Current Lake Conditions

ishoot308 · 03-04-2009, 10:27 AM

Can someone tell me what the current conditions are on the lake for snowmobiling?? Is there any snow on top of the ice??

Thinking about heading up this weekend and want to be sure the lake has some snow cover.

Thanks!!

Dan

Lakegeezer · 03-04-2009, 11:21 AM

Conditions are GREAT! Just enough snow on top to make for smooth riding. I was comfortably zipping along at over 50MPH last night, enjoying the fact that it was legal as long as the water is frozen. Much of the slush from last weekend is gone - at least in the northeastern part of the lake. Its not bumpy any more - and few tracks have been made since this week's snowfall, so its freshies everywhere. Virtually no open water, yet. Still mid-winter conditions. Rain expected on Friday - so conditions may change.

David531 · 03-06-2009, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Can someone tell me what the current conditions are on the lake for snowmobiling?? Is there any snow on top of the ice??

Thinking about heading up this weekend and want to be sure the lake has some snow cover.

Thanks!!

Dan

Hi,

Friday March 6th about 10PM

We just arrived at governors island in gilford, and took a walk out on the ice with flashlites and a snow shovel. There's a varying 3 to 6 inches of snowball making snow on top. It is not slush. I don't think the rain happened here today. So, this looks real good for a full saturday on the lake. We'll get a few sleds out in the morning and take a better look around, if it's significantly different, I'll post back, but should be good sledding for saturday.

Cheers, David and Benjamin

UPDATE

Hi again,

It's saturday morning 7AM, we've put some bait under the ice, and checked out the snow, and it's really nice. It's pretty warm, the suns up, all I needed was a sweatshrit. I can see down past timber island and there's some activity out there, snowmobiles and trucks i think. Theres several people out ice fishing in our smaller area. Curently there is no wind, not a leaf is stiring. We'll fish for a while and then head out on the sleds and look for some lunch, maybe down alton bay. Shibley's is open fri sat and sun. A ride up Shaw Mt would be, nice this afternoon, "George are you up here today?"

Cheers, David and Benjamin

ishoot308 · 03-07-2009, 02:37 PM

Thanks David!

Do you think the lake will still be O.K. tomorrow (Sunday) or will it be all slush??

Thanks again!!

Dan

hazelnut · 03-07-2009, 03:50 PM

Pretty much any snow disappeared in about a half an hour between 11:30am and 12:00pm. I've never seen anything like it. One minute the lake was primo and literally a half hour later it was all slush and water. With the rain predicted tonight the lake will be a slab of ice with a few inches of water on top. Never mind slush there will be no slush.

Slickcraft · 03-07-2009, 04:48 PM

Dan,

I think that Hazelnut has it right. We are one mile from the lake, high was 53 today and the gravel drive has an inch of mud on top of what was hard frozen this morning. And it will not freeze up overnight so expect standing water tomorrow.

Alan

jetskier · 03-07-2009, 07:38 PM

We went out for a ride today and here are the conditions/observations:

There is now standing water on the lake. We rode both Winnipesaukee and Winnisquam.
Most trails with heavy usage and/or direct exposure to sun are slush and mud.
Some trails in the woods are holding snow, but the high temperatures are softening them quickly.

I expect conditions to deteriorate quickly unless the weather turns cold quickly. This might be the season's last hurrah. If you go riding, be careful as the water and slush are producing variable traction. It is easy to slide out at speed.

Jetskier

EricP · 03-07-2009, 10:16 PM

Felt like I was on the SeaDoo at times!

upthesaukee · 03-07-2009, 10:33 PM

...it almost looked like ice out coming fast. So much water on the ice at Ames Farm as far as you could see, ditto in Alton Bay by the scenic view.

I feel bad for those with ice houses still on the lake. I would be nervous about going out to get them.

trfour · 03-08-2009, 01:39 AM

There's a big deep freeze coming, more Storm's too for later this week and also this winter. Everyone seems to be forgetting the part about that the ground hog saw his shadow. We're fix'in to be lulled and slammed some more, and a Thunder Snow event is not out of the equation Yetty!
Remember, I have seen little and Bigfoot here over the years....

Just keep them Ski's and Snowmobiles Up and running, we have all the time in the world to enjoy Tiger Woods in the Up and coming season, refreshing also, I'm not ready to give Up on the joy of winter here!

David531 · 03-08-2009, 06:47 AM

Hi guys,

Yep, saturday was quite a site. It was so nice early, we fished a while and launched some model rockets, and by the time we headed out for lunch at alton bay, things changed dramatically. By the time we hit the broads, it was more like jetski than snowmobile. But it was a very nice ride, not like the last slush event we went through some weeks ago. Maybe because it was mostly a thin water layer over a rough ice. Steering was good, both the spiked and non-spiked sleds did well. Benjamin, 9 yrs old on the polaris 340 loved it. And there were a lot of sleds out, I think everyone seemed to enjoy this anomaly, throwing up a huge rooster tail for a mile. After lunch we went to wolfboro and along the north shore then headed back towards gov island past steamboat and timber...

We had a group of sleds go by this morning around 5AM. We just got our fishing gear out, and the ice is mostly covered with a layer of water. With binoculars, I can see there are at least 2 trucks out around timber and welch island, and an occasional snowmobile. If we hadn't put the sleds on the trailer already, we'd probably go for a spin this AM.

The heavy cloud cover seems to be lifting, I can see a few small patches o blue in the north west. It did rain last nite, so that's contributed to the water cover on the ice.

Other than that group at 5AM, there's been no more snowmobiles past the house yet, just off in the distance towards the broads. Although from the ice i can hear augers and sleds towards wiers.

The sky really is brightening, I think it's going to be a good fishing day, maybe I'll let ben take a sled off the trailer, just for riding out front here.

Cheers, David

Lakegeezer · 03-08-2009, 06:56 AM

There was so much standing water on the lake yesterday as I rode my snowmobile that I took it up to 60mph, just to see what it felt like to violate the 45MPH over open water law. Nasty yet great! It sure felt like I was on a waverunner and not a snowmobile. The ice is still super safe, except near rocks and of course, bubblers.

03-04-2009, 10:27 AM	#1
ishoot308 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gilford, NH / Welch Island Posts: 5,932 Thanks: 2,290 Thanked 4,942 Times in 1,917 Posts	Current Lake Conditions Can someone tell me what the current conditions are on the lake for snowmobiling?? Is there any snow on top of the ice?? Thinking about heading up this weekend and want to be sure the lake has some snow cover. Thanks!! Dan

03-04-2009, 11:21 AM	#2
Lakegeezer Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Moultonboro, NH Posts: 1,657 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 342 Thanked 618 Times in 278 Posts	Conditions are GREAT! Just enough snow on top to make for smooth riding. I was comfortably zipping along at over 50MPH last night, enjoying the fact that it was legal as long as the water is frozen. Much of the slush from last weekend is gone - at least in the northeastern part of the lake. Its not bumpy any more - and few tracks have been made since this week's snowfall, so its freshies everywhere. Virtually no open water, yet. Still mid-winter conditions. Rain expected on Friday - so conditions may change. __________________ -lg

03-07-2009, 02:37 PM	#4
ishoot308 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gilford, NH / Welch Island Posts: 5,932 Thanks: 2,290 Thanked 4,942 Times in 1,917 Posts	Thanks!! Thanks David! Do you think the lake will still be O.K. tomorrow (Sunday) or will it be all slush?? Thanks again!! Dan

03-07-2009, 03:50 PM	#5
hazelnut Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,348 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 508 Thanked 462 Times in 162 Posts	Going... Going.... GONE! Pretty much any snow disappeared in about a half an hour between 11:30am and 12:00pm. I've never seen anything like it. One minute the lake was primo and literally a half hour later it was all slush and water. With the rain predicted tonight the lake will be a slab of ice with a few inches of water on top. Never mind slush there will be no slush.

03-07-2009, 07:38 PM	#7
jetskier Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Reading, MA and South Down Shores Posts: 850 Thanks: 57 Thanked 183 Times in 114 Posts	Riding Conditions We went out for a ride today and here are the conditions/observations: There is now standing water on the lake. We rode both Winnipesaukee and Winnisquam. Most trails with heavy usage and/or direct exposure to sun are slush and mud. Some trails in the woods are holding snow, but the high temperatures are softening them quickly. I expect conditions to deteriorate quickly unless the weather turns cold quickly. This might be the season's last hurrah. If you go riding, be careful as the water and slush are producing variable traction. It is easy to slide out at speed. Jetskier

The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to Lakegeezer For This Useful Post:
David531 (03-06-2009), hazelnut (03-04-2009), nhhcs (03-04-2009), SPT13 (03-04-2009), VitaBene (03-04-2009), WINNOCTURN (03-04-2009)

03-07-2009, 04:48 PM	#6
Slickcraft Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Welch Island and West Alton Posts: 3,218 Thanks: 1,174 Thanked 2,002 Times in 915 Posts	Dan, I think that Hazelnut has it right. We are one mile from the lake, high was 53 today and the gravel drive has an inch of mud on top of what was hard frozen this morning. And it will not freeze up overnight so expect standing water tomorrow. Alan

03-07-2009, 10:16 PM	#8
EricP Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 329 Thanks: 28 Thanked 11 Times in 7 Posts	Felt like I was on the SeaDoo at times!

03-07-2009, 10:33 PM	#9
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,547 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,398 Thanked 1,918 Times in 1,061 Posts	from rte 11... ...it almost looked like ice out coming fast. So much water on the ice at Ames Farm as far as you could see, ditto in Alton Bay by the scenic view. I feel bad for those with ice houses still on the lake. I would be nervous about going out to get them. __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!!

03-08-2009, 01:39 AM	#10
trfour Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Lakes, Central NH. and Dallas/Fort Worth TX. Posts: 3,694 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 3,069 Thanked 472 Times in 236 Posts	Don't worry Dave.... There's a big deep freeze coming, more Storm's too for later this week and also this winter. Everyone seems to be forgetting the part about that the ground hog saw his shadow. We're fix'in to be lulled and slammed some more, and a Thunder Snow event is not out of the equation Yetty! Remember, I have seen little and Bigfoot here over the years.... Just keep them Ski's and Snowmobiles Up and running, we have all the time in the world to enjoy Tiger Woods in the Up and coming season, refreshing also, I'm not ready to give Up on the joy of winter here! __________________ *trfour* Always Remember, The Best Safety Device In The Boat, or on a PWC Snowmobile etc., Is YOU! Safe sledding tips and much more; http://www.snowmobile.org/snowmobiling-safety.html

03-08-2009, 06:47 AM	#11
David531 Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Governor's Island Posts: 15 Thanks: 3 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Sunday March 8th 7:30AM Hi guys, Yep, saturday was quite a site. It was so nice early, we fished a while and launched some model rockets, and by the time we headed out for lunch at alton bay, things changed dramatically. By the time we hit the broads, it was more like jetski than snowmobile. But it was a very nice ride, not like the last slush event we went through some weeks ago. Maybe because it was mostly a thin water layer over a rough ice. Steering was good, both the spiked and non-spiked sleds did well. Benjamin, 9 yrs old on the polaris 340 loved it. And there were a lot of sleds out, I think everyone seemed to enjoy this anomaly, throwing up a huge rooster tail for a mile. After lunch we went to wolfboro and along the north shore then headed back towards gov island past steamboat and timber... We had a group of sleds go by this morning around 5AM. We just got our fishing gear out, and the ice is mostly covered with a layer of water. With binoculars, I can see there are at least 2 trucks out around timber and welch island, and an occasional snowmobile. If we hadn't put the sleds on the trailer already, we'd probably go for a spin this AM. The heavy cloud cover seems to be lifting, I can see a few small patches o blue in the north west. It did rain last nite, so that's contributed to the water cover on the ice. Other than that group at 5AM, there's been no more snowmobiles past the house yet, just off in the distance towards the broads. Although from the ice i can hear augers and sleds towards wiers. The sky really is brightening, I think it's going to be a good fishing day, maybe I'll let ben take a sled off the trailer, just for riding out front here. Cheers, David

03-08-2009, 06:56 AM	#12
Lakegeezer Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Moultonboro, NH Posts: 1,657 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 342 Thanked 618 Times in 278 Posts	There was so much standing water on the lake yesterday as I rode my snowmobile that I took it up to 60mph, just to see what it felt like to violate the 45MPH over open water law. Nasty yet great! It sure felt like I was on a waverunner and not a snowmobile. The ice is still super safe, except near rocks and of course, bubblers. __________________ -lg