Open Water In Calgary...dangerous Ice Conditions

[Guest Sundancefisher]

Very strange. The lake associations are refusing to open the lakes due to "unsafe" ice conditions... Open water... etc.

 

Given the ice seems to be about 12 inches thick it is surprising turn of events.

 

Near as I can tell the ice is being weighed down by snow and when pressure cracks form there is water forced on top of the ice. This gives the illusion of unsafe ice and the lakes are refusing to open.

 

Very strange.

 

Cheers

 

Sun

[SanJuanWorm]

Well thats what you get when soccer moms are running the housing authorities.

[agbff]

yeah but what would this world be with out soccer moms?!

[Guest 420FLYFISHIN]

if you assume that 99% of the people around you are idiots then you will be right almost 100% of the time....

[bigbowtrout]

[bigbowtrout]

[birchy]

Yeah, the ice would be fine right now after this damn cold snap!!

 

Reminds me of when I was younger.. used to invite friends over to skate on the lake behind my grandparents place.

 

One time, a few of the parents asked "is the ice safe?" (this was like the middle of february) and I said "yes". "Are you sure?" "Well, my grandfather says it safe and well, he knows these things." "Well, we don't want to send our kids over unless you check it.." FINE!

 

Run down to the lake and start hacking through.. finally get to the water. Stick my arm down just about to my armpit before I can wrap my fingers around the bottom of the ice..

 

Run back up and call the parents back.. "yeah, there's like 19 inches of ice.. that's enough to drive a tank on.. can your kids come over and skate now?"

[duanec]

lac bonavista has similar 'err on the side of caution' rules. remember the 'soccer moms' are carrying considerable public liability here...i recall talking to someone a few yrs ago who told me it had to be min. 16" before they would consider driving the zamboni out, which is by default when they 'allow' residents out onto the open ice.

they have no control over lake-front residents creating thier own rinks on the ice in front of thier own houses, but for pleebs like me i get to wait until someone gets the ok that the zamboni isn't going to end up at the bottom of the lake.

and so...i wait...

but i expect that it will be happening any day as it's got to be thick now, it's going to warm up a bit and all the xmas crowds will be pressuring to get out for a skate.

[Guest Sundancefisher]

The Midnapore office said the lake guy went out and saw a big hole with fish swimming around...

 

That is a good fishing story. They must of been eating emerging chironimids...

 

If all lakes in Calgary have less than 10 inches of ice even with the insulating snow cover...I would be very very surprised...

 

I almost think they do not start spending money on opening until a fuss is created at times.

 

[Brownstone]

I spent more than enough time on the ice growing up, and I can tell you 8 inches of ice is more than enough for a small group of people to skate, play hockey, fish, snowmobile etc. provided its good ice, blue in color rather than whitish. rule of thumb we use to use for vehicles was about a foot, depending on how fast you were driving you may require more.

 

 

[Guest Sundancefisher]

I think erring on the side of caution is very important...especially in winter. I think that when people see water at surface they figure danger without really understanding the ice conditions.

 

We have had so much snow this year that it is very new to some insofar as the effects on ice weight and thickness.

 

I just need to kill perch...got the itch.

[bhurt]

lac bonavista has similar 'err on the side of caution' rules. remember the 'soccer moms' are carrying considerable public liability here...i recall talking to someone a few yrs ago who told me it had to be min. 16" before they would consider driving the zamboni out, which is by default when they 'allow' residents out onto the open ice.

they have no control over lake-front residents creating thier own rinks on the ice in front of thier own houses, but for pleebs like me i get to wait until someone gets the ok that the zamboni isn't going to end up at the bottom of the lake.

and so...i wait...

but i expect that it will be happening any day as it's got to be thick now, it's going to warm up a bit and all the xmas crowds will be pressuring to get out for a skate.

 

Dune,

 

I went by the lake office (Lake Bonavista) and asked them about this after I read you reply a couple of days ago and was told that if I wanted to go out onto the ice I could but they were not resposable for anyone falling into the lake, hence all the signs around that say DANGER THIN ICE. I remeber as a kid I use to always go out undernether the inn and one of us would always fall in, man where we ever stupid.

 

As for the Xmas crowd I guess that is why they flood the basketball rink. I personally can't skate as I am warm blooded and maybe wore skates once or twice in my life.

[CDone]

Dune,

 

I remeber as a kid I use to always go out undernether the inn and one of us would always fall in, man where we ever stupid.

I remember pulling my little brother out from under the ice 30 some odd years ago, very scary, think it was probably late January as we had been ice fishing for quite a while. I wonder if they've come up with a way to close that area in.

 

Colin

[Guest RedWiggler]

Mackenzie Lake is open for ice fishing, but not for skating. There must have been 20 people out there today plus I saw about 6 ice fishing huts as well.

 

PS: CANT SKATE, LOL. YOU SHOULD BE THROWN OUT OF CANADA!!!!

[bhurt]

I remember pulling my little brother out from under the ice 30 some odd years ago, very scary, think it was probably late January as we had been ice fishing for quite a while. I wonder if they've come up with a way to close that area in.

 

Colin

 

Not really sure how you could fence that area off under the inn its a pretty big area and 50 yards out from under the inn is soild ice.

 

I remeber one year takin my GT snowracer and going down the hill at like mac 1 and shooting out across the frozen beach and out on the lake.

[duanec]

Dune,

I went by the lake office (Lake Bonavista) and asked them about this after I read you reply a couple of days ago and was told that if I wanted to go out onto the ice I could but they were not resposable for anyone falling into the lake, hence all the signs around that say DANGER THIN ICE.

tnx bhurt.

but they also have a sign posted at the gates that says 'no ice fishing due to unsafe ice conditions' [sign was still there sat.], so i've been hesitating to try to show up there with my gear only to get turned away by the 'rules is rules' help who typically works the gates. the office staff are a little more resonable, but they are not always avaliable to 'clarify' things.

i went thru a similar ordeal one day last summer when it was raining - the dude at the gate was not going to give me a boat as it was 'unsafe' to boat in the rain. fortunately i convinced him to call someone else and eventually i got permission to get out and had a 30 fish day.

 

might give'r a go this weekend anyways. i need some meat for the smoker and expect that the fishing will be stellar right now.

[bhurt]

tnx bhurt.

but they also have a sign posted at the gates that says 'no ice fishing due to unsafe ice conditions' [sign was still there sat.], so i've been hesitating to try to show up there with my gear only to get turned away by the 'rules is rules' help who typically works the gates. the office staff are a little more resonable, but they are not always avaliable to 'clarify' things.

i went thru a similar ordeal one day last summer when it was raining - the dude at the gate was not going to give me a boat as it was 'unsafe' to boat in the rain. fortunately i convinced him to call someone else and eventually i got permission to get out and had a 30 fish day.

 

might give'r a go this weekend anyways. i need some meat for the smoker and expect that the fishing will be stellar right now.

 

I have had simliar problems with the guard at the main gate, one day I forgot my license with all my main stuff and he wasn't going to let me fish in the lake without it, until I got someone from the office to come out and say I didn't need one for a private lake.

 

As for the rain and ice conditions I don't mind it too much as it is good to see someone looking for me as beeing in a rain storm with lightning those tin boats they have there might be a death trap, and I would hate to be the person that said yeah go ahead and go ice fishing and then have someone fall in and die.