Walking on water in Slovakia
Walking on water sounds
like the stuff of miracles, but there’s nothing supernatural at work in the
clip above. Watch as two hikers in Slovakia’s High Tatra Mountains walk across
a lake that’s frozen so clearly, they look to be walking on water.
Tomas Nunuk posted the clip on
8 December. Since then, the footage has garnered more than three million views,
with some viewers expressing both astonishment and scepticism.
"This is a good
example of how beautiful the world can be when it’s not tainted by
humans," said YouTube user Tyler Wolff.
Chloe Bateman, on the
other hand, questioned the authenticity of the 0:39-long video: "surely
you would record this for longer if in fact it was legit."
Several scientists have
come to the video’s defence, including meteorologist Meghan Mussoline. “Clear
ice is about twice as strong as white ice, since it is more dense,” she
explained in an Accuweather
video. “The ice on the frozen lake in the Slovakian Mountains was
likely sufficiently thick for people to walk on due to cold air entrenched
across the region since mid-November.”
Technology blog io9 featured
further clarification from University of Helsinki geophysicist Matti
Lepparänta. “Since the concentration of impurities is lower in congelation ice
than in the lake water, the ice may be even more transparent than the water in
turbid or humic lakes,” he said.
Temperatures this cold
may make for some spectacular phenomena, but natural wonders are hardly in
short supply in the Tatra Mountains, a region that PopeJohn Paul II visited on a detour from an 11-day pilgrimage to his
homeland in 1997. The mountains, which form a natural border between Slovakia
and Poland, are home to a huge variety of winter sports. The Low Tatras range
(highest peak 2,043m) and the High Tatras (highest peak 2,564m) both come
highly recommended for their natural beauty and their
affordability as a skiing destination.
Tantalised by the natural
beauty you see in the clip above, but not quite ready to book a trip? See more
of this stunning region in this high-resolution,action-packed adventure clip showing some of the most spectacular
sights the Tatra range has to offer.
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