An inch or so of snow fell on the great ice and it got a bit above freezing. It was still possible to skate but all the cracks were hidden so you could catch a skate in them and when it went below freezing, it got a bit crusty. Ice boats didn’t have much trouble but it wasn’t great for skating. Then, it got cold, down near zero and the wind blew for two days or so. Not particularly nice, wind chills below zero with the 20+ mph winds. At the same time the wind cleared off the 80% of the ice so the skating was great again.
Others were out on the lake and this pair of fat tire bikers were making a loop of the lake. Mt. Chocorua is in the background. The tires are studded so they don’t slip. (Who would have thought of doing that 10 years ago?)
A lot was happening at Albee beach with ice fisher men and women and children. Things were being cooked on grills and lots of fun was being had.
As you can see in the picture, above, and the one below that is of Sister Island from the south, there is snow but lots of nice ice. Virtually all of the time, when on skates, you can avoid the snow. Skiing is not great because there are large gap of glare ice so that doesn’t work.
In some places, there are interesting patterns in the ice. The hole was where water went down through the ice during and after the last rainstorm and the white is trapped snow around those holes that is now frozen. These features are all frozen with smooth ice on top. You can skate right over them.
Bass and Little bass are seen here from the east. The “ice paths” are quite obvious and it made for fun skating.
The two big rocks off the south shore of Stamp Act are in the distance and one that often just is above the water in the Summer has ice pushed up on it.
Finally, lots of great ice to skate on looking toward Cate Island. The ice is still questionable between Stamp Act and Cate but the rest of the lake is well iced in. It can change at any time so always use good judgement.
It was nice meeting you today! I enjoyed the lake, and your article!