First Ice in Nova Scotia, Canada

[david-d]

Hälsning från Nova Scotia, Canada.

After 2 nights at temperature -10 C,
I checked the ice at Gaspereau Lake,
Nova Scotia, Canada. Lat 44-59N, Long 64-32W,
186 m above sea level. Date- Dec 7 2004

The ice was mostly 9 cm thick, with a
few spots 4 or 5 cm. Ice was smooth
but with some "apelsinskal" in places.
Very pleasant skating.

I tested my "ispik" and a home-made
copy of the "ismätare" that Skyllermarks sells
(http://www.skyllermarks.com/tillbehor.htm)

I also used a battery powered drill
(4 mm x 15 cm) to measure the ice.

I only went on a shallow ( 1-2 m deep)
small cove ( 1 km long). The main part of the
lake probably had thinner ice. Unfortunately,
I have nobody to skate with, so I can not
explore the ice more. :-(

The shoreline of Gaspereau Lake is about 40 km long.
The lake has 100s of small islands (skerries).

Picture from Dec 7 2004 at:
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/dermott/holly-ice.jpg
The bush with red berries is Canada Holly,
"Ilex verticillata". People gather it for Christmas
decorations.

More pictures of Gaspereau Lake (and other lakes)
from previous years :
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/dermott/ski/sparkpics.html

Pictures of some of my equipment:

http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/dermott/ski/skating.html

Hej då,
David Dermott, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada

 

[Stadan]

Unfortunately,
I have nobody to skate with, so I can not
explore the ice more. :-(

Tack för trevlig israpport! Jag blir lite sugen på att åka över och ge dig lite sällskap. Blir tyvärr svårt den här säsongen dock. Du får lära upp en kompis så blir det roligare!

Kul med israpporter från Nordamerika!

mvh Staffan

 

[Fjärdebrunn]

Kunde jag bar bemästra vissa mindre logistiska problem skulle jag gärna pröva dina sjöar. Alltid läckert med nedslag från "exotiska" platser
/Oscar

 

[david-d]

Hej igen!

Ice report- Gaspereau Lake Nova Scotia, Canada. Jan
15-16 2005
44-59 N 64-32 W

Last Wednesday, Jan 12, there was 10 cm of snow on
the lakes. Jan 13 & 14 the temperature was +10 with
rain so I thought the ice would be washed clean.
Temperature Jan 15 was -5 so I checked out the lake in
late afternoon, both on skates and spark. Except for a
few unfrozen "slukhål" and bits of over-ice, it was
excellent. Ice thickness > 15 cm, maybe 20 cm, too
thick for my "ispik" or drill to measure. I skated
about 5 km.
I convinced my girlfriend that the ice was thick so
she came from Halifax on Sunday morning, but did not
bring her skates or her NNN boots. I have an extra
spark for her. Temperature was -10C so all the
over-ice was frozen. We set out on our sparks. At the
start it was smooth "stöpis" but later it was very
smooth "kärnis". My girlfriend wished she had her
skates!
We went 15 km along the northern and eastern shores.
Return trip was only 13 km. We had to make short land
passages around some open water in 2 sounds. Gaspereau
Lake is a big lake. To follow the whole shore,
without going in all the bays, would be 40 km, and to
go in all the bays would be at least 50 or 60 km.

On the way back I put on my skates and pulled my
spark for about 10 km. For about 2 km I was towing my
girlfriend too!
There were are sorts of "marble" forms in the ice.

There were also some mushroom shaped forms. I think
these were old "slukhål". Anybody have an idea about
them? photo at:
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/dermott/ski/sparkpics/s
lukhole.jpg

List of photos from Jan 16 at:
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/dermott/jan_16_05.html

It was a very short "window of opportunity". On
Jan 17 we got 30 cm of snow and winds 25 m/sec! So
don't come to Nova Scotia expecting a day of good
skating conditions! Any trip here will be a "chanstur"

Hej då

David Dermott , Wolfville Ridge, Nova Scotia, Canada
WWW pages: http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/dermott/

 

[Palle_Z]

There were also some mushroom shaped forms. I think
these were old "slukhål". Anybody have an idea about
them? photo at:
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/dermott/ski/sparkpics/slukhole.jpg

Yes, that looks like a frozen over "slukhål" to me. Weather on 13 & 14 of January typical for creating these, especially if it was windy too.

Seems to have been a good day on the ice. Gaspereau Lake looks like a nice lake for skating.

-Palle
[Ändrat av Palle_Z 2005-01-18 kl 08:40]