Thin ice at the Narrows
 

Just wanted to throw out a cautionary tale so no one gets into trouble the next couple of weeks on Slave Lake.

I was coming off the ice today on an atv and my rear tire broke through. I looked back and luckily momentum put me forward 20 yards and was ok. I walked back to check thinking it was refrozen overflow and brought a pole from my pop up and used it to check the ice. Was about 2” there. Put the 5’ pole in the water and didn’t hit bottom. Looked ahead and there was an open hole. Walked over and peeked in and same thing over 5’ deep. Looked left and same thing. Surrounded by open holes on all sides on what seemed like the main trail.

This was about 2kms from the shore. The shore is a mess of water but solid underneath for a few hundred yards out from shore.

About 300 yards west of the trail I was on a truck was towing a holiday trailer off the ice. I was able to back out and get on that track and made it back.

Ice is wildly unpredictable and inconsistent. Ensure you are on the main trail!

Stay safe out there!


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My post didn’t post the punctuation for inches and feet for some reason.

Ice was 2 inches where I broke through. The holes around me were over 5 feet deep


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Crazy how much the ice varies on these large lakes. Thanks for the reminder for everyone.


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NOT CRAZY how much ice varies on a larger lake.

You were on Slave Lake, and Slave Lake has natural gas that seeps through the Lake Bottom and keeps the water moving in the area of the gas pockets.

This has always been the problem on lakes like Slave, Orloff, etc since people started going on in the winter.

Pigeon used to have a bad gas seep as well. Since the Texaco Bonnyglen Gas plant took so much gas out of the area, the problem has mostly resolved.

I know of someone who dropped a rear wheel into such a gas pocket crossing from Cutbank to Big Grassy. His passenger hit the windshield head first.

Axle broke its spring, but they limped it off the ice.

Same thing, thick ice all around, thin ice where the natural gas bubbles up from the lake bottom.

-1 C or - 30 C it does not matter. Moving water does not freeze. No way to know exactly where the gas seepage is though.

Drewski

Newell also has gas pockets, not that anyone should be out there this time of year :shark:

Especially the south and south east side...a couple of spots on the north west side as well

I’ve heard about these gas pockets for years but have never drilled holes with such varying consistency as yesterday. Was a good lesson to respect the lake and abandon the complacency I had started to develop on the ice.


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Lots of videos of people cutting a hole into a bubble under the ice and lighting the methane on fire to great effect.

Apparently up around Normal Wells there are lots of gas pockets you can drill into on the ice and light up.


As for our gas pockets, there is no way to predict just where they may form.

Other big risk is that the ice heaves break, settle down, and what looks like jumbled ice is smaller pans with maybe a few inches of ice holding the pieces together.

If it looks bluish ice, stop and walk up to check it out. Most ice right now is very white looking.

Drewski

Slave has gas pockets, and not just at the Narrows. There are spots down by Canyon Creek too.

Devil's Lake by Edmonton is REALLY bad for gas pockets and springs. IF you don't know that lake exceptionally well, should probably stick to walking, even those that know it well end up with problems occasionally.

Lac St. Anne has at least one open pocket every year.

Yeah, Newell can be pretty nasty. Seen a few springs, nasty heaves and thin ice at and near the southeast canal.

Heard today that a truck went through at the Narrows. All made it out ok.
Scary stuff, as we were supposed to be out there this weekend. Glad we couldn'tget away.

Stay safe everyone. No human life is worth a fish.
Well, maybe a few in Ottawa...:)

At the Narrows