December 21
Winter is officially here. We have had a couple of days of skating on small, mid elevation ponds in the Adirondack foothills. In Maine they have had a couple weeks of sailing on a pond near Bangor. All that got snowed on and is now in the process of thawing fast enough that we will probably be starting over. Cold weather is on the way....there is hope!
Remember that the early part of the season is when vehicle related ice fatalities occur at an especially high rate. The late start to the season is likely to increase this risk as it is easy to remember the thicker ice in the January's of previous years. The next few weeks is a particularly good time to depend on your feet rather than gasoline to get out on the ice.
There is a new article on the Bearing Strength of Ice that compares different advice on the subject. The main conclusion is that the Minnesota DNR recommendations are the best fit for recreational use.
Bob