Northeast kingdom ice!
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Evan Perkins
Dec 12, 2021, 8:35:53 AM12/12/21
to VTNordicskating
Just about every body of water that was frozen before the storm has come through with a very nice textured surface, great for skating. Definitely some bands of non-textured smooth black ice also glistening in the sun. I have not found any shell ice anywhere as the wind blew all of the water off of the ice or evaporated it. The surface is hard in the cold spots and in the higher elevation ponds as it has been below freezing for several hours now.
That being said just about every body of water will have weak spots particularly at inflows and outflows in shallow areas. Bringing a board with you if you were going to skate would be a good idea because there was quite a bit of rain which thinned the ice along the shorelines. There are probably hundreds of bodies of water in northern Vermont and New Hampshire with good quality Skating ice today. It is a good day for lots of ice checking as the thin ice near inflows and outflows and open holes has all expanded. The warm weather and rain probably melted about 3/4 of an inch of ice so any areas that were marginal before are probably too thin now. Many of the swamps and ponds had 4 to 5 inches of ice before the thaw so they still have plenty of margin for error even with warming temps today. Given the wind forecast it’s probably a good day to explore the smaller bodies of water which will offer someone protection.
A few bodies of water that I think will be good because I have recently been on them are as follows: Styles Pond, Saint Johnsbury Vermont. Joe’s pond Danville Vermont. Mollies falls reservoir Marshfield Vermont. Groton lake, Groton Vermont? Symes Pond Ryegate Vermont. Forest Lake Whitefield New Hampshire. Burns pond Whitefield New Hampshire. Be safe out there and happy Skating.
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That being said just about every body of water will have weak spots particularly at inflows and outflows in shallow areas. Bringing a board with you if you were going to skate would be a good idea because there was quite a bit of rain which thinned the ice along the shorelines. There are probably hundreds of bodies of water in northern Vermont and New Hampshire with good quality Skating ice today. It is a good day for lots of ice checking as the thin ice near inflows and outflows and open holes has all expanded. The warm weather and rain probably melted about 3/4 of an inch of ice so any areas that were marginal before are probably too thin now. Many of the swamps and ponds had 4 to 5 inches of ice before the thaw so they still have plenty of margin for error even with warming temps today. Given the wind forecast it’s probably a good day to explore the smaller bodies of water which will offer someone protection.
A few bodies of water that I think will be good because I have recently been on them are as follows: Styles Pond, Saint Johnsbury Vermont. Joe’s pond Danville Vermont. Mollies falls reservoir Marshfield Vermont. Groton lake, Groton Vermont? Symes Pond Ryegate Vermont. Forest Lake Whitefield New Hampshire. Burns pond Whitefield New Hampshire. Be safe out there and happy Skating.
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Jeffrey Allen
Dec 12, 2021, 3:15:49 PM12/12/21
to VTNordicskating
Hey All,
The conditions Evan is describing below is similar to what we have here in Calais. The two ponds in Adamant are super smooth, no cracks, just great. I was on foot without skates today so have not skated on it nor tested it beyond walking 20 feet from shore but it looks great. If you have flexibility in the next few days you might want to check out some ponds in the NEK before the next round of warm comes Thursday.
Be safe and have fun,
Jeffrey Allen
Adamant
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The conditions Evan is describing below is similar to what we have here in Calais. The two ponds in Adamant are super smooth, no cracks, just great. I was on foot without skates today so have not skated on it nor tested it beyond walking 20 feet from shore but it looks great. If you have flexibility in the next few days you might want to check out some ponds in the NEK before the next round of warm comes Thursday.
Be safe and have fun,
Jeffrey Allen
Adamant
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> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to vtnordicskati...@googlegroups.com.
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Lauren Honican
Dec 12, 2021, 5:46:21 PM12/12/21
to VTNordicskating
Big thanks to Evan for hosting an ice safety clinic on Joes Pond today! My partner and I are beginner nordic skaters and were then able to take our new knowledge and scout another pond very close to home: Mackville Pond in Mackville, VT. It has ~2.5" of snow ice right now. We were able to walk out and test the ice from this access point without a board: https://goo.gl/maps/fZca32XMVz4G14Hh6 We're going to check it again for skating in the morning! Skate safe, enjoy!
State and Main Mediation
Dec 12, 2021, 6:04:38 PM12/12/21
to Evan Perkins, VTNordicskating
What a day with Evan,
So many thanks to this amazing person who wants to share his knowledge with a motley crew. I learned so much and had a great time. The skating was beautiful. Thank you, Evan.
Pete Furtado
Dec 12, 2021, 8:51:41 PM12/12/21
to State and Main Mediation, Evan Perkins, VTNordicskating
Thanks, Evan! I really appreciate the thought and effort you put into this class. I learned so much about the ice today! I've had a lot of questions about all sorts of different ice formations I've seen over the last couple of years, and your explanations really helped me to understand them. Don't worry about me becoming overconfident, though, I know that there's a lot I still don't know about ice. But it was so much fun to get some instruction on the basics!
Oh, and I really enjoyed the skating, too! I thought the ice was very smooth, and I wasn't expecting that. Even the wind was manageable. A great day on the ice!
Pete Furtado
Burlington, VT
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