01-04-2010, 03:05 AM
An aquaintance of mine lost a snowmobile throught he ice at Flaming Gorge a few years ago. It was a shock to all of us in the party that day as the ice was atleast a foot thick and many other machines ATVs and snowmobiles were running back and forth across the lake. We just happened to hit the wrong patch of ice.
I was put in charge of leading the pack (fat guy in front) so I headed for our pre-determined spot. The rest of the party started following me a liitle too close for my comfort so I stopped and told them to give me some space. With that one of them on a snowmobile started to swing farther out on the lake. I came upon a pressure ridge that I wasn't sure the ATV would make it over. Immediately on the other side of the pressure rige was a one foot gap covered with "CLEAR ICE". Front tires made it, back tires broke through but never-the-less made it across. At that very instant to my right I heard his engine sound like it was redlining. I looked over and saw the front skis on good ice and the rear of the snowmobile sinking below the surface. He had broken through an expanse of "CLEAR ICE" that was about 20' across. This "CLEAR ICE" was the result of that pressure ridge and the two main ice sheets seperating and then refreezing the night before. The "CLEAR ICE" was only an inch thick! He may have made across the "CLEAR ICE" had he not been pulling a home-built sled for all his gear. Fortunately, he made it out of the water safely as we stood there watching all his machinery and fishing gear sink out of sight. Needless to say, that put a real damper on the day.
Moral of the story; Ice conditions are constantly changing. Be very careful around pressure ridges especially if the lake is snow-covered. The Gorge was not snow-covered that day and the ice condition was completely visible. Even a light dusting of snow could have hidden that mennace.
One more mennace that many of us tend to forget is open water around the edges especially on reservoirs. When the sun begins to create runnoff faster than the water being left out of the dam can also cause a swim or drowning. Many times some well meaning individual will lay a plank across the open water to allow access to the good ice. As the day progresses, the open water expanse gets even wider and the plank is left floating. I witnessed this at Rockport about 10 years ago. Depending on the slope of the shoreline, it could be floating in depper water than expected. With heavy winter clothing on, swimming is not as easy.
Be Extremely Careful This Ice Fishing Season.
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I was put in charge of leading the pack (fat guy in front) so I headed for our pre-determined spot. The rest of the party started following me a liitle too close for my comfort so I stopped and told them to give me some space. With that one of them on a snowmobile started to swing farther out on the lake. I came upon a pressure ridge that I wasn't sure the ATV would make it over. Immediately on the other side of the pressure rige was a one foot gap covered with "CLEAR ICE". Front tires made it, back tires broke through but never-the-less made it across. At that very instant to my right I heard his engine sound like it was redlining. I looked over and saw the front skis on good ice and the rear of the snowmobile sinking below the surface. He had broken through an expanse of "CLEAR ICE" that was about 20' across. This "CLEAR ICE" was the result of that pressure ridge and the two main ice sheets seperating and then refreezing the night before. The "CLEAR ICE" was only an inch thick! He may have made across the "CLEAR ICE" had he not been pulling a home-built sled for all his gear. Fortunately, he made it out of the water safely as we stood there watching all his machinery and fishing gear sink out of sight. Needless to say, that put a real damper on the day.
Moral of the story; Ice conditions are constantly changing. Be very careful around pressure ridges especially if the lake is snow-covered. The Gorge was not snow-covered that day and the ice condition was completely visible. Even a light dusting of snow could have hidden that mennace.
One more mennace that many of us tend to forget is open water around the edges especially on reservoirs. When the sun begins to create runnoff faster than the water being left out of the dam can also cause a swim or drowning. Many times some well meaning individual will lay a plank across the open water to allow access to the good ice. As the day progresses, the open water expanse gets even wider and the plank is left floating. I witnessed this at Rockport about 10 years ago. Depending on the slope of the shoreline, it could be floating in depper water than expected. With heavy winter clothing on, swimming is not as easy.
Be Extremely Careful This Ice Fishing Season.
[signature]