Sad News

[diana hanks]

It’s with great sadness that I am letting you know, that our ice guru, Bob Dill passed away last night. I received a brief message , with no details. I have heard nothing about a memorial service.

All the knowledge of ice which any of us have, has come from Bob. In his honor, may we all pass our knowledge onto others.

Respectfully,
Diana Hanks

[Lola Houston]

Oh wow, this is really sad news. Bob Dill was a positive influence in my learning to skate wild ice, and he certainly did pull me and a group of people out of a tight spot a number of years ago. He was a wonderful teacher and a real asset to our ice skating community. He will be missed. Please do keep us informed if there is a memorial service or anything else.

Lola

>
> On Oct 29, 2023, at 7:39 PM, 'diana hanks' via VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
> It’s with great sadness that I am letting you know, that our ice guru, Bob Dill passed away last night. I received a brief message , with no details. I have heard nothing about a memorial service.

>
> All the knowledge of ice which any of us have, has come from Bob. In his honor, may we all pass our knowledge onto others.
>
> Respectfully,
> Diana Hanks
>

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> Sent from my iPhone
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[diana hanks]

Regardless of whether or not we get any information on a memorial service, maybe we can share stories and pictures here of his days with us on the ice.

Diana Hanks


Sent from my iPhone

> On Oct 29, 2023, at 8:06 PM, Lola Houston <three...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Oh wow, this is really sad news. Bob Dill was a positive influence in my learning to skate wild ice, and he certainly did pull me and a group of people out of a tight spot a number of years ago. He was a wonderful teacher and a real asset to our ice skating community. He will be missed. Please do keep us informed if there is a memorial service or anything else.

> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/vtnordicskating/3E931E79-D88D-43F8-A200-24D61C41F0C6%40gmail.com.

[Dr Jo]

Diana,

Thank you for this. 

I saw Dan's message on the ADK list first and wrote there,

<< I'm so sad to hear this, even as I have known that recent years were increasingly difficult for him. 

And I'm so glad a number of skaters were involved last year in taking steps to ensure his ice website would be preserved, anticipating this day would come. 

I was thinking of Bob very recently, about how he would always be a legend to us in this community, his legacy would live on in his work and in the memories and photos of those who were lucky enough to be part of his adventures, and that newer skaters would not get to know the Bob who welcomed so many of us into the sport and expanded the knowledge from which we all benefit now.

Just a few thoughts from my heart in learning this news. >>

Diana, your thought to honor Bob by sharing the knowledge that he gifted to all of us is beautiful.

Thank you,

Jo

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From: 'diana hanks' via VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2023 7:38 PM
To: Nordic Skating Group <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [vtnordicskating] Sad News

 

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[Evan Perkins]

Thank you for sharing this Diana.

   I did not know bob well , I met him a couple of times and I corresponded with him by phone or email a handfull of times. That being said , his body of work in the form of his website had a profound effect on me. Before I got on the Listserve or knew anybody else that skated wild ice regularly I was able to learn how to read and understand ice at a good working level from lake ice . Bobs thoughtful and logical approach to ice and ice safety is something that I greatly value. 

      A few things stood out to me the first time I met bob at a group skate to the palisades (2014?)that he had posted on the Listserve . He had spare safety equipment for anyone who forgot theirs .he moved the start of the skate due to safety concerns with a strong south wind kicking up and threatening to break off the 1 ft thick sheet and blow it in to the broads of lake Champlain. He made sure to wait at the initial meeting place in case anyone was late and missed the change on email. I remember him explaining that even if the chance was small, the result of being set adrift on that windy day would almost certainly be fatal. The rest of the skate was amazing and a story for another time but the memories that I shared above contain lessons that I try to always keep fresh in my mind.

       I will always admire that Bob chose to share his passion and knowledge for ice with his community. In the process he has saved many lives and spread much joy by giving people the power keep themselves safe while exploring a world that most people never get to see. I am sad he is gone and am grateful to have been one of the recipients of his positive effect on the world.

  Evan

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[marshaed]

Thanks for letting us know. We've been missing Bob for the last few years. I've attached the most iconic photo I have of him, from Jan 2014. Several of us  had launched from Port Henry.

Marsha

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[Daniel Spada]

Marsha,

Great shot and definitely iconic!  My skating photo folder is full of shots like this, of Bob kneeling on ice to study crystalline structure.  What a student!  I also have a video of him sawing a block out of Schroon Lake to check thickness and structure that I never posted because the audio was terrible.  I'll edit and post soon. Thanks for the photo and the memories.

Dan

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[diana hanks]

Marsha, 

That is a classic photo of Bob. He would suddenly not be up with the group, because some ice structure caught his eye. You would look back and see him doing just this. 

Great one!

Diana

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 30, 2023, at 10:25 AM, Daniel Spada <spada...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[briancostellovt]

Bob was a uniquely inspirational person. His passion was contagious, and his amazing Lake Ice site is a legacy that will continue to inspire and educate skaters.

For those who haven't seen this documentary film of his quest for the world land-sailing speed record with Bob Schumacher, 'The Iron Duck', I highly recommend it (and don't skip the panel discussion epilogue).

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/ironduck/314601319#collections

[Kate Kruesi]

Here's another iconic photo of Bob measuring the tensile strength of candled ice, 1/13/17, at Malletts Bay. Note the scale, camera, blocks, etc. that all fits in his ice testing kit bag. What a great guy who helped "glue" our community together along with many others of you cc:ed here. 

Kate Kruesi

77 Oakcrest Dr

Burlington VT 05408

C: 802-558-0501

kkr...@gmail.com

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[Phelps Holloway]

When you get to be our age, (Bobs and mine) you start to lose some friends. For some reason losing Bob really hit me hard yesterday. I think we met at the Lake Champlain Yacht Club in the early seventies. I was the assistant launch driver for a while in '74, but it might have been a few years later. Anyway he was sailing an A class catamaran that was built out of tortured plywood ala the Gougeon Brothers Manual. I don't think that he had built it but I knew that we had some interests in common and was fun to talk to. Years later we were both into ice sailing, he in boats and me on boards. The groups didn't always mix but since I knew several of the ice boaters, I was always checking in with them. He and Bob Schumacher were my heroes. The latter taught me much about fiberglass work, but the former was always full of surprises. Years before Nordic skates were available I saw Bob on some that he had built and this was years before the ones made out of roller blading boots that many of you remember. When I saw those wooden decked skates that had the cross country bindings I said, "Bob, those must be the cat's ass!'' but he wasn't really as excited as he should have been. I think he probably needed a little more of a boot than what he was using at the time. Anyway most of you know all about his ice science and what a giving person he was. About twelve years ago I wiped out on the ice out by Coate's Island and broke my hip. I was able to stand with my weight on my good side and Bob towed me back to Bayside Park where we called for professional help. Dianna Hanks was one of a couple of familiar faces I saw that day in the hospital. We haven't had much in the way of good ice the last couple of years, so I hadn't seen Bob or known about his health challenges. I hope that this sharing of memories will prove therapeutic for us and bring us a little closer together.  Thanks and best wishes to you all,  Phelps

[Chris Boone]

Bob’s daughter Emily just let me know that his obituary has been published:

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/obituary-robert-dill-1948-2023/Content?oid=39416174

I’ve been passing along to her all the memories and photos you’ve all been sharing, and she’s very grateful to get them. Also, she told me that "he made sure to let all his kids know how important it was to him to keep the site up and running”, so rest assured Lake Ice will continue on.

Chris

[Vince Rossano]

I've seen Bob's obituary in Seven Days.  It's nice.  Of course, each person's version of Bob's obituary might be different.  The one in Seven Days was written by family. With no disrespect to it intended - or deserved - I think it misses some of who Bob was to his skating friends and followers.  I'll spare you flights of poesy here; I'm in no mood for it myself.  But I think that those of us who knew Bob best at slower speeds learned to love him for something in his character that isn't quite conveyed in the Seven Days obit.  I guess that's all I want to say about it at the moment.  Or maybe ever.

Vince

[marshaed]

Well said Vince. I thought you and others might enjoy this photo of you and Bob, north of the bridge.

Marsha

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[RGN]

I met Bob a few years ago and had heard of his legend before meeting him. So I was impressed that in the few times I was lucky to skate with him how accessible he was to even this novice, though I would often reach a shut off point in my level of understanding the science! He was a teacher through and through who never held back in sharing what he knew.  It’s safe to say my relationship with and respect to ice safety before and after meeting him were two different animals. For those not yet acquainted…

Roberta

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On Nov 3, 2023, at 6:35 AM, 'marshaed' via VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Well said Vince. I thought you and others might enjoy this photo of you and Bob, north of the bridge.

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[Dr Jo]

Oh my, that's a great photo!  I have several of Bob and Vince together but none with Vince's million-watt smile quite like that.  And that ice - wowee!  But what does Bob have on his feet?  Knowing the date of the pic might help id that iteration of footwear?  Someone else reported he made his own in the early days.

Jo   

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From: 'marshaed' via VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2023 11:23 PM
To: Vince Rossano <vi...@rossano.me>
Cc: VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [vtnordicskating] Sad News

 

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[Kevin Boyle]

I am pretty sure I know when this photo was taken, Jan 5, 2014 just north of Port Henry. This was a breakthrough outing for me of sorts. I had posted a photo of the ice the night before, the thickness was only 1 3/4". Several people replied to say they would come the next morning to skate. The ice only gained 1/2" overnight but we skated it anyway. I think this was the first time I ever skated such thin big ice. Bob skates were the homemade units he had fabricated from an old pair of rollerblades. You can see Bob's jacket in this photo of skaters trudging across a wide band of rubble to access the new plate. I believe the other skates are Marsha and Ed hauling kite wings.

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[marshaed]

Yes Kevin, it was that day. A fairly long walk out on a rubble pile to the ice sheet.

We brought out the wings when you guys, in your dry suits, headed off onto ice less confidence inspiring to us non dry suit folks. It was all in all a great day on spectacular ice and in great company.

It's always good to have an alternative way to have fun on ice such as that! We love the wings.

Marsha

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