You've never seen Canadian ice look so magical (PHOTOS/VIDEO)

Skating on Lake Winderemere (Larry Halverson/Facebook)

We all know winter in Canada is pretty damn beautiful, but a man in British Columbia has posted some photos of ice that will blow your mind.

Larry Halverson went skating on Windermere Lake, near Banff, last month and shared his photos of the magical experience on his public Facebook timeline.

In his posts, he said he encountered smooth, clear, untouched ice, “like making the first ski run through powder.”

“The ice was four inches thick. But the only place you could tell that was at the cracks,” he he wrote.

Halverson told Daily Hive he’s been skating Windermere Lake for the past 45 years, and he’s never seen anything like this.

“Of all those years this was the best, because the entire lake was as smooth and as clear as glass,” he said.

“We glided so effortlessly along, listening to our blades as they cut the ice surface. It was so magical to be out on unmarked ice – skating through nature’s art gallery.”

Cracks in the ice were crystal lines wiggling across Lake Windermere (Larry Halverson)

Skate marks on Windermere Lake (Larry Halverson)

Halverson has skated Windermere Lake with his wife and children for decades. (Larry Halverson)

Skating on Windermere Lake (Larry Halverson)

Along the way, Halverson photographed bubbles of methane trapped in the ice.

“Watching though about four inches of ice, you could see fish swimming in the shallows and then as you moved out into the lake it turned into a deep blue,” he said.

“The methane gas bubbles frozen into the ice would make us stop to admire their artistic patterns.”

Methane bubbles trapped in ice on Windermere Lake. (Larry Halverson)

More methane bubbles trapped in ice on Windermere Lake. Halverson described them as “tiny sculptures.” (Larry Halverson)

Even bird splats on the ice of Windermere Lake were rather artistic (Larry Halverson)

Here are some more shots from Halverson’s magical skate:

Skating on Windermere Lake (Larry Halverson)

Chisel Peak scrapping the blue bird sky with Windermere Lake in the foreground (Larry Halverson)

And here’s a video of Halverson’s skate:

In his post, Halverson described the day as “the best skate ever.” We couldn’t agree more.

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