How windy is too windy?

[Krista Karlson]

I was hoping to skate the inland sea tomorrow morning before work, but it’s looking like 15mph wind. This made me wonder: how windy is too windy? I know it’s a personal preference, but I’d be curious to hear folks’ opinions on when it becomes too windy to be fun skating upwind. 

Thanks!

Krista 

[Claire Nolan]

You’re correct, it is personal. But I find that I don’t have to skate right into the wind . If there is enough room you can tack back and forth. That’s what we did in the strong south wind on Lake George today. 

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[Claire Nolan]

PS report back on your adventures!! 

On Sun, Jan 26, 2025 at 5:01 PM Krista Karlson <kkarl...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Jan de Vries]

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Answer to Krista

Skating against the wind is a very different sport from skating with the wind. I remember skating against a 25 K wind on canals in Friesland. Crouching down as deep as I can. Standing still after a few strides to catch my breath. That struggle can give satisfaction in itself. In a way, downwind is even more difficult,  because one is inclined to go full speed in strides of 10 meter. Reaching the speed of competitive speed skaters at 50 k/h. Exhilarating! Do that only on smooth, safe ice.

When skating against a strong wind over a long distance with your upper body horizontal, make sure to wear goggles. Temporary blindness because of freezing eyes is then a common problem.  

All that will not be an issue skating around on the Inland Sea. With and against the wind, both will be fun.

[Adam Franco]

We were out on the west side of Isle La Motte today around noon with winds about 20-25mph and gusts to 35mph.
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KVTISLEL4
Going straight into the wind was brutal, but possible. Cross-wind was fine, downwind was gloriously fast. 😁

We then wanted to get a bit of a break from the wind and drove the inland sea (south of North Hero village/Knight Island) with winds around 10mph. This location let us go downwind out on the lake and hug the shore in the lee of the hills to get back up wind.

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[Daniel Spada]

Jan,

Your comment about going downwind at speed is very important.  Here's a snip from AutoZone, "You may hear someone say not to overdrive your headlight meaning that you need to adjust your speed based on what you can see. At 60 MPH, it takes 360 feet to come to a complete stop. This includes both your reaction time, and the time it takes to slow down. If you can’t see 360 feet ahead of you, you don’t have enough time to react to obstacles. If you lower your speed to 30 MPH, it only takes about 120 feet to come to a complete stop. While you may be tempted to drive the speed limit in all weather conditions, slowing down when it’s dark or foggy can give you the time you need to avoid an accident."  

I would suggest that the same applies to skating downwind at speed.  You can "overdrive" the situation in the sense that you are moving at high speeds and may not have enough time to react to an obstacle like a crack, pressure ridge or wind hole.  The exhilaration of moving that quickly on your blades is intoxicating.  Just be careful.  

But to get back to the topic of how much headwind is too much, I like your description in blue, crouching down, pushing hard, stopping occasionally for breath.  Man! that's living!

Dan

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[Krista Karlson]

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone who shared advice and input on my wind question. I decided to go for it, and I skated the inland sea at sunrise today (1/27). Weather Underground said it was 17mph winds. After forging directly upwind for a few miles, I decided to try skating on an angle or perpendicular to the wind, which was much easier but still required effort to stay balanced. It was a gorgeous sunrise, and I saw 3 coyotes running across the ice with their fur shimmering in the wind. I also saw many small fish under the ice. I’m glad I went out, and I think I found my personal wind limit. 

Krista