With all the chatter swirling about the ice conditions up near the dam, Don Wilkins headed out to see what’s really going on — so you don’t have to guess. After getting plenty of messages about what to expect in the coming days, he took a firsthand look at the main channel and surrounding areas to give everyone a clear picture of what’s out there right now. Here’s what he reported:
With everything going on up around the dam with ice conditions, we’ve gotten a lot of messages about what to expect going forward and here’s what we found today:
Ice thickness is from 7-9” on the main channel down the dry arm. Keep in mind, this is the same ice a few days ago that was rotten and honeycombed and will only stay solid until it warms up again. We have a few cold days ahead that should build on that through the weekend.
There are some shallow points that opened up and are still open with the wind that is blowing today. They will most likely seal up when the wind dies down tonight and will only have a thin covering before it warms back up. There are also some seams that opened up and filled with snow and only have a thin layer of frozen slush over them. If you encounter anything on the ice that looks like frozen slush, it has to be checked or completely avoided.
All this being said, if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for–don’t go. At the very least, give it a couple more days of this colder weather before you head out.
Photos via Don Wilkins
