Wrightsville Reservoir 1/2 report

[Geoff Beyer]

David Huck and I skated Wrightsville Reservoir, which was even slightly smoother than yesterday… It was very nice very few tripping hazards. Most all the cracks you can just cruise right over. 10 pokes and didn’t get through the ice. Much better than orange peel, still gliding through the snow patches. I still would stay away from the northern narrow section, especially given the warmer weather today. The most dangerous part of the skate was clearly getting down from the car to the reservoir. I recommend bringing a sled and a pillow and it would be fun to just glide down to the reservoir :-) likely going tomorrow morning as I think the sun today will make it even smoother Tomorrow.

Geoff 

[Rachel Slimovitch]

An update on Wrightsville from today- we went this morning and it was skating great. Aside from the north section, we also didn't get through the ice with 10 pokes. However, north of the parking lot and close to the black ice, it is much thinner. We checked and were able to break through with 1 poke. 

It was helpful to use microspikes to get down to the ice! 

[Dr Jo]

Agree with both reports below and will add:

This ice is currently very accessible for hockey skaters, little kids, newbies getting used to Nordic skates; it's thick and mostly smooth across the entire lower half when you turn right AKA South, from the Rt 12 boat launch.

 For the Intrepid and well prepared, it is possible to land Portage around the Narrows to get to the upper section. I started, couldn't see fully around the corner but looked like good ice ahead;  did not continue because of the hour.   The land portage, while short, is tricky due to huge ice chunks and best done with micro spikes. 

In addition to the wonderful ice on the lower half, the lunar-looking ice all along the shore since the water was drawn down many feet, is dramatic. 

The parking lot and ramp down to the water are dangerous as others have noted. Bring micro spikes.

Happy skating, 

Jo

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From: vtnordi...@googlegroups.com <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Rachel Slimovitch <rachelsl...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 3, 2024 12:57:08 PM
To: VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [vtnordicskating] Re: Wrightsville Reservoir 1/2 report

 

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[Kate Stephenson]

Just back from Wrightsville where we had a fairly large group out skating and a few other folks as well from this list. Just before we arrived there was an ice rescue of someone who had fallen through the ice near the narrows by the boat launch. I imagine the dusting of snow overnight made it a little harder to read the ice. 

Luckily there were other folks who happened to be nearby who were able to help this person out of the water but it is an important reminder that skating alone is really risky. The main body of water at Wrightsville is very solid but there are still hazards. More snow came down as we were skating and now there is probably 1/2” covering the ice.



Begin forwarded message:

From: Dr Jo <dr...@hotmail.com>
Date: January 3, 2024 at 6:26:26 PM EST
To: Rachel Slimovitch <rachelsl...@gmail.com>, VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [vtnordicskating] Re: Wrightsville Reservoir 1/2 report



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[Evan Perkins]

Thanks for the report Kate,do you have any idea how the rescue was executed?I am also wondering if there was any safety gear present or whether it was improvised. Evan 

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[Chloe Sardonis]

I was near by the person who went in and one other person saw him. I had a throw rope in my car at the other end of the reservoir so I yelled to the other person that I was getting a rope and then took off. As I was skating to my throw rope, I yelled to another person I passed to follow me so that I could retrieve the rope from my car and toss it to her and have her skate it back. I caught someone walking down to the access, just as I got back and threw them my keys. By the time I got back with my rope, someone else had just gotten him out of the water. It looked like there was a rope and a sled involved but I didn't check out the gear.

Afterwards, I spoke with the woman that I had yelled to and she hadn't heard. She also had a rope but had trouble getting it to the person or getting the attention of another near by person. In hindsight, I would have checked in with her quickly before running for the rope. Knowing how far the rope was and how long it would take to get, that was where my head went. 

All in all, it has been a great place to skate with very few hazards, as long as you know where the thinner ice begins. Good work to the folks that ultimately got him out and warmed him up.

[diana hanks]

Skating on snow covered ice is risky, as you can’t see the changes in the ice underneath you. Even if the ice was uniformly thick, which it never is, the snow also tends to be grabby. I really dislike skating with snow on the ice. 

Diana Hanks

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 4, 2024, at 12:27 PM, Chloe Sardonis <chloeas...@gmail.com> wrote:

I was near by the person who went in and one other person saw him. I had a throw rope in my car at the other end of the reservoir so I yelled to the other person that I was getting a rope and then took off. As I was skating to my throw rope, I yelled to another person I passed to follow me so that I could retrieve the rope from my car and toss it to her and have her skate it back. I caught someone walking down to the access, just as I got back and threw them my keys. By the time I got back with my rope, someone else had just gotten him out of the water. It looked like there was a rope and a sled involved but I didn't check out the gear.

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[Daniel Spada]

Chloe,

Thank you for the report and your rescue efforts. Your story should have us all thinking about how we could have / would have reacted in a similar situation. A real learning opportunity.

Best,

Dan

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 4, 2024, at 12:53, 'diana hanks' via VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Skating on snow covered ice is risky, as you can’t see the changes in the ice underneath you. Even if the ice was uniformly thick, which it never is, the snow also tends to be grabby. I really dislike skating with snow on the ice. 

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