Lake Morey

[Matt Steinberg]

Saturday afternoon I skated Lake Morey. Starting from the boat launch I worked my way north along the west shore with a mix of smooth grey ice and clear black ice. There is some tempting black ice to the east that comes very close to shore. A lot of this is 1.75 inches or less and is barely supportable to unsupportable. Before the shoreline curves East by the Italian looking villa there are some incredible patterns in the ice and a stunning resurfaced rubble field. The whole north shore is skateable as are big stretches of the black plates which are either side of 2 inches but the transitions to unsupportable ice are very subtle and sudden and challenging to identify. Vigilant testing of each transition, change in luster or texture, or line of rubble is imperative to not swim. After rounding the top heading down the east shore towards the inn, you will reach a point where the ice is unsupportable. From just above the boat launch, there is a wide healed lead of very smooth ice that can be followed from the west shore to the middle just north of the open water that dead ends into a much thinner plate. This plate is strong but less than 2 inches and can be crossed to the east shore to head down towards the inn but this is too thin for most people to be comfortable with. I did not skate the sw side and don't know if it is possible to connect the inn and boat launch areas. I will be back to explore more in the morning. 

The ice here is still highly variable and requires quick ice assessment in challenging conditions. I was in my drysuit. This ice will not significantly thicken overnight. If you are not prepared for these conditions, stay along the SE shore from the inn or  from the boat launch stay close  up the west shore to the top and you can avoid the thinner black plates.

[Matt Steinberg]

Hello Everyone,

I skated Lake Morey again yesterday and it really is quite spectacular. The ice is definitely in contention for the nicest ice I have ever seen at Lake Morey. That said, it is still not without its significant hazards. We started at the boat launch again and you can hug the shore and follow it all the way around the north end and down the eastern shore. Once you reach the small point that is about 2/3 up the eastern shore from the Inn, the ice becomes startlingly clear in spots and perilously thin. We were able to pass  down the eastern shore through this area by taking a wide stance and quickly double polling through this short section. It is also possible to cross the lake in this area by carefully assessing the ice across the thin black plates until you get to a spectacular wide healed lead which takes you back to the boat ramp area. The south side of the lake in front of the Inn is a stellar mix of very smooth grey ice and black ice plates. There is a pressure ridge that needs to be crossed if you want to get to the boat ramp from the south side. This extends from the very large area of open water in the middle of the lake to the point on the western shore. This was wet and folded yesterday but crossable where it crossed over itself, albeit with somewhat loose plates. The black ice plates on the north side of the lake are spectacular but they were still variable and challenging to assess, going from about 2.5 inches down to unsupportable with very little warning. You must check every transition in color and texture and be constantly assessing. There are a few small pockets of open water in the middle and south of those is a very large area of open water. On the west side of this area are spectacular blake ice plates extending from the pressure ridge almost to the Inn. Watch out for unsupportable wind holes and very thin ice all in the vicinity of the open water and the ice thins quickly in the periphery. It is currently in the teens so some modest thickening should have occurred but all of these hazards should still be treated with a lot of caution. If the wind died off the open water areas may possibly have skimmed. Be careful of these and avoid any new looking large grain black ice. The solar glare of full sun skating south makes these very difficult to see. It is still very possible to go for an unintended swim here so make sure you are prepared and have all of the gear necessary. A sneaky wind hole caused a swim yesterday and due to the proper gear, self rescue skills, and drysuits it was only a minor inconvenience. For someone without these things, it could be a much more serious situation so please be careful out there. I have attached my track from yesterday.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Matt Steinberg <fios...@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Dec 22, 2025, 7:04 AM
Subject: Lake Morey
To: NHNordicSkating <nhnordi...@googlegroups.com>, VTNordicskating <vtnordi...@googlegroups.com>

Hello Everyone,

I skated Lake Morey again yesterday and it really is quite spectacular. The ice is definitely in contention for the nicest ice I have ever seen at Lake Morey. That said, it is still not without its significant hazards. We started at the boat launch again and you can hug the shore and follow it all the way around the north end and down the eastern shore. Once you reach the small point that is about 2/3 up the eastern shore from the Inn, the ice becomes startlingly clear in spots and perilously thin. We were able to pass  down the eastern shore through this area by taking a wide stance and quickly double polling through this short section. It is also possible to cross the lake in this area by carefully assessing the ice across the thin black plates until you get to a spectacular wide healed lead which takes you back to the boat ramp area. The south side of the lake in front of the Inn is a stellar mix of very smooth grey ice and black ice plates. There is a pressure ridge that needs to be crossed if you want to get to the boat ramp from the south side. This extends from the very large area of open water in the middle of the lake to the point on the western shore. This was wet and folded yesterday but crossable where it crossed over itself, albeit with somewhat loose plates. The black ice plates on the north side of the lake are spectacular but they were still variable and challenging to assess, going from about 2.5 inches down to unsupportable with very little warning. You must check every transition in color and texture and be constantly assessing. There are a few small pockets of open water in the middle and south of those is a very large area of open water. On the west side of this area are spectacular blake ice plates extending from the pressure ridge almost to the Inn. Watch out for unsupportable wind holes and very thin ice all in the vicinity of the open water and the ice thins quickly in the periphery. It is currently in the teens so some modest thickening should have occurred but all of these hazards should still be treated with a lot of caution. If the wind died off the open water areas may possibly have skimmed. Be careful of these and avoid any new looking large grain black ice. The solar glare of full sun skating south makes these very difficult to see. It is still very possible to go for an unintended swim here so make sure you are prepared and have all of the gear necessary. A sneaky wind hole caused a swim yesterday and due to the proper gear, self rescue skills, and drysuits it was only a minor inconvenience. For someone without these things, it could be a much more serious situation so please be careful out there. I have attached my track from yesterday.