Ice Conditions

[DRH]

This past Sunday we took our snowmobiles out on the ice for the first time this winter, on the newly-fallen 10" - 12" of light powdery snow. We rode from near Minge Cove toward Smith Point, out around the northwestern end of Rattlesnake and down its north side, over to Alton Bay, down to the bandstand, back out of the Bay, northwest to Sleepers Island, around Sleepers and back to the Minge Cove area. Ice conditions were generally good, except for a number of ridges. We did encounter one small area that looked just a bit slushy southeast of Treasure Island, but it appeared to have solid ice under the damp snow. We did not encounter any open water in the areas we visited.

Anyone going out on the ice on a snowmobile or ATV needs to be very mindful of the numerous ice ridges (as well as the much-reported open water areas). Many of the ridges are 12" - 18" high, and there are also some fairly large chunks of ice near some of the ridges. All the ridges we encountered had low or flat areas where we could safely cross, and the ice around them was solid. If you go out on the ice, be alert to the many ridges. In bright sunlight they are easy to see but if the sky is cloudy, creating "flat" lighting on the ice, they could be more difficult to spot.

We did not venture over toward Diamond Island or across the Broads to Winter Harbor or Wolfeboro.

Has anyone ridden over the ice to Wolfeboro from Alton Bay, Rattlesnake Island or Treasure Island yet? If so, please let us know what the ice conditions are between Rattlesnake Island and Jockey Cove, between Moose and Barndoor Islands, between Ship and Moose Islands, around Sewell Point, and in Wolfeboro Bay. We'd like to ride from the Minge Cove area over to Wolfeboro this coming weekend, but we'd like to get an ice condition report first if anyone here on the Forum has ridden over that way yet.