Spring ice
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Jamie Hess
Mar 11, 2021, 11:00:04 AM3/11/21
to NHNordicSkating, VTNordicskating, ADKNordicSkating
One March morning I got up at the crack of dawn and went skating on a
90-acre pond. It was 30 degrees out, the air was still, and the ice
was 6 inches thick. After skating I went to work. When I came home at
the end of the day, I went back to the pond to check the ice. It was
gone. The entire pond was open water. How could this have happened?
What happened was the sun came up, the wind started blowing, the
temperature hit 60 degrees - and the sun, wind and waves ripped out 6
inches of ice in a matter of hours.
March is the month when winter and spring are locked in battle. The
sun is high in the sky, the days are lengthening rapidly, and yet
there are vast reservoirs of frigid air in the Arctic, poised to spill
south into New York and New England. Ice still clings to our lakes and
rivers, but the seesawing temperatures can make it difficult to safely
take advantage of the skating season's closing days. Here are some
tips to help you enjoy Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and perhaps beyond.
1. Skate early in the day. On sunny days, the safest time to skate is
before the sun comes up. Even just an hour after sunrise, with
temperatures still below freezing, the sun is already attacking the
surface. Spring sun is so destructive because it rises more steeply
into the sky than it does in midwinter, and the higher it gets, the
deeper it penetrates the ice, instead of reflecting or glancing off
the surface. Here's what happens when the sun attacks the ice:
(a) Gray ice contains a lot of air bubbles which give it an opaque
appearance. It reflects a lot of sunlight back into space, which is a
good thing, but the rest is absorbed by the air bubbles, which become
tiny ovens that melt the bits of ice surrounding them. Each air bubble
then merges with its neighbors until the ice becomes mostly air and it
can no longer support your weight. You'll see the surface slowly
change color from gray (solid ice) to white (air bubbles). That should
set off alarm bells in your head.
(b) 'Black' ice has few if any air bubbles and it's virtually
transparent. The spring sun shines right through it and heats up the
water underneath. That heat rises up and destroys the ice's
crystalline structure until it falls apart into tiny pencil-shaped
shards. When the sun climbs high in the sky, black ice can collapse
suddenly and catastrophically.
(c) Snow-covered ice is actually the safest to skate on, because the
snow will reflect almost 100% of solar radiation. If you wake up in
the morning to find that you picked up an inch of fresh snow
overnight, that's a good thing, because you'll have more time to
skate.
(d) Even on a cloudy day, some solar radiation is still penetrating
the clouds and melting the ice. It just happens more slowly than on a
sunny day.
2. Know when it's time to quit. As soon as you launch, use your
testing pole to make sure there's plenty of solid ice underneath the
surface layer. (Sometimes only the top layer is firm, and underneath
it is nothing but mush.) Then use your smartphone to monitor the local
temperature, and plan to quit skating before it warms up above 32
degrees. If the surface gets soft, and your blades lose their glide
and start digging in, it may already be too late. You may end up
walking home, or even worse, taking a swim.
3. After an extended warm spell, allow extra time before you venture
out again. This week's warmth has turned ice surfaces to puddles and
slush. That's a large volume of water that will take time to refreeze,
and it's unlikely to happen in just one night. If the wind comes up,
we may end up with a lot of shell ice, as water will evaporate from
the puddles before it has time to freeze. The other potential hazard
is an unpredictable sandwich made up of two layers of ice with water
or slush in between. Depending on the thickness of the unfrozen layer,
our lakes could remain unskateable until Sunday morning or even
Monday.
4. Avoid rivers and anywhere there's a current. In addition to the
effects of sun, wind, rain and warm temperatures, the water moving
under the ice is constantly eroding it from below, 24/7. The
appearance of random black circles in otherwise gray ice, especially
in mid-channel, indicates that the ice has thinned to the point where
it's no longer safe, and you should abort your mission.
5. Even on a chilly morning, late-season ice may consist of only a
couple inches of solid ice on top of a much-thicker layer of mush.
Those couple inches on top will support you, but only until the sun
hits them. Beware of the ice fisherman who tells you the ice is still
a foot thick, because sometimes the bottom ten inches don't even
count. This is why ice testing poles are so much better than drilling
a hole and measuring the thickness. With a testing pole you can
quickly determine whether the bottom layer of ice is solid or not.
I've been surprised many times - not by taking a swim, but by probing
with my pole and discovering that the ice in front of me had no solid
foundation whatsoever. If that happens, do an immediate U-turn.
This is just a start. Feel free to add your comments and observations,
I'll be looking forward to them!
Happy skating,
Jamie
90-acre pond. It was 30 degrees out, the air was still, and the ice
was 6 inches thick. After skating I went to work. When I came home at
the end of the day, I went back to the pond to check the ice. It was
gone. The entire pond was open water. How could this have happened?
What happened was the sun came up, the wind started blowing, the
temperature hit 60 degrees - and the sun, wind and waves ripped out 6
inches of ice in a matter of hours.
March is the month when winter and spring are locked in battle. The
sun is high in the sky, the days are lengthening rapidly, and yet
there are vast reservoirs of frigid air in the Arctic, poised to spill
south into New York and New England. Ice still clings to our lakes and
rivers, but the seesawing temperatures can make it difficult to safely
take advantage of the skating season's closing days. Here are some
tips to help you enjoy Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and perhaps beyond.
1. Skate early in the day. On sunny days, the safest time to skate is
before the sun comes up. Even just an hour after sunrise, with
temperatures still below freezing, the sun is already attacking the
surface. Spring sun is so destructive because it rises more steeply
into the sky than it does in midwinter, and the higher it gets, the
deeper it penetrates the ice, instead of reflecting or glancing off
the surface. Here's what happens when the sun attacks the ice:
(a) Gray ice contains a lot of air bubbles which give it an opaque
appearance. It reflects a lot of sunlight back into space, which is a
good thing, but the rest is absorbed by the air bubbles, which become
tiny ovens that melt the bits of ice surrounding them. Each air bubble
then merges with its neighbors until the ice becomes mostly air and it
can no longer support your weight. You'll see the surface slowly
change color from gray (solid ice) to white (air bubbles). That should
set off alarm bells in your head.
(b) 'Black' ice has few if any air bubbles and it's virtually
transparent. The spring sun shines right through it and heats up the
water underneath. That heat rises up and destroys the ice's
crystalline structure until it falls apart into tiny pencil-shaped
shards. When the sun climbs high in the sky, black ice can collapse
suddenly and catastrophically.
(c) Snow-covered ice is actually the safest to skate on, because the
snow will reflect almost 100% of solar radiation. If you wake up in
the morning to find that you picked up an inch of fresh snow
overnight, that's a good thing, because you'll have more time to
skate.
(d) Even on a cloudy day, some solar radiation is still penetrating
the clouds and melting the ice. It just happens more slowly than on a
sunny day.
2. Know when it's time to quit. As soon as you launch, use your
testing pole to make sure there's plenty of solid ice underneath the
surface layer. (Sometimes only the top layer is firm, and underneath
it is nothing but mush.) Then use your smartphone to monitor the local
temperature, and plan to quit skating before it warms up above 32
degrees. If the surface gets soft, and your blades lose their glide
and start digging in, it may already be too late. You may end up
walking home, or even worse, taking a swim.
3. After an extended warm spell, allow extra time before you venture
out again. This week's warmth has turned ice surfaces to puddles and
slush. That's a large volume of water that will take time to refreeze,
and it's unlikely to happen in just one night. If the wind comes up,
we may end up with a lot of shell ice, as water will evaporate from
the puddles before it has time to freeze. The other potential hazard
is an unpredictable sandwich made up of two layers of ice with water
or slush in between. Depending on the thickness of the unfrozen layer,
our lakes could remain unskateable until Sunday morning or even
Monday.
4. Avoid rivers and anywhere there's a current. In addition to the
effects of sun, wind, rain and warm temperatures, the water moving
under the ice is constantly eroding it from below, 24/7. The
appearance of random black circles in otherwise gray ice, especially
in mid-channel, indicates that the ice has thinned to the point where
it's no longer safe, and you should abort your mission.
5. Even on a chilly morning, late-season ice may consist of only a
couple inches of solid ice on top of a much-thicker layer of mush.
Those couple inches on top will support you, but only until the sun
hits them. Beware of the ice fisherman who tells you the ice is still
a foot thick, because sometimes the bottom ten inches don't even
count. This is why ice testing poles are so much better than drilling
a hole and measuring the thickness. With a testing pole you can
quickly determine whether the bottom layer of ice is solid or not.
I've been surprised many times - not by taking a swim, but by probing
with my pole and discovering that the ice in front of me had no solid
foundation whatsoever. If that happens, do an immediate U-turn.
This is just a start. Feel free to add your comments and observations,
I'll be looking forward to them!
Happy skating,
Jamie
Martha Cochran
Mar 11, 2021, 12:48:58 PM3/11/21
to Jamie Hess, NHNordicSkating, VTNordicskating, ADKNordicSkating
Jamie, thanks for your excellent scientific explanations. You are a great teacher of ice and how it acts and when it isn't safe.
I remember the time you took some of us skating in the morning on Lake Morey on april 8th - before it got too warm.
You told us that when the lake is no longer making noises when you skate, it means it has gotten soft underneath. And no longer reflecting sounds. And around 11 am it got very quiet so we all got off the lake. Morey was all open water the next day.
Martha
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Mar...@ellawayinc.com
Mar 11, 2021, 1:34:01 PM3/11/21
to VTNordicskating
Excellent and timely advise Jamie, thanks.
Devon Dougall
Mar 11, 2021, 3:07:12 PM3/11/21
to Jamie Hess, NHNordicSkating, VTNordicskating, ADKNordicSkating
Great advice, thanks Jamie. And Martha, thank you for sharing about how when the ice is quiet, it's time to get off.
I've been saving all the pertinent posts this season and hope to reread and utilize the information for the next season. Greatly appreciated!
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Bob DIll
Mar 15, 2021, 3:58:16 PM3/15/21
to Jamie Hess, NHNordicSkating, VTNordicskating, ADKNordicSkating
Hi Jamie,
Well put
Well put
Bob
Well put
Well put
Bob
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Daniel Spada
Mar 15, 2021, 4:17:20 PM3/15/21
to Phil Brown, Bob DIll, Jamie Hess, NHNordicSkating, VTNordicskating, ADKNordicSkating
Phil,
Two sources that I know of:
and:
Supplies have been low.
Dan
On Mon, Mar 15, 2021 at 4:03 PM 'Phil Brown' via ADKNordicSkating <adknordi...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Where can you buy testing poles? How much are they?
Phil Brown
Lost Pond Press
Saranac Lake, NY
518-354-3218
> On Mar 15, 2021, at 3:58 PM, Bob DIll <bobdi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Jamie,
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ADKNordicSkating" group.
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> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/adknordicskating/8E162F8C-F490-4C66-89C2-E37E5653CBD7%40gmail.com.
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Kevin Boyle
Mar 15, 2021, 4:25:29 PM3/15/21
to Phil Brown, Bob DIll, Jamie Hess, NHNordicSkating, VTNordicskating, ADKNordicSkating
I made a bunch of wooden ones that I sold this season for a suggested donation of 50.00 to my favorite not for profit, The Depot Theatre. These are typically used individually as opposed to commercial testers that are useful for double polling. Wooden test poles in my opinion are superior for testing though and they look stylish. I plan to make more before next season. I’ve also thought about having extra tips fabricated to sell to folks who want to adapt their own handle. Email me if you have interest.
Photo of my own collection, various dimensions and wood species.
Kevin Boyle
Linear Art Studio
518-593-6633
Photo of my own collection, various dimensions and wood species.
Kevin Boyle
Linear Art Studio
518-593-6633
Daniel Spada
Mar 15, 2021, 4:53:55 PM3/15/21
to Kevin Boyle, Phil Brown, Bob DIll, Jamie Hess, VTNordicskating, ADKNordicSkating
I never thought of suggesting using an ice pike Kevin. Good catch!
Phil, I switched to an ice pike (homemade) rather than ice poles early last season for several reasons. Ice poles and pikes are used for the same reasons, which are to:
-check ice thickness
-judge ice strength
-aid in self-rescue and possibly in the rescue of others
-aid balance in rough ice conditions
-aid in propelling yourself into a headwind
-enhance upper body exercise
In my opinion the first three are the most important and can be done with equal utility with either ice poles or an ice pike. Which to use is a personal decision based on the reasons
most important for you. Ice pikes are
not as effective as ice poles when aiding balance or propelling yourself. However, I think that you can rely too heavily on using ice poles like ski poles for cross country
skiing. In my opinion, I think that such reliance may slow down the development of a very good, strong skater for two reasons. First, there is too much reliance on the poles
to propel and therefore good skating form is not practiced and leg strength is
not developed. Second, reliance on ice poles for balance doesn’t allow your
brain to fully practice balance and rely on your inborn balance
physiology. The best thing I ever did to
enhance my development as a skater and increase my strength was to switch from
ice poles to an ice pike. Having said
that, after a slight ankle sprain early this season, I did switch back to
poles for a short while to help stabilize my ankles and to aid going over rough ice. Also, when I know I'm going to get beat up by skating a strong headwind over long distance, I will use ice poles.
In any case, ice poles or an ice pike are essential no matter which one you decide to use. I'm glad you're going to make the investment.
Regards,
Dan
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Pam Pearson
Mar 15, 2021, 5:13:04 PM3/15/21
to Daniel Spada, Kevin Boyle, Phil Brown, Bob DIll, Jamie Hess, VTNordicskating, ADKNordicSkating
Dan put this difference perfectly! Can only add two comments:
— Leaders of Swedish groups almost always carry wooden pikes, not poles. Although there are “kombi” poles to fulfill both functions, it’s hard to combine the strength of a good wooden testing pike with the light weight you want in poles. Nothing like the feel and strength of wood — Kevin, yours are beautiful!
— Hear-hear on not relying too much on poles! The classic stance of a skater over here is with the poles nestled together and held diagonally across your body, with your weight shifting slowly and rhythmically side to side with your stride. The entire upper body is very “quiet.” Poles only come out on very uneven ice, and you’ll often hear good-natured complaints about new skaters waving them frantically all over the place and almost putting somebody’s eye out. :-)
Happy skating to those who still can find it, safely!
Pam
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/vtnordicskating/CANzbVCkbP6VGZ8h0LZ%2B54UY3pyFDPymHviSke2R5w_zcykHMtQ%40mail.gmail.com.
Dan Spada
Mar 15, 2021, 5:30:58 PM3/15/21
to Pam Pearson, Kevin Boyle, Phil Brown, Bob DIll, Jamie Hess, VTNordicskating, ADKNordicSkating
Kevin’s photos don’t do justice to his pikes. They are truly beautiful and functional works of art.
Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 15, 2021, at 17:13, Pam Pearson <pampea...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Dan put this difference perfectly! Can only add two comments:
Dr Jo
Mar 15, 2021, 5:51:36 PM3/15/21
to VTNordicskating, ADKNordicSkating
The points (haha) shared here are all well taken.
While it would be nice for everyone to develop excellent skate technique and balance, those differ among people so it's helpful to consider the benefits of each choice according to an individual skater's need.
Double poles do help with... wait for it... double poling through rough ice. I imagine the single-pike folks work something out like lending each other pikes as needed in a dicier situation.
On average, how does the weight of a single wooden pike compare to one or two manufactured poles? Anyone ever break their wooden poles?
And shall we begin another discussion about holding poles cross-body in front or in back, or against one's side, with tips pointed down or up, or forward or back? There are a lot of new people on the list who haven't yet enjoyed that discussion. ;)
Jo
From: 'Pam Pearson' via VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2021 5:12 PM
To: Daniel Spada <spada...@gmail.com>
Cc: Kevin Boyle <southern...@gmail.com>; Phil Brown <adke...@icloud.com>; Bob DIll <bobdi...@gmail.com>; Jamie Hess <nordi...@gmail.com>; VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com>; ADKNordicSkating <adknordi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [vtnordicskating] Spring ice
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2021 5:12 PM
To: Daniel Spada <spada...@gmail.com>
Cc: Kevin Boyle <southern...@gmail.com>; Phil Brown <adke...@icloud.com>; Bob DIll <bobdi...@gmail.com>; Jamie Hess <nordi...@gmail.com>; VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com>; ADKNordicSkating <adknordi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [vtnordicskating] Spring ice
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Kevin Boyle
Mar 15, 2021, 6:17:43 PM3/15/21
to Dr Jo, VTNordicskating, ADKNordicSkating
I have figured out a work around for double polling on rough ice with a single pike. As long as the point is sharp a canoe paddle stroke is very effective. Earlier this season I was on the narrowest of sidewalks adjacent to open water and changed to straddle polling. It worked but there does seem to be some
risk for guys.
If the going gets really tough like three dimensional rubble bands I take off my blades and put micro spikes on.
The only time I borrow a pole is for pressure ridges with a really long stretch which we encounter on Champlain often. Two poles are helpful maintaining balance with one on each side of the ridge jammed into good ice.
Kevin Boyle
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/adknordicskating/BL0PR04MB5154C7857EB509E3786ABB57836C9%40BL0PR04MB5154.namprd04.prod.outlook.com.
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