Sunapee Jekyll and Hyde

[Matt Steinberg]

Good Morning,

A group of 4 left George's Mills yesterday intent on doing a full circumnavigation of Lake Sunapee. It was a bit of a risky proposition to have skateable ice considering the day before had sun and a high temperature of 64 degrees. The forecast low Mon night was supposed to be 20, but ended up being 26 and only fell below freezing about 2 hours before sunrise. Heading down the west shore which was already in full sunlight at 900 am, we were able to skate the entire shoreline all the way to Newbury beach and get into the far ends of coves that have not been accessible for years. The ice was bumpy with some smoother areas but we managed to have good glide on the grey ice all the way with no sandwich ice. There was some scattered dry shell and some small collapsible air pockets in areas of highly aerated white ice but for the most part it was a pretty simple skate. The bubblers should be given a wide berth due to some undermining of the ice occurring. 

The east shore was a completely different story. This ice baked in the sun all day and had much less time to cool down and so there was lots of deep wet shell or "sandwich" ice that would drop you into the toes of your boots and stop you cold. Basically any shiny or glassy smooth areas were unsupportable for my 190lbs and the only way to get back up the north shore was to link the areas of the bumpy grey ice between the sandwich ice and the deeper air pockets in the aerated white ice. I counted 10 falls in our group of 4. We were able to complete a full circumnavigation, which on Sunapee equals about 29 miles. Skating slowly allows you to take in all of the gargantuan houses lining the shoreline. There was no open water or pressure ridges to speak of except areas around the shore and headlands. 

It did not get above the mid 30s yesterday and down to 21 last night. I skated on McDaniels Marsh this morning and all of the sandwich ice on that lake had frozen through. If you are planning on skating Sunapee or McDaniels or any other lake in the Upper Valley tomorrow morning before the dreaded extended thaw, please give EXTREME caution to the shiny glassy areas, anywhere on the lake, but especially on the east shore. Chances are after another 20 degree night tonight, these MAY solidify for Fri morning but I would not trust them unless extensively tested and still you may find an anomaly out there. If you hear any cracking, chances are you may break through and could fall. In addition, avoid the brighter white areas, especially on the northeast shore which have air pockets and may catch your blade and cause a fall. Chances are most people are no longer skating at this point with the weather but I know there are a few of you out there who have been asking me, hence the reason for this report. Be safe out there and if you have any doubts, pull out your bike. A pic below is an example of a breakthrough on the sandwich ice.

Matt