On the few occasions I saw him, I recognized right away that he'd skated for a long time. George definitely was a unique person, quite different, and "marched to the beat of a different drummer." We all got a kick out of him when he was around.
I just want to say something for him in a venue where other skaters can appreciate perhaps how talented he was. This was a man who skated on figure skates, hockey skates, AND speed skates. AND three foot stilts with figure blades on the ends. I know, it sounds bizarre, and I wouldn't have believed it unless I'd seen it with my own eyes, and I did! He could jump and spin in his hockey skates, had amazing deep edges and great flow and speed. He could also do waltz jumps on his speed skates. Now *there* is a skater for you!
Anyway....should any of you be out on ponds, rivers, or lakes, please, please, PLEASE make sure you know if it is frozen solid.
He skated at our rink once in a great while. He was a very private person. I didn't even know he had a daughter and sister. Apparently, he skated quite a bit on frozen ponds up in the Northern CA foothills/mountains. He was experienced in the venue, yet still, this happened to him. It was 40 degrees that day, and it appears certain portions of the lake ice became thinner.
The article in our regional paper said he first started skating when he was three. I believe it. On the few occasions I saw him, I recognized right away that he'd skated for a long time. George definitely was a unique person, quite different, and "marched to the beat of a different drummer." We all got a kick out of him when he was around.
I just want to say something for him in a venue where other skaters can appreciate perhaps how talented he was. This was a man who skated on figure skates, hockey skates, AND speed skates. AND three foot stilts with figure blades on the ends. I know, it sounds bizarre, and I wouldn't have believed it unless I'd seen it with my own eyes, and I did! He could jump and spin in his hockey skates, had amazing deep edges and great flow and speed. He could also do waltz jumps on his speed skates. Now *there* is a skater for you!
Anyway....should any of you be out on ponds, rivers, or lakes, please, please, PLEASE make sure you know if it is frozen solid.