Winnipesaukee Ice Report

Irrigation Guy · 01-17-2011, 03:10 PM

The snow was soo light it was blown right off the tracks in the windy areas.

Webbsatwinni · 01-19-2011, 01:31 PM

Its fun this time of year to sit and watch the ice grow on the webcams. But once the lake is all locked in, we wait for people to post 1st hand how the ice is as it all looks the same on the cams.

That said, any news flashes? Thickness reports, Open water sightings, etc?

Lake Fan · 01-19-2011, 03:59 PM

We walked from 19 Mile Bay out to Whortleberry Island on Sunday 1/16. There were cars and trucks all over the bay and several had ventured out past the Graveyard as well. The holes we drillled out at the camp all had about 12" of solid ice in them, but no fish.

SunsetPointWentworth · 01-20-2011, 08:19 PM

I was over at the Groundhog Camp last night and Mrs. Groundhog said that the old mans eyesight was getting pretty bad and to put your $$$ on an early ice out.

hazelnut · 01-20-2011, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunsetPointWentworth

I was over at the Groundhog Camp last night and Mrs. Groundhog said that the old mans eyesight was getting pretty bad and to put your $$$ on an early ice out.

All other signs point in the exact opposite direction!

I like my winters cold and snowy and my summers hot and dry. If it were up to me we'd have 6 months of 80's and sunshine 6 months of 20's and snow.

robmac · 01-21-2011, 09:30 AM

I'd vote for that forecast Hazelnut.

JB Long Island · 01-24-2011, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hazelnut

All other signs point in the exact opposite direction!

I like my winters cold and snowy and my summers hot and dry. If it were up to me we'd have 6 months of 80's and sunshine 6 months of 20's and snow.

I'm assuming the 12 inches of slushy conditions we had over the weekend are now a thing of the past with the cold blast, but can anyone confirm the surface has now hardended up ? The shack is still on land !

Jonas Pilot · 01-24-2011, 12:13 PM

It all depends on where you're heading as far as the ice thickness. Shallower water like coves will have thicker ice than waters that are deeper and more effected by the wind. I was surprised the other day when someone said they came across slush. It's been below freezing for quite awhile.

Lakegeezer · 01-24-2011, 12:36 PM

In general, the problem is not having a safe thickness of ice. It is a foot or more thick in many areas and mostly safe everywhere. The problem is slush. It was created by the sleet storm we had last week. Think of it as a lasagna with 6-8" or so of snow on top of a thin ice crust, then 3" of water, then a foot of ice. When you snowmobile or walk on it, you frequently break through the thin crust and get wet. Snowmobiles bog down. The snow is insulating the water from freezing. On Sunday, it was really bad - after the -16F temperatures last night (in M'boro bay), and the wind, the crust is thicker, but the water is still there (as of Monday at noon). The snowmobile slush tracks are frozen all the way through the slush layer and have a thin layer of blown snow, so are pretty passable. If the water layer does not freeze before this week's storm, it may never.

JB Long Island · 01-24-2011, 01:12 PM

Thanks for the update LG -
I'm just hoping we get the top surface firmed up hard enough to move the bob houses around- this weekend was a disaster.
JB

FLAG! · 01-24-2011, 04:30 PM

If we can get all forum users to get out on the lake with a plow, perhaps we can scrape off the crap and save the rest of the winter's ice season!

JB Long Island · 01-25-2011, 04:09 PM

I'm guessing there was good progress on solidifying that slush and water over the past 2 days - any first hand reports on the surface conditions for bob house dragging before we get any more snow ? I think plowing 44K acres may be the ticket ! Many thanks ! JB

magicrobotmonkey · 01-25-2011, 09:19 PM

Winnisquam had nearly identical conditions as described above before this cold snap. I went out on it this afternoon and found 3-6 inches of solid slush, then another 3-6 inches of slush before I got down to the solid original ice. The crust on top is definitely solid enough for walking and snowmobiling. Not sure about bobhouses, though!

Lakegeezer · 01-25-2011, 11:09 PM

On Tuesday (1/25), the slush had frozen enough so that snowmobiles did not break through. Where they had, it is very solid and rutty.

RLW · 01-26-2011, 04:35 PM

Has anyone seen any of this

in Wolfeboro Bay????

Jonas Pilot · 01-26-2011, 05:22 PM

There looks to be about a half dozen bob houses in Wolfeboro Bay including a few out in the middle of the bay.

HomeWood · 01-26-2011, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lakegeezer

On Tuesday (1/25), the slush had frozen enough so that snowmobiles did not break through. Where they had, it is very solid and rutty.

That's good to hear. I hope it keeps freezing. It was like that two years ago and it made for miserable ice fishing. At least I know I'll get to put some miles on my new to me Arctic Cat.

Webbsatwinni · 01-26-2011, 07:47 PM

Any ice thickness updates, thinking of a lake ride this weekend and looking for updates?

Send updates please?

Formula260SS · 01-26-2011, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Webbsatwinni

Any ice thickness updates, thinking of a lake ride this weekend and looking for updates?

Send updates please?

I'm hearing the slush has firmed up from a few, no idea on Ice thickness Broads side though.

magicrobotmonkey · 01-26-2011, 09:23 PM

Just came in from a run up Winnisquam. Now there's not enough snow, if you can believe that! It's pretty thin on top of the frozen ice, makes for a rough ride. And if you're in high traffic areas, all that slush is chewed up and frozen into speed bumps! The trails on land are still gorgeous, though!

01-19-2011, 01:31 PM	#2
Webbsatwinni Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Lebanon Ct and Rattlesnake Island Since 2007 Posts: 610 Thanks: 180 Thanked 137 Times in 72 Posts	Any new update? Its fun this time of year to sit and watch the ice grow on the webcams. But once the lake is all locked in, we wait for people to post 1st hand how the ice is as it all looks the same on the cams. That said, any news flashes? Thickness reports, Open water sightings, etc?

01-20-2011, 08:19 PM	#4
SunsetPointWentworth Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: claremont/wolfeboro Posts: 155 Thanks: 114 Thanked 51 Times in 26 Posts	Inside trading... I was over at the Groundhog Camp last night and Mrs. Groundhog said that the old mans eyesight was getting pretty bad and to put your $$$ on an early ice out.

01-24-2011, 12:36 PM	#9
Lakegeezer Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Moultonboro, NH Posts: 1,678 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 354 Thanked 639 Times in 290 Posts	Slush layer is on top of much ice In general, the problem is not having a safe thickness of ice. It is a foot or more thick in many areas and mostly safe everywhere. The problem is slush. It was created by the sleet storm we had last week. Think of it as a lasagna with 6-8" or so of snow on top of a thin ice crust, then 3" of water, then a foot of ice. When you snowmobile or walk on it, you frequently break through the thin crust and get wet. Snowmobiles bog down. The snow is insulating the water from freezing. On Sunday, it was really bad - after the -16F temperatures last night (in M'boro bay), and the wind, the crust is thicker, but the water is still there (as of Monday at noon). The snowmobile slush tracks are frozen all the way through the slush layer and have a thin layer of blown snow, so are pretty passable. If the water layer does not freeze before this week's storm, it may never. __________________ -lg

01-24-2011, 01:12 PM	#10
JB Long Island Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 29 Thanks: 8 Thanked 8 Times in 3 Posts	RE: Slush layer is on top of much ice Thanks for the update LG - I'm just hoping we get the top surface firmed up hard enough to move the bob houses around- this weekend was a disaster. JB

01-24-2011, 04:30 PM	#11
FLAG! Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Upton, MA Posts: 112 Thanks: 44 Thanked 14 Times in 6 Posts	Slush If we can get all forum users to get out on the lake with a plow, perhaps we can scrape off the crap and save the rest of the winter's ice season!

01-17-2011, 03:10 PM	#1
Irrigation Guy Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Moultonborough, NH Posts: 484 Thanks: 89 Thanked 138 Times in 72 Posts	The snow was soo light it was blown right off the tracks in the windy areas.

The Following User Says Thank You to Webbsatwinni For This Useful Post:
lakefr (01-19-2011)

01-19-2011, 03:59 PM	#3
Lake Fan Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Whortleberry Island Posts: 123 Thanks: 16 Thanked 52 Times in 30 Posts	We walked from 19 Mile Bay out to Whortleberry Island on Sunday 1/16. There were cars and trucks all over the bay and several had ventured out past the Graveyard as well. The holes we drillled out at the camp all had about 12" of solid ice in them, but no fish.

The Following User Says Thank You to Lake Fan For This Useful Post:
Jonas Pilot (01-20-2011)

The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to hazelnut For This Useful Post:
Ryan (01-24-2011), Shreddy (01-21-2011), SPT13 (01-21-2011), trfour (01-21-2011), Winnisquamguy (01-21-2011), XCR-700 (01-20-2011)

01-21-2011, 09:30 AM	#6
robmac Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Nashua,Meredith Posts: 951 Thanks: 213 Thanked 106 Times in 81 Posts	I'd vote for that forecast Hazelnut.

01-24-2011, 12:13 PM	#8
Jonas Pilot Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wolfeboro, New Hampshire is my home, 24-7-365 Posts: 1,686 Thanks: 1,047 Thanked 336 Times in 189 Posts	It all depends on where you're heading as far as the ice thickness. Shallower water like coves will have thicker ice than waters that are deeper and more effected by the wind. I was surprised the other day when someone said they came across slush. It's been below freezing for quite awhile.

The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Lakegeezer For This Useful Post:
cappy56 (01-24-2011), JB Long Island (01-24-2011), Jonas Pilot (01-24-2011)

01-25-2011, 04:09 PM	#12
JB Long Island Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 29 Thanks: 8 Thanked 8 Times in 3 Posts	Lake surface I'm guessing there was good progress on solidifying that slush and water over the past 2 days - any first hand reports on the surface conditions for bob house dragging before we get any more snow ? I think plowing 44K acres may be the ticket ! Many thanks ! JB

01-25-2011, 09:19 PM	#13
magicrobotmonkey Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 160 Thanks: 42 Thanked 44 Times in 31 Posts	Winnisquam had nearly identical conditions as described above before this cold snap. I went out on it this afternoon and found 3-6 inches of solid slush, then another 3-6 inches of slush before I got down to the solid original ice. The crust on top is definitely solid enough for walking and snowmobiling. Not sure about bobhouses, though!

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to magicrobotmonkey For This Useful Post:
hazelnut (01-25-2011), JB Long Island (01-26-2011)

01-25-2011, 11:09 PM	#14
Lakegeezer Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Moultonboro, NH Posts: 1,678 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 354 Thanked 639 Times in 290 Posts	Getting better On Tuesday (1/25), the slush had frozen enough so that snowmobiles did not break through. Where they had, it is very solid and rutty. __________________ -lg

The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Lakegeezer For This Useful Post:
Cobalt (01-26-2011), JB Long Island (01-26-2011)

01-26-2011, 04:35 PM	#15
RLW Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Alton Bay on the mountain by a lake Posts: 2,023 Thanks: 563 Thanked 444 Times in 311 Posts	Has anyone seen any of this in Wolfeboro Bay???? __________________ There is nothing better than living on Alton Mountain & our grand kids visits.

01-26-2011, 05:22 PM	#16
Jonas Pilot Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wolfeboro, New Hampshire is my home, 24-7-365 Posts: 1,686 Thanks: 1,047 Thanked 336 Times in 189 Posts	There looks to be about a half dozen bob houses in Wolfeboro Bay including a few out in the middle of the bay.

01-26-2011, 07:47 PM	#18
Webbsatwinni Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Lebanon Ct and Rattlesnake Island Since 2007 Posts: 610 Thanks: 180 Thanked 137 Times in 72 Posts	Any ice thickness updates, thinking of a lake ride this weekend and looking for updates? Send updates please?

01-26-2011, 09:23 PM	#20
magicrobotmonkey Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 160 Thanks: 42 Thanked 44 Times in 31 Posts	Just came in from a run up Winnisquam. Now there's not enough snow, if you can believe that! It's pretty thin on top of the frozen ice, makes for a rough ride. And if you're in high traffic areas, all that slush is chewed up and frozen into speed bumps! The trails on land are still gorgeous, though!

The Following User Says Thank You to magicrobotmonkey For This Useful Post:
Winnisquamguy (01-27-2011)

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