Ice Conditions

[FLAG!]

Hi All, I am planning to come up next weekend (2/23) to go ice fishing with some friends. I'm wondering what the rain has done to the snow that was covering the slush. I'm hoping it was a blessing in disguise and all the snow compacted with the slush and will have a freeze solid before that weekend.

Can anyone up there let me know if they see this happening? To go where I want to go we'll need to snowmobile to get there and the past two years we've been shut down due to ice conditions. We're hoping the third time is a charm!

Thanks.

[Weirs guy]

I haven't been out since last weekend, but I think we all need to hope for a good freeze. I think this Sunday and Monday will raise heck with the slush, but it looks to be colder after that. If we don't get a good freeze we may need to drill extra ice holes to drain the water on top of the ice into the lake.

[SteveA]

Originally Posted by Weirs guy

If we don't get a good freeze we may need to drill extra ice holes to drain the water on top of the ice into the lake.

You crack me up...

Be sure you drill at least two holes.. one for positive pressure and the other for negative pressure. That way your sure to drain any standing water off the ice. Another thing... try to have the Positive Pressure Hole above the Negative Pressure Hole.

[Pricestavern]

If there is a low pressure system in the area, don't you run the danger of having the water being sucked up ontop of the ice?

[SteveA]

I have NO idea what either low pressure or high pressure does to the lake level.. ( I bet RB2 or CLA do know.. ) I made it all up...

I was just trying to joke around w/ WeirsGuy...

[searay220]

This Sunday Alton Bay is having there festival. Any word on if the conditions of the ice that will prevent it from going on. I have been looking foward to the fly-in, radar runs,bed races ect for several weeks. Do you think it's still on?

[trfour]

Here ya go searay; http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...3497#post63497

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by searay220

This Sunday Alton Bay is having there festival. Any word on if the conditions of the ice that will prevent it from going on. I have been looking foward to the fly-in, radar runs,bed races ect for several weeks. Do you think it's still on?

Another thread and the Ossippee Aviation web site are stating that the runway is closed so I would doubt highly on much of the on-ice activity.

[KonaChick]

Anyone?? Someone?? How are the ice conditions?? No one's answered yet.

[SIKSUKR]

I have not seen the conditions myself but the reports from the derby on Sunday having lots of water under the snow could not have changed for the better with all the rain of Tuesday's storm.

[hilltopper]

From what I've seen driving by Pemi, Wicwas, and Meredith Bay, the ice is still a slushy mess. Sorry, no first hand reports from the south side of the lake...

[CanisLupusArctos]

I have not been out on the ice since the last storm, but yesterday I got a good idea just by looking at it (and judging by what's on shore.)

There has been 31 inches of snow in the past 10 days, very little of which has melted. The last storm produced mostly freezing rain rather than regular rain (after 9 inches of snow). While some of this trickled down into the snowpack, several inches of it remained powder while another several inches of it was wet. The freezing rain created a 1/4-inch crust that water has not been able to penetrate easily.

Yesterday I noticed that the snowpack on the lake ice didn't budge, even when 30 mph NW winds blew. It held the same exact formation it's been in since it fell. This indicates the crust on top. I saw a few places where the weight of the crust caused a section of it to fall into the powder below, creating a white sink hole.

Sunday night and Monday, a rain storm is now forecast with temps in the 40s. This is not good at all since there is no way for liquid to be absorbed by the ground, and it will most likely make an even bigger mess of the lake ice. Although we're running out of places to put the snow, at least we can move it out of the way. Any rain we get from now until this snowpack melts will flow and pond wherever it wants... a much bigger problem. As I mentioned in postings on the weather thread, any rapid melting of the snowpack (by rain, or by warm weather) will only add more water to the situation.

We've had 5.73 inches of melted equivalent ("rain") since this month began, and almost all of it has fallen as snow or ice which means it's still there. Should our February snow melt quickly it would be like getting 5.73 inches of rain all at once. If the melt is caused by rain, add the new rainfall to the 5.73. That's just for the snow of the past 15 days.

For reference, the May 2006 floods produced 6.23 inches of rain over 5 days.

February began with 13 inches of snow already on the ground from before, which had turned to ice from previous rain saturation and compression by weight of new snow... so that bottom foot of our snowpack probably has the most water in it. And if that melted too...

[Weirs guy]

We also have to remember that if we put too many ice holes in to drain the water off the ice we could sink the ice all the way to the bottom of Winni. Then we'd have a real slush problem.

I would image that someone will plow as much of the bay as the can (maybe in an '07 Explorer...) and there will be some on ice activity. You know us country folk, someones gonna bet somebody they can get a truck out there with no problems. Good thing I don't have my plow anymore!

[Weirs guy]

We were out yesterday on Alton Bay (you know, never mind the ice at the bottom of my hill, we'll drive a half hour to check it!) for the Winter Carny and I was amazed how good the ice conditions were. I guess there was a little trouble Saturday with one car finding a slush hole, but we drove out with at least 20 other trucks/suv's/cars and there were no issues with slush, sinking or the like. There were also 2 helicopters and at least 1 plane landing and take off, so although we didn't measure the ice we were sure there was plenty. The ice was your typical winter windswept affair, some snow on top, some bare ice spots. Hopefully the rest of the lake holds up this well for the rest of the season!

[Seeker]

Lot's of rain today and tonight. Gonna be a toss up as to conditions until someone gets out there and rides.

[FLAG!]

I heard there was much more snowmobile traffic on the lake this Saturday than last. Must mean that slush layer is less of a problem. I would hope that the thaw/rain along with this week's projected more seasonable temps will make the ice very good for next weekend.

[CanisLupusArctos]

On the weathercam this morning there was a good deal of shiny sun glare on the ice for the first time in weeks. The mush has transformed into ice which is now more polished than it has been in a while, but there are still a few mushy spots.

[FLAG!]

looks pretty good if you ask me!

[Webbsatwinni]

We were out there today (around Rattlesnake) and the ice was very solid with minor slush. The issue was snow cover, there wasn't any. We tried to hit all the water to keep the sleds cool, but snow would have helped. We left around 1:30 and the snow was falling pretty hard (it was hard to see), that made it better, but more snow would help.

Everywhere we went, the ice was really solid.

[Lakegeezer]

I went out for a sled on Tuesday afternoon and couldn't find anything on the lake that wasn't solid. There are lots of frozen bumps, so you have to watch it and the ride may be rough. The only open water is around the bubblers. Winter has finally arrived. Spring is less than five weeks away.

[froggy]

Originally Posted by Lakegeezer

I went out for a sled on Tuesday afternoon and couldn't find anything on the lake that wasn't solid. There are lots of frozen bumps, so you have to watch it and the ride may be rough. The only open water is around the bubblers. Winter has finally arrived. Spring is less than five weeks away.

I need to go on the ice in the bay where the Kona boathouse is, soon. So, all are saying very safe top walk - no vehicle. Do I use snowshoes or XC skis for stability and safety? Or just go with hiking boots or such?

[Lakegeezer]

Originally Posted by froggy

I need to go on the ice in the bay where the Kona boathouse is, soon. So, all are saying very safe top walk - no vehicle. Do I use snowshoes or XC skis for stability and safety? Or just go with hiking boots or such?

The Kona area has some spots with just ice and some spots where the snow has drifted. We are having thaw/freeze cycles this week, so the ice will be crusty in the morning and soft in the afternoon. It compacted with last week's rain, so for the most part, boots will work fine. Snowshoes are overkill, but will be handy in the drifts, where there is still slush. XC skis will have trouble breaking through and be too skiddish.

[Pricestavern]

Originally Posted by froggy

I need to go on the ice in the bay where the Kona boathouse is, soon. So, all are saying very safe top walk - no vehicle. Do I use snowshoes or XC skis for stability and safety? Or just go with hiking boots or such?

Wife and I walked out to Rattlesnake from Minge Cove on Saturday. Had to turn around about 1/3 of the way there, go back and put on snowshoes. Without the snowshoes, every now and then one foot would break thru to the slush and we wound up with cold wet feet. The snowshoes let us float on the cover above the slush holes without breaking thru and their steel teeth were a Godsend on the sections where the ice was slick.

[froggy]

Originally Posted by Pricestavern

The snowshoes let us float on the cover above the slush holes without breaking thru and their steel teeth were a Godsend on the sections where the ice was slick.

My snowshoes have the steel teeth also. I'll have them in the car.

THANKS for the info, to both.

[GWC...]

Originally Posted by Pricestavern

Wife and I walked out to Rattlesnake from Minge Cove on Saturday. Had to turn around about 1/3 of the way there, go back and put on snowshoes. Without the snowshoes, every now and then one foot would break thru to the slush and we wound up with cold wet feet. The snowshoes let us float on the cover above the slush holes without breaking thru and their steel teeth were a Godsend on the sections where the ice was slick.

Another eight weeks, you should be able to boat over...


Taken at 9:30 AM on 4/17/07

[Weirs guy]

OK, so I feel bad for not posting this earlier since tomorrows snow will most likely bogger it all up, but what great ice conditions we have! Spent some time out Saturday and last weeks light snowfall has left a nice layer of traction on the sheer ice around the Weirs. Great for walking on, and if you wanted to skate it was very easy to clean off a rink. Our little itty bitty one quadrupled in size!

Hopefully this weeks snow will be light and fluffy!

[Formula260SS]

I was out on Saturday as well, Ice conditions are perfect. We went around Rattlesnake, up to Melvin Village, down to Alton Bay and back. Small pressure ridge at the south end of Rattlesnake and one before the Barbers Pole.

The few inches on Friday provided the cooling the sleds needed. The weather was great !!! Perfect

[escaped from NJ]

After two years of thinking about it - afraid that it wouldn't be safe- we walked over from Long Island to Little Bear on Saturday, spent the night and walked back on Sunday. I never thought "the most beautiful place on earth" could get any more beautiful but with the snow cover and totally clear night, it was better than even the most beautiful days in the summer! Did anyone else see the moon and stars Saturday night? To stand in the middle of the lake and look up was amazing. So, I went sled riding down the bank from the shore and onto the lake, wrote messages in the snow on the lake and made snow angels. We roasted hot dogs on the wood stove. I only wish I had brought my ice skates because the ice was perfect and I would have had the biggest skating rink in the world. Two of the best days I have ever spent at the lake!!!!

For anybody still thinking about it like we were, the ice is REALLY frozen from Harilla Landing over to Little Bear. It takes less than 15 minutes to walk it and with the 3 or so inches of snow on the ice, we didn't need anything special to make the walk. I can't wait to go back!

[FLAG!]

We had a great weekend ice fishing in the wolfeboro area. With 19 to 20 inches of ice we had no problems driving tucks on the ice from Brewster Beach. The fishing could not have been better either. We caught iver 40 lake trout in 2 days as well as a dozen cusk up to 3 pounds. Only a couple salmon. No rainbows though. The lakers were aggressive. I caught one over 3 pounds in less than 3 feet of water on a tiny emerald shiner I had set up for rainbows. I think maybe the rainbows are in deeper water now. I usually have good success in the shallows, but I usually fish earlier in the month than now.

[NHDOLFAN]

Hello All! I was wondering if anyone has ventured from Wolfeboro Bay to the Alton side of Rattlesnake. If so, how was the ice? I need to get to my cottage on Rattlesnake to retrieve something but want to make sure it is safe. If anyone is out there, I would appreciate any info.

[FLAG!]

Snake Eyes, I can't tell you about the ice beyond Barn Door, however I saw a truck with a flat bed and a backhoe head out to the islands from Brewster beach. We had 19 to 22 inches of ice wherever we drilled. We also had trucks out there without any problem. That being said, of course obey the golden rule and do some hole punching before driving beyond wolfeboro bay!

[Formula260SS]

Should be no problem, I was out there last weekend and the ice was fine, sleds buzzing around everywhere

[Webbsatwinni]

We were out on Rattlesnake for the past two weekends and had no issues. Everything was solid and there were no soft spots.

We carried off some heavy items that we wanted to get rid of without issue. There was a lot of sled activity and some good snow cover on the ice for the sleds. We went from the broads side of Rattlesnake to Wolfboro and Alton bay and everywhere we went was safe.

[K1RD]

Ice conditions for travel to Bear Island were good last weekend. Sat. 23rd, I took my scouts from Brown's Boat to the Mail Dock. Ice at Brown's was about 20". There are more pumps around the Mail Dock, we could not safely cross just North of it. We went North one more house and went up a steep hill. Not much snowmobile activity on the island. Weather was perfect for winter camping, 35 day and 15 night. I hear that there is another 12" of snow since we left Monday afternoon. There was at least 12" on the island before the latest.
Ralph