Broad lake recon

[Kevin Boyle]

Dan just north of Willsboro point.

[Kevin Boyle]

I dragged Dan into a half baked plan of trying to find some skating in the Plattsburgh area to close some gaps in our Champlain tracks. Visibility was really poor due to a dense fog-like condition. Still it was obvious the bulk of the ice was snow covered there. I had stopped at Port Kent on the way. There was some exposed but poorly resurfaced ice. We headed south.

At Port Douglas things looked more optimistic but it was difficult even with binoculars to distinguish black ice from water. If it weren’t for the fear of beating into a headwind coming back we probably would have launched from there. “Let’s head to the tip of Willsboro point and skate north if we can”. Score!

We headed into that brutal north wind on 3” of new ice, quartering west, and funneled toward the NY shore by a long streak of water. The thickness dropped to 1 1/2” but we pressed on, making sure we had a place to escape. The thickness improved. We came upon beautiful plates of resurfaced snow ice mixed with lanes of 6” black ice (photo). Eventually the quality deteriorated and we stopped just north of the port douglas boat launch but closer to schuyler island. The downwind run back was killer. We stayed farther out, taking more chances for the smoothest ice.

Leaving Willsboro point we could see many long streaks of open water. Initially there was as much water as ice looking east, but conditions improved as we drove south. We stopped in Essex to do a recon skate from the ferry dock. The wind had increased to a level we couldn’t take so we bagged it. The ice conditions are so good off Essex. The wind is supposed to drop for tomorrow and there’s talk of picking up where we left off.

[Daniel Spada]

In my opinion, this is the place to be tomorrow. A tremendous amount of really fine ice, moderating temps and low wind speed. Here’s the track from this afternoon. https://www.gaiagps.com/public/kgPOaSnVSM2CGjvN5jk7dDiI 

There is good ice as far east as you can see from Willsboro Point. The open water Kevin describes extends from near the south end of Schuyler Island south about 3/4 of the way to Willsboro Point and runs in a NNW direction. If the Vermont folks could find a way west I believe you would soon run into this plate. It’s worth a try. Also, it’s worth coming over to NY to experience very smooth plates from half way up Schuyler South to Whalen’s Bay. Get it while you can.

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 1, 2026, at 15:59, Kevin Boyle <southern...@gmail.com> wrote:

I dragged Dan into a half baked plan of trying to find some skating in the Plattsburgh area to close some gaps in our Champlain tracks. Visibility was really poor due to a dense fog-like condition. Still it was obvious the bulk of the ice was snow covered there. I had stopped at Port Kent on the way. There was some exposed but poorly resurfaced ice. We headed south.

At Port Douglas things looked more optimistic but it was difficult even with binoculars to distinguish black ice from water. If it weren’t for the fear of beating into a headwind coming back we probably would have launched from there. “Let’s head to the tip of Willsboro point and skate north if we can”. Score!

We headed into that brutal north wind on 3” of new ice, quartering west, and funneled toward the NY shore by a long streak of water. The thickness dropped to 1 1/2” but we pressed on, making sure we had a place to escape. The thickness improved. We came upon beautiful plates of resurfaced snow ice mixed with lanes of 6” black ice (photo). Eventually the quality deteriorated and we stopped just north of the port douglas boat launch but closer to schuyler island. The downwind run back was killer. We stayed farther out, taking more chances for the smoothest ice.

Leaving Willsboro point we could see many long streaks of open water. Initially there was as much water as ice looking east, but conditions improved as we drove south. We stopped in Essex to do a recon skate from the ferry dock. The wind had increased to a level we couldn’t take so we bagged it. The ice conditions are so good off Essex. The wind is supposed to drop for tomorrow and there’s talk of picking up where we left off.

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Kevin Boyle
Linear Art Studio
518-593-6633

On Feb 1, 2026, at 12:14 PM, Kevin Boyle <southern...@gmail.com> wrote:

Dan just north of Willsboro point.

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Kevin Boyle

Linear Art Studio

518-593-6633

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