by V. Paul Reynolds

With prolonged cold spells and bone-chilling sub-zero temperatures, the ice this year on Maine lakes and ponds is solid and safe for people and snowsleds, right?

Wrong.

During mid-January over one 24-hour period,  no less than nine  snowmobile operators and riders broke through thin ice with their sleds into icy waters. Miracles of miracles, all escaped drowning and potentially deadly hypothermia.