Checking ice thickness
 

I am curious how you guys and gals are determining ice thickness? I have seen many posts where people will post an estimate of ice thickness. Short of drilling a hole every so often, is there another way to make that determination?

I choose to stay off the ice for the most part but on occasion when riding in a group we do cross various lakes and ponds. Personally I would prefer a longer ride simply to stay off any body of water, but club rides etc. kind of prohibit that if I want to stay in the group.

The ONLY way to confirm ice thickness for your personal safety is to drill a hole and check yourself. Beyond that, knowledge of the area, experience, common sense all comes into play. Never play “follow the leader” without doing your due diligence.

From a personal experience, a couple years ago I was group riding on snowmobiles in Canada. The group had a scheduled lake crossing to make it to their next destination in a timely fashion. In Canada most trails are marked across lakes to ensure their safety....that’s not good enough for me... so,..I personally made a point of finding some local fishermen the night before, bought them a couple drinks at the outfitter we were staying at and requested they take take me on to the lake to drill a couple test holes. It took about 15 minutes and they were glad to do it and we had fun considering they couldn’t speak a lick of English!

My point is do whatever it takes to ensure your safety and confidence and NEVER follow anyone off a cliff!

Great question by the way!

Dan

At least you were on a sled, imagine those guys that drive the big rigs up there across the lakes... that's pretty crazy and no room for error that's for sure.

Yeah I agree. They rely on local governing bodies to tell them it’s safe...I guess much the same way we expect route 93 to be safe when we drive on it....that’s just not for me. I have been through the ice and it’s not a pleasurable experience whatsoever!

Hope your doing well Maxum!

Dan

I typically am fishing when I post ice measurements.
I always measure I don't post guesses.
If I'm just out scouting/measuring, I bring my drill with a big carpentry auger bit, a ship auger bit I think it's called.
I made a measuring stick out of metal rod. A little 90deg bend at the bottom to find the bottom of the ice and inches marked on it. And a loop bent at the top to hold, bigger than the hole in case I drop it.

15" as if this morning out around Bear. Hand full of guys out ice fishing here and there.

Not doing to bad Dan, camp is nice and warm and got pretty much the whole place to myself. Love winter time! Now all we need is some snow, itching to do a little riding but the weather isn't cooperating with that.

How is the ice in Meredith Bay, wondering how it will be for Pond Hockey. Is there any snow on the ground?


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Pretty much glare ice everywhere including Meredith Bay. I would say if conditions stay the same, it would be perfect for skating. They are taking care of the rinks so it should be good to go.

Is this a trick question, outdoorguy?
 

Seriously? Seems like a strange question to ask. I think we all know the only way to measure ice thickness is to drill a hole and use a measuring stick...right? Are you suggesting there might be someone out there with super powers or some kind of x-ray device we don't know about? I'm a little disappointed that someone who calls himself outdoorguy would ask such a question...you know better - right? Drill and measure, drill and measure, drill and measure - there simply is no other way.

Yes it was a serious question. There are many threads of people asking thickness but none asking how it is done. Some of the answers even include how deep the lake is in the spots that were tested. As ishoot308 noted, knowledge of the area would be the answer to that question.

If you go back and read my OP you will see that I do not enjoy playing on the ice, but on occasion I do find myself on it.

I actually did not suggest that, but my google search did yield some results of devices that can in fact measure thickness of solid materials. They are quite affordable too. I was not sure if anyone was using something like an Ultrasonic Thickness Gauge.

Sorry if my post upset you.

Maybe not
 

I met a guy from northern minnesota who claimed he could judge ice thickness using sound. he was a big dog musher and his 3 "measurements" were safe, risky, & unsafe :)

$30 hand crank auger. walk out a few feet from shore drill which takes about 1 min in thick ice, if safe go further out, pretty quickly you can tell how thick / safe the ice is.


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ice experts
 

Hand Drill
 

When we walk out to Rattlesnake, we take my Dewalt cordless drill and an 6" bit. We stop every so often (more often near shore, less often in open ice). If I can't reach water - I'm OK. If we do, we proceed cautiously and drill very often. If we're less than 3" (half the bit length) we turn around.

Wow, how embarrassing.. Here I am thinking that everyone drilling holes in the ice is using an auger that the ice fisherman use :eek:. (picture a 5 foot long gas powered drill.) I guess I will attribute that to my nervousness on ice. A cordless drill and 6" bit will now be part of my snowmobiling gear.

Side note: I have driven past Meredith Bay and Winnisquam in the last week and seen open water within what I would guess to be 100 yards of bob houses. This is not the shoreline but further out. No thanks!

In Meredith you are seeing either the open water from the aquatherms at the town docks, or the current from the inlet.
Winnisquam I am not experienced on, but I know the section of frequently open water you are probably talking about, visible from Rt3. That's a narrow section and I'm sure it has a current.
Currents can form around islands, and particularly in a shallow strait, like between 2 islands, or that case, points in the mainland.

Winnisquam Open Water
 

Winnisquam has only a few spots of open water during a winter like this one.

North of the sand bar, which is just north of the bridge, the ice is locked in all the way to the upper end of the lake. The open water and caution area is where the Winnipesaukee river comes into the lake in Laconia near Bartlet beach.

Caution is the word south of the sand bar and around the bridge. The ice 100 yards south of the bridge and right up to Mohawk Island is typically safe.

The other caution zone is the west side of Mohawk between the island and mainland. Always open and it extend into the larger section of the lake south of the island and changes a lot with the fluctuation of current. Always lots of bob house and cars on the ice in that area, sketchy to me!

More than anyone probably wanted to know!