Vancouver figure skater dances atop frozen Widgeon Lake in stunning video

In the middle of winter, nothing is more gorgeous than crisp Vancouver mountain scenery dusted with snow and dotted with frozen lakes.

Until you add a national Canadian figure skater gliding and dancing gracefully over the thick ice.

[am2_see_also]

In a video shot by Vancouverite Bradley Friessen in February of 2015, retired figure skater Elizabeth Putnam dances atop a very frozen Widgeon Lake near Coquitlam. Utilizing a helicopter, Friessen captures the stunning mountain backdrop and Putnam’s gorgeous moves in one fell swoop.

But creating such a stunning video comes with challenges. Friessen told Vancity Buzz they had to wait for just the right conditions – that is, where the lake was frozen solid, but not covered in snow – and for clear skies.

“That morning, one of the big challenges was we had to wait for hours on the ground for the fog to break,” he said.

“In January and February, we have such short days in Vancouver so we were burning hours waiting for the fog to break that we were hoping to be up in the mountains.”

And then when the team finally got there, the drone they brought wouldn’t work, but Friessen’s fancy helicopter handling proved more than enough to create a stunning three minute long video.

Set to music by local Vancouver singer Delaney Kai, here is the gorgeous film:

[youtube id=”fBRH7VsrJcQ”]