Wintertime brings many outdoor recreational activities, none arguably as family-friendly as ice skating.

But lacing on a pair doesn't have to be a family affair. You can get a good workout if you happen to have access to a patch of ice and the willingness to don a few layers and push off, gliding and turning to your heart's desire.

I grew up on a farm in Central Montana, and we had a creek near the house that froze over, allowing my brothers and I the opportunity to skate all day if we wanted to.

We also had a house in the nearby town, and we were only a block from the outdoor ice rink, where I spent many afternoons doing laps (trying to perfect my speed skating technique) and playing pickup hockey with my friends.

The speed skating form allows you to build up speed and "cross over" your legs as you turn, enabling you to keep from slowing down too much and keeping your heart rate up for a nice, solid workout.

My first foray at hockey was memorable. Plenty of us had hockey sticks, but one of the older kids had fashioned a couple goalie sticks out of 1-by-4 stock. Needless to say, those sticks were a little cumbersome to handle, and usually the younger kids got stuck minding the net.

Sure enough, I was chosen for a "tryout" - meaning you're handed the stick, then one of the older kids lines up with the puck, and sends a nice, fast slapshot your way.

Wanting to appear fearless, I kept my eyes open the whole time, somehow anticipated the direction of the puck and managed to move the wooden monstrosity that way, deflecting the shot over toward the boards.

Tryout over - bam! You're a goalie.

I'm pretty sure I didn't face another shot that fast the whole day, and spent most of my time just trying to look past all the traffic in front of me and find who had the puck.

When the action moved to the other side of the ice, I would venture out and try to get a little closer to the action, until I remembered that skating backward toward the goal was not my strong suit.

And that inability to skate backward definitely hampered me when I got old enough to play something other than goalie. Eventually, I was able to practice enough that, with the hockey stick for balance, I could move backward and keep an eye on the action at the same time.

And that is what skating is all about - improvement for more enjoyment. I never did any actual figure skating, even though I had access to some figure skates (which I hated, due to the toe picks). They would send me reeling forward into a face plant each time I put too much weight on them, as my balance was clearly hockey-oriented.

Figure skaters endure grueling workouts in order to improve, and I am impressed by their amazing sense of balance, allowing them to do awe-inspiring twists and turns in the air, then float back to the ice and skate away and on to the next leap of faith.

Ice skating is what you make of it. Do you want to just get out there and show your young son or daughter what it feels like to glide across the ice? As long as you have some balance, your body will soon adjust. Your posterior may take a pounding in the interim, but a little negative reinforcement actually motivates some people to become better skaters. Then there are those people that jump on skates for the first time and look like they've been doing it for decades.

If you're looking for somewhere locally to lace 'em up, we have a state-of-the-art facility just off Seltice Way. Frontier Ice Arena has public skating on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Or if you are one of those fortunate enough to either own property with a frozen pond, or have a friend who does, you can learn the craft at your leisure.

And if you and your friends find yourselves in need of a goalie, just let me know.

You'll just have to provide the stick.