My, how quickly conditions can change with ice...

[JoAnn Berns]

This morning I sent a report after skating at Lake Morey (Fairlee, VT) and mentioned only 3 hazards seen:  an easily crossed pressure ridge,  a ~10-foot diameter wind hole, and the large obvious unfrozen central water.  

I was able to return late this afternoon and my, how conditions can change.  It had started to snow very lightly.  

1. The pressure ridge had reopened.  Had I really wanted to, or needed to, cross it could be done but it was much dicier and given the huge amount of great ice everywhere else I elected not to cross.  For newer skaters I'll note that pressure ridges can develop, open up or otherwise change while we're out there skating and create new challenges.  This is more likely under some conditions than others, beyond the scope of this post.  

2. The big open water area had enlarged.  The edges were still unstable several feet out from the open water in some places.  

3. When I reported the smallish, seemingly random wind hole this morning, I had seen it from a distance, there was no snow beyond the many soft drifts and what I took to be open water looked noticeably darker than the surrounding black ice.  This time I saw only a small pool of water seepage from a crack.  Getting closer, it turned out to be a very big wind hole, about 20 x 45 feet, with very little resistance to my poke.  The light snow made it especially challenging to see.  Attached are two photos from different angles showing the  seepage area, the only clearly visible clue to this sizable hazard, and a broad surrounding area of barely-there, snow-covered skim that would have been very easy to miss.  Sometimes people walk and ski on this lake and I hope no one falls in before this ice thickens, which will be greatly slowed by the insulating properties of the snow.  

Happy safe skating to all,

Jo

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