Today the Skiing was Much Better!!

I may have given the wrong idea in my last blog. Maybe talking about the ice conditions and the dogs falling thro the ice in the same blog was not a good idea, but if reading carefully you will find that the dogs fell thro in mid December… a few months ago. When talking about ‘falling thro’ right now (late Jan, early Feb) I don’t mean falling thro the ice… sorry I tend to forget that you, the readers are not here looking out the window everyday so you don’t know the dynamics of the ice and its cycles. By by skis ‘falling thro’ I mean they are cutting thro the uppermost layer of snow into a slush and water layer underneath, which in turn lies on top of the main ice layer below. So getting your skies wet (and gaining 100 pounds of snow on them) is the main concern… not falling thro into the lake itself.

The ice on a lake does have cycles, which undulate and change, can be daily, sometimes hourly. Today the surface of the lake was very good…. especially in the windblown areas…. despite the +4 celcius we had yesterday afternoon. In the areas where the wind has not blown the ice clear, you can still find large hummocks of snow insulating the slush/water layer underneath. These hummocks may look smooth, white and inviting but the insulating qualities can present themselves sort of like large smooth, white snow ‘bridges’ spanning over slushy, watery puddles. Sometimes the skis can cut thro the ‘bridges’; or the ‘bridges’ fall out from beneath you (boy is that ever exciting!) but you only land in the slushy puddle that sits underneath – still on top of the main ice. As for skiing in these conditions…. it can be somewhat disconcerting, heart thumping and frustrating (you just get into a good kick and glide and then you cut thro).

Today….. as I said…. it was quite nice. Ours skies only cut thro the top layers of the snow hummocks a few times but they did not get wet. Our tracks filled in with water behind us but we were already gone. The dog fell thro more then our skis did … as did our ski poles, but for the most part the ice was good a solid. We have had a few days of moderate winds and it seems allot of the loose snow has been swept away leaving the ice exposed to get a good freezing. Only the hummocks where the loose wind-swept snow as settled presented the problem of hitting a slush layer. The 4 inch deep slush and water layer is about 6 inches underneath the crusted snow hummocks, but the hummock crusts are holding for the most part and under that is good solid ice.

Lake ice can also develop what we locally call ‘spider holes’, I don’t know if this is their scientific name and I don’t know how they form, or why, but they seem to appear during temperate weather, which we have had quite a span of. They are usually funnel shaped holes in the ice, with the wide end of the funnel at the surface of the ice and the narrow end of the funnel towards the lake bottom (but not always)…. but sometimes they are straight sided all the way down. They can go thro the top layer of ice to solid ice beneath or they might go thro all ice layers to actual lake water. They are really quite fascinating.

 We have had quite a crop of funnel shaped spider holes over the last few weeks, some with the tops big enough for a man to fall in, but bottoms only big enough for a boot. Regardless, you would not want to fall into one. Four days ago they were all liquid (some thro and thro, some only the top ice layers) this morning most are refrozen and safe (we could not break thro them) though we did find one still liquid thro and thro and a few with watery tops. Usually their surfaces will refreeze first, and they’ll continue freezing downward until the whole thing heals up. So during the early stages of refreezing they may not be safe to approach as a quarter inch of ice can still crack under body weight, and they can be especially dangerous if fresh snow falls on top hiding their distinctive black/gray, meandering, spider leg signatures from unsuspecting trekers… but so far, no fresh snow to cover them.

Sooooo ice conditions as of this morning… very nice, watch out for open spider holes, keep moving if you cut thro a snow hummock. We really enjoyed ourselves this morning, tho Charley’s spindly feet kept falling thro (the top layers), but he was pretty quick to figure out that he needed to stick to the windswept patches… and fun was had by all!

No Sking on the Lakes Yet AND Swim Anyone?

What to say? Three weeks ago the ice was too thin and unpredictable and people were falling thro. Two weeks ago the ice seemed good.... as good as one can tell when it isn't actually visible under a big load of nice, fresh, white snow.... but there was also slush and water under that big load of nice, fresh, white snow and what fun that was! The instant our skis broke thro into the water and slush they gained 1000 pounds and we weren't going anywhere. Last week we had one good day skiing on the ice where our skis did not break thro the top snow layer.... today it is raining, the snow is again slush, the lake is coming down with grey pox (big grey patches are showing all over it... patches that could be unpredictable, unsafe and prudent to stay away from). So, so far the lakes have not been too good for skiers.

There has been quite a few people out on the ground trails tho. The trail to Kibbee Lake is fairly well broke and someone has been out on the Osprey Nature Trail. A short trail around the Government Campground is used daily for those who want to go out for an hour or so, but unless you really know what you are doing I would suggest staying off of the lakes.

I talk from a 'bit' of experience. You see a few weeks ago, in mid Dec. I was one of those lucky people who went into the lake. No... I did not fall in.... I said.... I went in.... to save the two sorry souls who did fall in!! Usually Charley is good around ice but I think he was just too excited to find his winter romping grounds back that he lost his brains for a bit. He ran out in his boisterous four legged way and promptly fell in.... about 75 yards from shore. I coaxed an cheered from shore but there was just no way he could gain his footing. I puzzled it out for a minute.... do I try to gingerly walk on top of the ice (and fall with an unexpected jolt half way there and break my knee like last winter?)... do I get down on all fours and creep out (and drown face down when the ice gives out?) Only sensible thing seemed to be to walk out into the water and git him, breaking the ice as I go to prevent any unexpected surprises!! I got about a half dozen steps from shore and G decided that he wasn't going to be left behind.... Wait for me... I'm coming tooooo!!!!

When G gets something in his mind, no amount of shouting will stop him. He got about 50 feet from shore... not bad for being 40 pounds heavier then Charley. I kept walking, busting up the ice in front of me. I walked right past G... he was not impressed....but Charley had been in longer and he's allot smaller then G... not so much body to fat to insulate him.... and drug Charley out onto good ice. On the way back I took a short detour to the right to drag G out. Back on dry land, both dogs happily romped and played, shaking and rolling, barking and jumping while I slowly sloshed my way back. Funny I thought the water would be colder .... or maybe frozen legs are a good thing when one is forced to play in ice water. One things for sure.... dragging ice-water logged gumboots and snow pants thro two feet of soft snow all the way back home is not recommended as a fun outing!!

An Update on the Ice Conditions

Went out on the ice last week, Dec. 21st and drilled two holes. One at 50 yards... showed 4 inches of good, black ice and 2 inches of refrozen, slush ice, which is still fairly solid... just not as good an ice as we like to see. At 100 yards the good black ice decreased to 3 inches with the same 2 inch white ice topper. We didn't go any further, we like to see a good 5 inches of solid black ice before venturing out too far.

Now.... since then.... that is a different story. We have had two good snowfalls, some minus 16 degree Celsius weather and some 0 degree Celsius melts. Currently, and for the past two days the daytime highs have been a balmy minus 4*C.... and the fresh, fluffy, white, clean, snow on the lake is becoming patchy with large grey areas... not many mind you, but enough to take note of. We headed out yesterday and was stopped at 50 yards by one of these great, grey patches. Charley... the dog would not approach it.... he has a pretty good instinct about ice. Dick... minus the dogs good sense... got as close as he dared and dug with his boot to find the bottom ice. This ice was soft on top (he could easily scrape it with his boot), on top of that was a 4 inch layer of water and slush, then the wet grey snow that was visible to the naked eye.

Around this grey patch one could only see soft, fluffy, beautiful, white snow.... but digging underneath revealed the water and slush layer... so that tells us that there could be areas of water and bad ice hidden under the snow not visible to the unwary traveler. Needless to say we didn't go any further. Unfortunately we didn't drill the ice either so I can't report on how many inches there was.... I was just happy when Dick turned back to join Charley and I.

Harald, our happy European wanderer headed out on the Kibbee Lake trail yesterday. He reported a few dead fall trees over the trail, about 1 foot of snow overall on the trail and the tracks of a wanderer who had traveled before him. Still the snow was still very soft and tiring to slog through.

The Lake is Changing Daily

The lake is changing daily…. or at least it was. My weather entries from two weeks ago read as such….

Dec. 8, 2012 – AM – Three nights of minus 10 or lower…. north end of the lake is skimming over with a thin crust of ice. The bays to the left and right are filled and a narrow finger of ice joins in the middle out near the point below Devils Club Mountain. The North end (right in front) is still open and the far end (south) is still open water. I can see a faint rippling pattern forming on the water as I write. Indicates the continual formation of new ice on top of water. The thin layer of ice that has formed is supporting the bit of snow that is falling.

Dec. 9, 2012 – AM – This morning the north end of the lake is completely skimmed over and holding snow. The snow has been windblown over the ice forming a beautiful rippling design. There is a thick fog this morning -- can’t see beyond the point to the south end of the Lake. Through binoculars faint darker bands seem to suggest open water beyond the point. It is currently snowing with strong gusting winds.

LATER – During our walk along the lake shore, Charley could venture a short distance from shore, but Dick kept falling through.

Dec. 8, 2012... the ice along the shore was basically solidified slush, notice the dog prints to the right of Dick and where Dick tried to walk near the center of the shoreline.

 2:30pm – As far as we can see the Lake seems to have a skim of ice over all. Need to walk to a better vantage point to see beyond the point. I suspect the Lake might be completely skimmed over on the south end or else the gusting winds would’ve chewed up the edges by now, therefore breaking up the ice. It is still storming - snowing with high gusting winds – the snow is ‘falling’ perpendicular.

Dec. 10, 2012 – Walked along the shore all way to Taylor’s shoreline. Couldn’t make it up their steps because a landslip was blocking my way, so I wasn’t able to get a higher vantage point. But from where I stood on the shore it looks to me, like the South end is all white – indicating ice coverage holding snow. I know I’ve been wrong before -- the south end has a life of its own completely different from our north end… but I think I will call the night of December 9 the official freeze up (the first one so far). Let’s see if it lasts…. hopefully a heavy snowfall or high winds won’t sink or it break-up.

This never happened! By Dec. 16th we were venturing a short distance from shore. Of course we won’t go too far out for a while yet, but if one stays where one knows the water is shallow, there’s no danger. I hope that by early next week, we can go out to drill a few test holes.
 

Dec. 16, 2012.... things are much more solid now.

The Weather Report ????!

Hummmn..... lets see........rainy snow, high winds, warm frost, plus 4 C with a wind chill of minus 20 C.... a real mixed bag!!!

Dec 3rd, 2012 -- Pink sky in morning, sailors take warning....

The storm moved the evening of Dec. 3rd -- This is the morning of Dec. 4th, 2012 -- Sleet, snow, rain, high winds -- wonderful whitecaps... on the lake not the mountains!!

The calm after the storm, afternoon of Dec. 4th, 2012

My Brand New Look!!

HOLY SHOOTENANNY!! The things you can do when you don't know what you're doing!!! Press a few buttons, check a few boxes, select a few colors, click a few bars...... then curl your toes, cross your fingers, close your eyes, hold your breath and push ENTER!!! 

POW!!! A whole new Blog look, updated and out of this world!! Look how big and beautiful the pictures are now! Plus a search box and counters for tweet thingys, facebook likes, and G whatevers.... WOW, I still don't know how I did that, but I'd better not push any more buttons for fear of screwing it up. APPARENTLY,  and this is not proven yet... but apparently, any reader can post a comment with this new format, not just my blog followers, so come on.... post me a comment, tell me if you like my new look and we'll see if it works :)

Ok, I guess this new site is confusing a few people... I am getting e-mails asking what the secret is for joining this Blog... guess I'm not the only technologically challenged person out there after all! LOL... hover your cursor over the narrow (and I mean narrow) vertical, greyish bar on the far right hand side of the Blog page and a menu will pop out.... hit 'followers' and go from there... hopefully it works!

The start of the Winter Season

Winter trips out in the backcountry of the Bowron Lake Chain are getting more and more popular with each passing year. Perhaps with better x-country skis and coldweather gear, more and more people are able to consider extended backcountry trips into BC's winter wonderland. Seems, quite a few summer paddlers will complete the lake chain to have their interest piqued as to what wonders winter might bring.... or they may read (or hear) about trips which other winter enthusiasts have embarked on.  I can only imgine a surge resulting from the current winter issue of BCAA's Westworld Magazine which, starting on page 28, features a multi page spead about a trip into Isaac Lake during the winter of 2011 and is accompanied by fabulous Chris Harris photos. This article can be found at  http://digital.canadawide.com/i/92267

The winter enthusiasts are starting their planning early this year. Already I have received several e-mails from interested parties wanting information about the winter conditions on the lakes. As I have mentioned to some... there is alot of information that can (and should be) researched before embarking on such a trip. Dave Jorgenson of Whitegold Adventures is a good starting point. He can give information on what to expect and how to plan, as he is one of the most frequent skiers in the Bowron backcountry. I am a good source for current ice and weather conditions as I live and watch the lake on a daily basis.... mind you I only see Bowron Lake from my window, and any 'guesses' I make about conditions on the other lakes are just that.... guesstimates resulting from past records, personal outtings and other skiers who are kind enough to share their trip reports.

A couple of things that I always stress to anyone wanting to complete the WHOLE chain of lakes are 1) don't get your hopes up... completing the WHOLE chain is NOT the norm and depends wholly on current conditions which can change daily... if not hourly; and 2) take more then one means of transportation....  this usually means taking skies and snowshoes, tho there was one year when the travellers sure could have used their ice skates! You just never know what you will encounter while you are out there. There are two trip reports posted on my website which illustrate how quickly the conditions can change. The Bouwmeester group headed out on Feb. 3rd 2007, and the Holmes group headed out on Feb. 16th 2007... both encountered completely different conditions resulting in very different outcomes. You can find these reports posted on my website at www.bowronlake.com  follow the path BRM Services & Prices > Winter Time and scroll to the bottom of that page.  

So back to my recent backcountry ski enthusiasts who are enquiring as to conditions.... I will try to keep the winter, weather and ice conditions posted here for your info. As you can see, I do not get to my blog on a daily basis but when there is something pertinent to relate I will post it here.... so keep an eye here, or as always feel free to e-mail me at sandy@bowronlake.com   If there are any skiers or off season visitors out there who have past trip reports they are willing to share, I always welcome any information I can get.... it really helps me to help others plan their trips.

 Today the weather today, Nov. 24th, 2012 is -1 celcius, warm; moderate wind; broken cloud... a great day for a liquid paddle as you can see in the pictures -- the ice and snow is REALLY SCARCE right now, so no skiing or snowshoeing yet!!! LOL  The close up shows Sugarloaf Mountain wearing her cloud veil.