Max Westerberg fished on thin ice in his younger years without a second thought, once crashing into waist-deep water on West Rush Lake in Chisago County.
His core body temperature plunged while he scrambled to escape the icy water. In a panic, he ran to a random house for help. Lucky for him, the homeowner was there to open the door.
Such was the life of a self-described Hard Water Zombie before safety was much of a concern.
Westerberg coined the term after graduating from Cambridge-Isanti High School in 2005 and spending countless hours on the ice with friend Shane Schluck and other fishing zealots. Together they formed a popular Minnesota fishing page on Facebook while clinging to an edgy style that gave the "Zombies" a reputation for fearlessness on the ice.
Thirteen months ago, two key members of the group drowned during a November outing on Upper Red Lake. The Beltrami County Sheriff's Office determined that the anglers got lost in the night darkness and drove their four-wheeler into a two-acre swath of open water.
Suddenly gone were Melissa Marie Seidenstricker, 29, of Princeton, and Zeth Knyphausen, 28, of Stacy.
"It changed us. Period," Westerberg said. "You lose a couple of your closest friends and you think about it every time you go out on the ice."
