Ice In 2025
 

Hi All,

I come up for the pond hockey tournament and have been using the Ice In Thread on this forum to check in on the status of the ice every year. I haven't seen one yet, so thought I would start this years'.

I am hoping the lack of a thread is due to the great temps we have been having + the long term forecast.

Any updates from locals? Any thoughts based on recent weather and the long term forecast?

Am I crazy for holding out hope for being on Meredith Bay this year?

The lake started to ice over but with the recent warm spell it melted. We are expected to get a couple weeks of really clear cold weather so unless we have a heat wave at the end of the month it should be good this year.

There was a thread that started for this season, but it didn't get much traction: https://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums...ad.php?t=29845

Today’s wind has broken up most of the ice. But, temperatures are predicted to drop. Hopefully we get a good freeze so many of us can enjoy some “ice time”.
On another note, the lights are blinking so I expect a power outage anytime


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Starting...
 

...a little bit of solid ice between Meredith Town Docks and the boat ramp. Saw one guy on there yesterday with a couple traps and his Otter pop-up bobhouse. Not something I would do, but apparently it was safe. Wide open from Meredith to the Weirs as of yesterday afternoon, as the wind was howling with white caps on the water.

Pemigewasset on 104 appeared quite solid with numerous folks out ice fishing.

Seems pretty good up through moultonborough bay, ice has been in for probably 3-4wks maybe a longer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_lq262_KSg

It's starting. Slowly but surely.

Waukewan
 

As far as Pond Hockey, the good news is Lake Waukewan was iced over, at least where the rinks have been, as of 2 weeks ago. So this cold should really bolster a solid plan for the backup rinks. But, lets pray it will be in Meredith Bay this year. Everyone deserves a good ole fashion pond hockey tournament in the bay!!!

The wind is going to keep the broads open for a while.

The wind has been just brutal here! We need some calm nights for the ice to catch!

Dan

Looking at the weather forecast, the winds should be relaxing from Friday through the weekend and the cold will stay in place. The water is very cold, so ice should build quickly over the weekend, starting in the bays and extending into most areas of open water.

This should allow the winter activities on the lake to get started. Be safe out there!

R2B

The water temp at Lakeport is 32.12 deg. In 3 days, when the wind goes calm, it will be as if some ice-9 was added. Snap.

Alan

They have started to rope off Meredith Bay for the pond hockey tournament.

Alton Bay is mostly ice with open sections mostly on the east side. Several bob houses in the bandstand area. Glendale Bay is open with slabs of ice filled in around the town docks. The view from Belknap Point is mostly blue.

Alan

The Alton Bay Ice Runway page on Facebook is up and running. Yesterday’s report was 8” of ice all the way out 3200’ of the runway. 12” inches is the minimum needed. Looks promising this year.

https://www.facebook.com/AltonBaySea...eandIceRunway?

They had roped a line out to around 50 feet of where the open water started. When I drove by this morning, with the light coating of snow we have, I couldn't see any evidence of open water. Amazing what happens when the winds stop blowing 40MPH... Unless we have a serious late January/early February thaw, I see no reason why the pond hockey won't be held on Meredith Bay this year.

That's a good sign because without snow it's pretty quiet.

I have a view from my cameras on Barndoor Island in to Wolfeboro and a little bit up into the Broads. All is completely iced in!
Is there any open water at this point?

Yes, there is a ton of open water between Welch and Belknap Point / mainland.

What has happened is the water and air is so cold the snow that has fallen is sitting on top of the water and look like ice…it is not…it will most likely be gone by the morning and back to visible open water.

Dan

Here’s a couple pics I took this morning from my mainland home. That’s Welch Island in the center of the top pic and left side in lower pic…

As you can see most of the snow has melted off the top skin of the water exposing the open water. If it stays calm I think this could freeze over in a few days hopefully….

There is no doubt in my mind that the hockey tournament will happen on Meredith Bay this year!

Dan

From LSP looks like ice to me

Ice In Tomorrow??
 

It does look like it’s freezing over in place! It’s so calm and cold finally, by tomorrow morning, ice in could be declared unless there are other areas of open water I am unaware of!

Dan

Emerson Aviation posted today that they will do a flyover tomorrow.

BT

He will most likely declare ice in then…unless there is open water on the broads side of rattlesnake that I can’t see…

Dan

Ice In
 

From my vantage point overlooking the broads, I see no open water at all!

If Emerson fly’s over I assume he will declare ice in!

Dan

M'boro Fire Dept Hovercraft
 

It looks like the MFD was out training this morning.

Ice In Declared!
 

Emerson just declared ICE IN!

Come on winter sports! Let’s have a great winter!

Dan

I skied Gunstock on both Friday and today. Friday the Broads were still mostly open water, but today it looked like everything had totally iced over, even around Welch Island. I suspect that last week's wicked winds allowed the water to super cool and with no real snow in the immediate forecast the ice should thicken really quickly this week.

Someone needs to tell the WMUR reporter that Ice-In DOES NOT mean that the 5 ports that the Mount goes to are frozen.

No kidding, right? Every year it's the same thing. I'd love to see accurate reporting from local media regarding what Emerson's declaration REALLY means and how it differs from Ice Out. But, at the same time, always mention that "The declaration does not mean all the ice is safe. Ice depth on the big lake – and other bodies of water – can vary greatly." Not that people who spend any amount of time on the ice don't fully understand this...

"PAGING: Al Gore... "

teaching New Hampsha
 

Be kind. Many of the folks on WMUR have difficulty speaking New Hampsha. They can't pronounce or spell Winnipesaukee which is why they so often say "Big Lake" and refer to the Mount as "The MS". Contoocook is a big stumbler; they pronounce Levesque as Lev S Q and "t'warn't" is totally unfamiliar, as is Kooze county. Ayuh.

and... depending on how French it was where you grew up, it could be Le-vek, or it could be Le-vike!

Just saw 2 “brave” souls skating off the northern end of Diamond. They proceeded north between Rattlesnake and Sleeper and out into the broads. No thanks!

I would not call them brave. I would call them stupid.

Yikes. Just look at the weather forecast...and skate next weekend! Why do some people tempt fate?

(That's rhetorical, I already know the answer haha)

Are they setting up rinks on Winni or Waukewan this year?

Meredith Bay

Where and how to do this and NOT be stupid??
 

Ok, agreed! For someone who's had a life-long dream of skating on Lake Winnipesaukee (or, I'd be ok with Wentworth!), what's a safe way to do this? Where does one go where it's accessible via a public location (thinking Albee or Carry beach)?

I'm going to be up in Wolfeboro this weekend and was very much hoping to get to skate on the ice before the snow covers it up!

Any suggestions from this group???

There was a BUNCH of skaters on the ice today! It’s not stupid if you check the ice where you’re at before venturing out…. If you’re skeptical or scared find a place that’s shallow and not over your head like the sand bar in front of Ellacoya state park. Lot of area over there!

Enjoy!

Dan

Lots of people have been skating on Mirror Lake and Lake Wentworth. They are safe. But you always need to be careful and watch where you go. There are always unsafe spots. I think on Wentworth they have been accessing by the state park and on Mirror Lake at the right of way on 109.

I agree if you are in the bays that have been frozen over for a while. But the OP was talking about being on the broads about 1 days after freezing. That was not smart. I always liked to skate where it was shallow or where others were skating and weren't falling in. :laugh::laugh:

couple ice house out in front of LSP/Ellacoya. Looked like there were a bunch of ice boats that were sailing during the day (I didn't get there until after 4:30 so didn't get to see them).

Saturday afternoon, February 11 2017: 3 snowmobiles, 3 drowning deaths at 2 locations
 

Believe that orange air boat with the Moultonborough Fire Dept in the photo above was donated by the parents of a 15-year old boy who broke through the ice on a snowmobile on Lake Winnipesaukee in Alton, off Rattlesnake near The Broads on Saturday, Feb 11, 2017 at about 2:30-pm. His body was recovered in 73-feet water the next day, Sunday, Feb 12 at about 9:30-am by a remote control submersible that was operated by the N.H. recovery team which was able to both locate the dead body and recover it to the surface.

You know wearing a foam noodle, swim belt tied around the waist and underneath a coat while snowmobiling will work very good to keep you afloat because it will ride up to the arm pits, under the arms and keep your head above water.

As soon as you break through the icy cold water, it is extremely painful, a cold shock type of pain, and you are all scared, smashed, and incredibly cold, and panicked all at the same time. You need to stay composed, and stay above the water, and any type of flotation, either a pfd or an improvised foam noodle belt will keep your head up despite the deadly cold impact pain and panic and do a lot to keep you alive.

After two minutes floating up to your neck in 34-degree icy cold water, it becomes less painful, less cold shocked because your body adjusts to the cold and you is good for maybe 15-minutes before your fingers, hands, and feet will freeze up and are no longer very usable. After the initial scary crash plunge if you survive the first two minutes, then you got about 15-minutes to do a self rescue.

Info from Laconia Daily Sun, Feb 12th, 2017: "Three dead after snowmobiles plunge into Lake" in two separate incidents in Alton, Broads side of Rattlesnake, and Moultonborough, Sandy Island.

Two men, ages 68 and 62 from Westboro, Mass who were riding on two snowmobiles in Moultonborough on Lake Winnipesaukee broke through the ice at around noon and lost their life by drowning.

Winter Sports
 

That area was hopping yesterday with skaters, ice boaters, windsurfers ice fishermen, etc, etc. All enjoying their favorite winter sport on the hard water!

Dan