Ice-In 2012-13

[tis]

Island Girl, I found this in Wikipedia. It surprised me it was so easy to find this information-I thought it would be a lot harder. Apparently Emerson Aviaton starting calling ice out in the 1980s.


Ice-Out records have been kept since 1887 as a way to keep track of when both commercial and passenger transportation lanes became usable in the lake. In 1974, Dr. William K. Widgert compiled data from known records to create a list of past dates.[3]

Originally the Ice-Out designation was decided by people on shore. Later, for roughly 50 years, the call was made by Bob Aldrich, then, starting in the early 1980s, it was called by Alan Emerson. Since his death in 2002 it has been exclusively called by his son Dave.[2]

Ice-Out has occurred earlier on average in the last two decades of the 20th century and the first of the 21st century than in preceding decades. Culminating with a record early date of March 23 for 2012, as well as maple syrup season moving earlier over the same time span have led some to the conclusion global warming is involved.[2]

[edit]

[tis]

I also found this interesting. Mildred Beach talks about ice out. (Page 3)


http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1nd...m?referrerUrl=

[NYCtoLSP]

A bunch of bob houses had to be rescued off of LSP today. this one didn't make it...

[Bear Island South]

Looks like we will need our skates to venture over to our place.

[littlebearislander]

Has anyone made the trek from Harillas landing to the hole in the wall?

[mcdude]

Laconia Daily Sun 2/1

January thaw = bob house rescue time
GILFORD — Ice fishermen scrambled in mid fifty degree temperature early Thursday morning to rescue their bob houses from an ever-widening stretch of open water off from Ellacoya State Park.
''It's unbelievable. There's a seam in the ice right next to my bob house and yesterday I measured nine inches off ice there,'' said Jim Burgess of Gilmanton.
He was looking through zoom binoculars while sitting in the front seat of Al Bagley's pickup parked near the beach at Ellacoya, where a half dozen bob houses had been dragged close to shore, some with the aid a of a four-wheeler, and pondered whether or not to venture out to the edge of the ice some 300 yards away to try and bring in his bob house
Burgess' bob house was perched precariously on the very lip of the ice, right next to a 100-yard wide stretch of open water which extended from Dinsmoor Point to the south all the way north to Welch Island. A wind from the west was whipping up waves in the open water and was showing signs of gaining enough velocity to make any attempt to untether the bob house from its rope anchor and bring it ashore virtually impossible.
Burgess, whose bob house is well-known to other ice fishermen in the area for its excellent interior woodwork, had left all of his ice fishing equipment and ice augur in the bob-house overnight.
He put ice creepers on his boots, donned a life jacket and grabbed a coil of rope saying that he was at least going to try and get close enough to his bob house to better assess the situation.
He was joined in his journey out to the edge of the ice by Steve Powell and Jason DeCoff, both of whom live next door in Lakeshore Park and had been out earlier hauling their own bob house and several belonging to friends off the ice.
Burgess said that when they got to the bob house they could see water on top of the ice around and that Powell got right to the edge of the ice and was able to cut the anchor rope, allowing the trio to start pulling the bob house towards shore.
But there were some more obstacles on the way, including a strong gust of wind which nearly took the bob house over the edge of the ice, and the difficulty of the trio keeping balance on the wet surface of the ice.
''It took us awhile to get our technique down. I slipped and fell once because I was trying to get some traction and got my boots at an angle. Once you do that there's no way you can stay up,'' said Burgess.
As the trio got closer to the beach they were joined on the ice by two other men, who had earlier pulled a bob house belonging to Brad Cronin of Meredith ashore,and soon they were able to get the bob house safely ashore.
''I guess I used up my quota of bravery for the day,'' said Burgess, who then turned to Powell and DeCoff and said ''I owe you both one at Patrick's.''
He said that he will be putting his bob house back on the ice as soon as it the area freezes over again, which he expects will be within a few days.
At least one bobhouse is thought to have sunk when the water opened up during Wednesday night's heavy rain, an orange one which had been seen at dusk on Wednesday but wasn't visible Thursday morning.
The water opened up less than two days after ice-in had been declared on Lake Winnipesaukee by Dave Emerson of Emerson Aviation, who flew over the lake Tuesday morning and reported that the last open section of water near Welch Island had frozen over.
Emerson said he would be back checking on ice conditions after Thursday's high winds abate but expected with night time lows dropping to single digits it wouldn't be long before lake was covered once again.
The 4th annual New England Pond Hockey Classic will open this morning on Meredith Bay, where the ice is still 10 inches thick and the 21 rinks which had been created for the 1,400 players who have arrived for the tournament withstood the warm weather and rain.
Among those taking part is a team of eight players from Raleigh, North Carolina, who flew into Boston Thursday morning and showed up at mid-afternoon to check out the ice conditions.
''We just talked with Scott Crowder, who runs the tournament, and he told us things are shaping up fine,'' said John Rodgers of the Fun Unlimited team, which is competing in the over 35 Just for Fun group.
The players said none had has had any recent ice time and that they all skate in indoors roller hockey. One said that the last time he had been on skates at all was when he was 10 years old and joked that entering the tournament ''sounded like a good idea at the time.''

[Bear Island South]

A friend of mine sent this picture from yesterday, access getting on the ice at Cattle Landing may be tough.

[codeman671]

Todays picture from Mark- looking across to Camp Lawrence

[MAXUM]

Anyone know if there is a place to get on the ice between Shep's and Cattle Landing?

Thanks for posting that pic BIS, I am headed up tomorrow and I hope I can safely get on the ice somewhere in that general location. May be a futile trip but going to give it a shot anyways.

I know some folks last weekend were getting on over at Y Landing, but I don't think that area freezes to well and I'm not about to take any chances.

[Hamiltony]

Originally Posted by Bear Island South

A friend of mine sent this picture from yesterday, access getting on the ice at Cattle Landing may be tough.

I assume this is the shoreline just to the south of Cattle?

[Bear Island South]

Originally Posted by Hamiltony

I assume this is the shoreline just to the south of Cattle?

yes, adjacent to the dock.
apparently the circulator is eating the ice away

[Hamiltony]

Originally Posted by Bear Island South

yes, adjacent to the dock.
apparently the circulator is eating the ice away

Did they take any images on the north side of Cattle? Someone in this thread already mentioned that the ice was more stable in that direction, hopefully cutting through the small stand of trees on that side will lead to some solid footing.

[fatlazyless]

You know the new $125,000 Cattle Landing town dock, about one to two years old, is a floating concrete dock, and supposedly according to its manufactorer's website, using an ice-eater/water circulator is not really needed to protect it from the relatively thin ice present at that location, so maybe you could bring this to the attention of the Meredith D.P.W., and they would not need to be using the ice-eater there.

www.tmpmarine.com/pages/docks/docks.html

[Island Girl]

The power appears to be out on Rattlesnake Island. This means no Snake Eyes for a while. I hate when that happens.

IG

[brk-lnt]

Originally Posted by Island Girl

The power appears to be out on Rattlesnake Island. This means no Snake Eyes fora while. I hate when that happens.

IG

FWIW, I'm pretty sure it's out on Welch as well.

Bear Island appears to have power.

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by brk-lnt

FWIW, I'm pretty sure it's out on Welch as well.

Bear Island appears to have power.

The Welch Island Cove weather station is still operational:
http://classic.wunderground.com/weat...p?ID=KNHGILFO9

[Merrymeeting]

Took my first real walk out on Merrymeeting today, and talked to a few of the ice fishermen who were out (first time seeing them too).

Most areas seem to be 10+". Once the sun came up, and with no snow cover to absorb it, the ice began sounding like crazy.

[snowflake]

Looking at the various cams I can't tell if I see water or water on ice. Looks like a lot of open water to me. Massachusetts ground hog, Miss G, says 6 more weeks of winter. I hope she's right. Thanks for all the pictures of bob houses. Can't see them on web cams. Hope fishermen/women are having a great time out there.

[brk-lnt]

Originally Posted by Slickcraft

The Welch Island Cove weather station is still operational:
http://classic.wunderground.com/weat...p?ID=KNHGILFO9

Thanks. I was basing that on the fact that I haven't gotten any updates from ishoot308's web cams today, so I figured power must have gone out on the island. Maybe it's just a DSL issue, or something else.

[SteveA]

Still open on the Broads in front of LSP, in fact it looks like it's more open than yesterday.

Took this pano this morning just before sunrise looking down towards Diamond and Rattlesnake. Lot's of open water and what ice I could see looked like Slush Ice.

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by brk-lnt

FWIW, I'm pretty sure it's out on Welch as well.

Bear Island appears to have power.

We had power earlier this morning on Mark as I checked my cams, it is out now.

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by codeman671

We had power earlier this morning on Mark as I checked my cams, it is out now.

I guess I spoke too soon, I am back online up there.

[Sleepersbound]

The Echo Shores Web cam appears to be showing a combination of ice and possibly water or slick ice. With no activity on the cam, it's difficult to assess if the ice is safe for foot travel. Anyone have any info on this? Does Sleepers have power? Thanks.

[Mink Islander]

My wife and I made the trek out on foot this morning.

Looked a little tricky getting on the ice at the Cattle Landing docks so we went about 100 yds to the left where there is easier access just beyond the parking lot and cross street. A good 9 inches straight out from Cattle Landing BUT as you head into the channel (heading east) it gets very treacherous. The ice thins out to 3-4 inches or less and you will ultimately find open water and 3 inch thick plates of ice floating around spanning the entire distance between Dolly Island and the mainland. The effects of the recent high winds and warm weather very evident in this traditionally tricky area. We cut in behind Dolly Island and the other one there near Bear to avoid the channel area altogether and the ice was much better on the other side. Consistent 7-9 inches all the way to the north side of Mink from there.

Safe travels and hope to see some of you next week at the Derby!

[DRH]

Originally Posted by SteveA

Still open on the Broads in front of LSP, in fact it looks like it's more open than yesterday.

Took this pano this morning just before sunrise looking down towards Diamond and Rattlesnake. Lot's of open water and what ice I could see looked like Slush Ice.

Attachment 7432

Gorgeous photo, Steve!

[DRH]

Originally Posted by Sleepersbound

The Echo Shores Web cam appears to be showing a combination of ice and possibly water or slick ice. With no activity on the cam, it's difficult to assess if the ice is safe for foot travel. Anyone have any info on this? Does Sleepers have power? Thanks.

What you are seeing is ice all the way out to Sleepers Island. The thickness is unknown, unfortunately, and except for one ice fisherman at the mouth of Minge Cove this afternoon we haven't seen anyone out on the ice between Minge Cove and the islands.

Rattlesnake and Sleepers now have separate power feeds, so Sleepers may have power even when Rattlesnake doesn't.

[Petah]

Just got back from hours of skating from Pick Point near Barber Pole through the isthmus on Cow Island over to Harrila Landing. The ice skating was fantastic. It is about 6 inches thick of very hard black ice most of which is like glass. It was a great day on the Lake!

[NoBozo]

Originally Posted by Sleepersbound

The Echo Shores Web cam appears to be showing a combination of ice and possibly water or slick ice. With no activity on the cam, it's difficult to assess if the ice is safe for foot travel. Anyone have any info on this? Does Sleepers have power? Thanks.

I've been watching the Minge Cove (Echo Shores) WebCam for a few days. The "White plates" don't seem to move relative to each other. My guess is there is good black ice between the plates. 4 inches of black ice between them should be fine for walking. Look at the "verticle cracks" to make that judgement. You don't need a drill to tell how thick the ice is. NB

BTW: A little rain and warm air will help "Relax" the ice. Good.

[MAXUM]

So I hoofed it out once again to Bear this time leaving from Cattle Landing. I however was not quite as adventurous as Mink Islander and after taking careful look at that ice just to the south of the dock I said nah I'll pass on that. Just looked a wee bit to punky for me. These shots were taken BTW this afternoon aorund 4:00 PM.

I decided to hop on the ice near the side of cattle landing road right where the shore line starts to peel off from the side of the road and into that cove. Right there in the corner the ice was good and solid and if you head straight out from there good thick ice under foot. So I took the truck over there unloaded everything on the ice then parked in the cattle landing parking lot. I also checked behind the Shep's showroom, the excavator was moved out of the way but the ice there didn't look so safe either. I ended up talking to somebody that did get on there, again a little to adventuresome for me. With continued cold temps that may be firmed up more to my satisfaction by next weekend.

A word of caution, I did walk out as far as between the red and black top markers just off the BI post office thinking of walking through between Bear and Pine. I could not determine just how thick the ice was few cracks, black enough to see the bottom and a couple times it cracked under foot so I decided to back away and not do it. There was evidence that somebody took a sled through there but that's a little different as I'm sure who ever rode through there wasn't going slow or at least I hope not. The rest of the ice looked to be a good 6-8 inches or more and very solid. Watch out for the ice rifts out there, one really nice one is running the whole NE side of Bear right along shore, very active and very loud. All in all a great day to be out there. Just play it safe if you venture out!

First 4 pics from cattle landing in all directions, last is the ice rift right in front of my camp. Pretty cool, but was a little uneasy getting that close to snap that pic!

[SteveA]

Stopped down for some sunrise pictures. From big pier, as far as I could see the Broads are completely frozen. Photo here looking from Big Pier at LSP towards Diamond.



I stopped by Lincoln Park and Glendale, (didn't take any pictures) and it's locked up in those area also. Glare ice, I have no idea how thick.

[ishoot308]

From my deck I have a view of the lake from Lockes island to Diamond island. There does not appear to be any open water anywhere. Everything that was open yesterday froze overnight. Unfortunately my web cams are down on Welch but based on what I see that whole area looks frozen as well.

Dan

[Islander2]

Originally Posted by SteveA

Stopped down for some sunrise pictures. From big pier, as far as I could see the Broads are completely frozen. Photo here looking from Big Pier at LSP towards Diamond.

Attachment 7446

I stopped by Lincoln Park and Glendale, (didn't take any pictures) and it's locked up in those area also. Glare ice, I have no idea how thick.

Beautiful, Steve. Thanks.

[chachee52]

Originally Posted by SteveA

Stopped down for some sunrise pictures. From big pier, as far as I could see the Broads are completely frozen. Photo here looking from Big Pier at LSP towards Diamond.



I stopped by Lincoln Park and Glendale, (didn't take any pictures) and it's locked up in those area also. Glare ice, I have no idea how thick.

Must have froze last night because my sister is at our cottage and it was wide open yesterday at noon in the pic she sent me from the flag pole.

[KarmaGirl]

From Broadview this am. No open water and bob houses near Round Island.

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted by Sleepersbound

The Echo Shores Web cam appears to be showing a combination of ice and possibly water or slick ice. With no activity on the cam, it's difficult to assess if the ice is safe for foot travel. Anyone have any info on this? Does Sleepers have power? Thanks.

The open lead from Rum point to Sleepers froze over last night. Give it a few days...with hopefully minimal wind...and i think it will be permanent. At least as permanent as ice gets.

[Belmont Resident]

Originally Posted by Whimsey

The open lead from Rum point to Sleepers froze over last night. Give it a few days...with hopefully minimal wind...and i think it will be permanent. At least as permanent as ice gets.

It will get solid just in time for warmer temps and ice-out to begin.
Over all worst winter I can remember from an ex-snowboarder, snowmobiler perspective.

[Slickcraft]

I agree it looks like ice all the way out to Welch and down to Ellacoya.

Three bob houses south of Round but north of recent open water.

[secondcurve]

I recall about ten years ago taking the sleds from Moultonboro all the way to Alton. We traveled the middle of the lake right through the Broads and everything was quite solid. Can anyone remember the last time the ice was this safe?

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

I recall about ten years ago taking the sleds from Moultonboro all the way to Alton. We traveled the middle of the lake right through the Broads and everything was quite solid. Can anyone remember the last time the ice was this safe?

Two years ago (2011) the entire lake was frozen solid and safe. Made many trips across the broads from Welch Island to Alton bay.

Dan

[oldflounder]

These are some shots I took today. Pond Hockey at Meredith Bay, then Ctr. Hrb., Leavitt and Ahern.

[magicrobotmonkey]

Here's a panoramic I took at the PHC Saturday

https://plus.google.com/photos/10577...CL6hjLz0-ofAIQ

[Mink Islander]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

So I hoofed it out once again to Bear this time leaving from Cattle Landing. I however was not quite as adventurous as Mink Islander and after taking careful look at that ice just to the south of the dock I said nah I'll pass on that. Just looked a wee bit to punky for me.

As I said, there's plenty of ice if you head over towards Bear and then go behind Dolly Island (7-9 inches thoughout) - and I bring an ice auger to actually cut holes and check along the way. Not quite as adventuresome as you may think Maxum! It was helpful to have no snow on the ice last weekend so you really could see the quality of the ice as well.

I still would not advise passing directly through Cattle Landing proper for another week or so unless you're on a sled and moving along quickly (snow pending!). That area is always tricky and this winter's weird weather has accentuated that. Won't be surprised to see someone splashdown there if we get snow on Friday as predicted that will hide the risks there just before the Derby. I expect access at the Cattle Landng docks will be possible later this week.

Also, I swear by my Kahtoola micro-spikes. (REI, Backcountry.com, etc.) They are absolutely fanatastic on glare ice. Essentially a set of mini crampons. Very well designed, durable and very easy slip on/off as well. Way better than Yaktrax and similar IMO. A must have for current conditions.

[MAXUM]

[QUOTE=Mink Islander;198432]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

So I hoofed it out once again to Bear this time leaving from Cattle Landing. I however was not quite as adventurous as Mink Islander and after taking careful look at that ice just to the south of the dock I said nah I'll pass on that. Just looked a wee bit to punky for me.


As I said, there's plenty of ice if you head over towards Bear and then go behind Dolly Island (7-9 inches thoughout) - and I bring an ice auger to actually cut holes and check along the way. Not quite as adventuresome as you may think Maxum! It was helpful to have no snow on the ice last weekend so you really could see the quality of the ice as well.

I still would not advise passing directly through Cattle Landing proper for another week or so unless you're on a sled and moving along quickly (snow pending!). That area is always tricky and this winter's weird weather has accentuated that. Won't be surprised to see someone splashdown there if we get snow on Friday as predicted that will hide the risks there just before the Derby. I expect access at the Cattle Landng docks will be possible later this week.

Also, I swear by my Kahtoola micro-spikes. (REI, Backcountry.com, etc.) They are absolutely fanatastic on glare ice. Essentially a set of mini crampons. Very well designed, durable and very easy slip on/off as well. Way better than Yaktrax and similar IMO. A must have for current conditions.

I didn't have an auger with me and that ice right along the shore there was just to sketchy. Once out away from the dock yeah that looked good, but you're right on areas where there are narrow channels of lake between the islands and/or islands and shore. I love to go swimming, just not this time of year! Glad you made it out to your place safe, can't be to cautious.

I gotta get some of those spike things for my boots, dragging heavy stuff across glare ice with none is a whole lot of work! Just walking alone is bad enough, especially when you get a little snow on the bottom of your soles!

[CampChaos]

As of Sunday Cattle Landing is merely "skimmed" with ice and the landing in back of Shep Browns has taken but only about an inch of ice. Went from Levitt Beach through the inside of Pine and main land. The channel was about 6 inches. A reef has formed between Bear and Pine around the no wake zone.. Spoke with some fellow ice fisherman and said they ran into Fish & Game where they had been patrolling around bear, including the area between Cattle and Bear....safe enough for those guys safe enough for me.

Am going to launch my bob house this Thursday, will try Shep Browns first if not will make the voyage from Levitt Beach to Bear. Will post if I am able to get on at Shep's.

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by Mink Islander

Also, I swear by my Kahtoola micro-spikes. (REI, Backcountry.com, etc.) They are absolutely fanatastic on glare ice. Essentially a set of mini crampons. Very well designed, durable and very easy slip on/off as well. Way better than Yaktrax and similar IMO. A must have for current conditions.

Agree on the Kahtoola Microspikes:
http://www.kahtoola.com/microspikes.php

[Mink Islander]

From the North side of Mink Island. We had a visit by a local Bald Eagle Sunday morning who noticed I'd left a shiner on the ice after I pulled in my cusk lines on Sunday morning. Came swooping in to enjoy an easy snack.

pic are only iPhone quality so I couldn't get a decent shot of the eagle given the distance was a couple of yards.

[NYCtoLSP]

Does anyone know if the spots around Welch's, Ellacoya and LSP are still open water? It was hard to tell from Erika's cam, but it looked like it might have opened up again?

[Webbsatwinni]

Has anyone been around to the broads side of Rattlesnake, with the snow (fingers crossed) I would love to go over but based on reports, not sure if that is wise.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by NYCtoLSP

Does anyone know if the spots around Welch's, Ellacoya and LSP are still open water? It was hard to tell from Erika's cam, but it looked like it might have opened up again?

Yes it did! Excellent info here with aerial pictures from today still showing a large open water section in front of Welch Island!

http://www.wildnh.com/Newsroom/2013/...ty_020613.html

Dan

[NYCtoLSP]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Yes it did! Excellent info here with aerial pictures from today still showing a large open water section in front of Welch Island!

http://www.wildnh.com/Newsroom/2013/...ty_020613.html

Dan

Thanks! I wish we had that view all of the time!

[Timma]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Yes it did! Excellent info here with aerial pictures from today still showing a large open water section in front of Welch Island!

http://www.wildnh.com/Newsroom/2013/...ty_020613.html

Dan

Thanks for the (slightly depressing) info, Dan. That's certainly a much bigger patch of open water than I thought.

My friends and I hike from Glendale to the west side of Welch every year, but looks like we got hosed with no ice again this year. Brutal

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Timma

Thanks for the (slightly depressing) info, Dan. That's certainly a much bigger patch of open water than I thought.

My friends and I hike from Glendale to the East side of Welch every year, but looks like we got hosed with no ice again this year. Brutal

I am going to attempt a walking trip to Welch this weekend to reset my web cameras. There is safe ice (Please check for yourself) from the Gilford town Beach all the way out to the back / North side of Lockes island with 10+ inches as of last weekend. I am hoping the ice is safe enough beyond that to access the northern section of Welch. Of course I will be checking all the way... as soon as I see 6" I will be retreating quickly as my fat arse and thin ice don't go good together!

Be Safe!

Dan

[Greene's Basin Girl]

WMUR ( Channel 9 ) just showed a picture of open water near Welch Island. They wanted to warn ice fishermen of the danger since the derby is this weekend.

[NoBozo]

I have stressed that you should NOT venture out on the ice ALONE.

TWO People on a Snow machine IS ALONE. DON"T Do It...No matter how confident you feel about the ice. NB

[Island Girl]

Woo Hoo... We are back. It was the phone/ DSL.

I called FairPoint today and they send a signal to see if my phone was live, and it was. I was back to thinking the power was out.... I just looked and voila! Snake Eyes is back. I have no clue whether they recycled the DSL to the island or if a gremlin turned it back on.... But I am a happy camper

[Island Girl]

It looks like only one pic was sent.. Time to investigate further.

[NHgirl]

Does anybody know the conditions out on Ellacoya?

[winni for fun]

Any word on ice conditions heading from Harilla, and between Long Island and Cow Island?

[Winnisquamguy]

CONCORD, N.H. —The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is warning that some lakes and ponds that traditionally have been safe for ice fishing and other outdoor recreation are not safe this year.

Officials are advising people to use extreme caution and check the ice thickness for themselves before going onto any frozen body of water. Participants in this weekend's fishing derby have been warned to avoid shorelines and inlets where ice can be particularly dangerous.

The department says warm temperatures and high winds have affected ice formation, particularly on the state's bigger lakes.

Officials say aerial photographs show ice conditions on some parts of Lake Winnipesaukee are unsafe, including an area of open water near Welch Island.

Fish and Game Lt. James Goss says people are advised not to drive vehicles onto the ice because of the unpredictable conditions.



Read more: http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/Uns...#ixzz2KDc5DOtq

[Blue Thunder]

This is today's view from space....form your own opinion....
BT

[ishoot308]

From my deck this morning at 6:30 A.M. it appeared the open water had once again froze over. It was a little dark but still could see the lake fairly well.

Dan

[dpassmore25]

I don't live on the lake but I come up to snowmobile. I assume the crossing at Ambrose cove on trail 15 is safe? Any reason it wouldn't be?
Finally getting some real snow this weekend

[Hamiltony]

Any updates? Good ice, things melting, lotsa snow from Nemo?

[fatlazyless]

For an informative report on two 11-year old hockey players and a 56-year old, who ice-skated four & one half hours last week, on Wednesday, Feb 6, 2013, across the length of Lake Winnipesaukee from Center Harbor to Alton Bay - 30 miles, and the detours made necessary by large pressure ridges, suggest you read the story linked above from an Exeter NH newspaper.

That is a lot of ice skating, plus the lake ice is probably no-where near as smooth as skating the perfection of a Zamboni ice arena, plus the lake is so big that it could all get just a little bit overwhelming as one skates the distance. I thought about ice skating myself from FL-3 out to Timber Island and back, alone, last week and chickened out what with safety concerns and I'm a pretty good, strong ice skater.

Saw one individual from a distance of one half mile, out skating last week down the inside passage of Bear Island heading towards Cattle Landing so I suppose it can be done if you really really want to do it! Ice skating is sort of like hiking; no snowmobile, gas, registration, insurance, trailer, or pickup truck is needed; all u need is some ice skates.

[Merrymeeting]

This is one of the stranger years I've seen for ice formation in the region.

Like the spot on Winni that people have discussed, there is a section of Merrymeeting Lake that has refused to freeze this year. It's still open today.

The strange thing is that this is in an area that usually freezes solid, no known currents, and it's one of the deepest areas of the lake (100+ feet).

Perhaps that is the answer? Is the area on Winni that is still open a deep area?

[Webbsatwinni]

Is it me or are those snowmobile tracks on Snake eyes?

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Merrymeeting

This is one of the stranger years I've seen for ice formation in the region.

Like the spot on Winni that people have discussed, there is a section of Merrymeeting Lake that has refused to freeze this year. It's still open today.

The strange thing is that this is in an area that usually freezes solid, no known currents, and it's one of the deepest areas of the lake (100+ feet).

Perhaps that is the answer? Is the area on Winni that is still open a deep area?

Freshwater reaches its maximum density @ 39°F. For it to freeze its surface water must cool to 39F at which time it becomes denser then the underlying water and sink beneath them. This process will continue until the water at all depths is uniform at 39°F. Then the surface water can continue cooling down to 32°F and begin freezing.

So yes depth of water does play a factor in the top layer to freeze.

[cessnaair]

Originally Posted by Webbsatwinni

Is it me or are those snowmobile tracks on Snake eyes?

Looks like cross country ski trails

[Blue Thunder]

It's hard to believe that there hasn't been a post in this thread in nearly a month....
Attached is the crystal clear MODIS satellite photo from yesterday March 9th showing a completely locked in Winnipesaukee and a mostly open Sebago Lake. Its the first decent image in over a week due to weather and cloud cover.

BT

[Merrymeeting]

The ice fishing folks on Merrymeeting yesterday were reporting 24" before their augers were breaking through to water. About a 6" layer of snow, then a layer of slush/crumbly ice, then about 10-12" of solid ice.

Despite the current temps, it's going to be awhile before all this goes away. Looking like a relatively normal, early/mid-April ice out right now.