The Idaburn dam was in a very poor state on Saturday morning. There were significant tracts of water in the main basin area and some skims of snow ice. Sadly, no chance of skating and not looking promising without some significant frosts. There was very little snow on the surrounding hillsides to help cool the area for further ice formation.
The ice at Hoffmans dam was comparable to that at Coalpit dam on Saturday. Approximately 10 mm of snow ice was present.Ā The ice had very little structural strength and will require a few good hard frosts before it will be skateable.
There were horrid ice conditions at Coalpit dam on Friday evening. The good ice from last week was all gone. There was approximately 10 mm of very soft snow ice and a healthy dose of snow pack in the surrounding area, so hopefully that will provide a nice cooling base for more ice formation.
Check out the following clip of me (Ryan Hellyer) skating on dangerously thin ice. Thickness was estimated at approximately 15 mm. The ice was clear and very hard, but there just wasn’t enough of it. I dislocated my left shoulder during the fall.
Due to the risk of falling, I was kitted out with a wetsuit to keep me warm, ice claws to help me claw my way out if I fell through and a life preserver to keep me afloat. None of that mattered since I didn’t fall straight through. This is a good demonstration of why falling through is not only dangerous due to the risk of drowning, but also the injuries from impacting with the ice.
DON’T DO THIS AT HOME!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tz6PFfC3gI&w=560&h=349]
Another excellent report on the Lower Manorburn dam ice surface is available from Chip off the ice block. Not good news unfortunately š
http://chipofftheiceblock.blogspot.com/2011/07/cruising-manorburn.html
The NIWA weather report for Alexandra says it all. A high of over 13Ā° C during the day and as of 3am in the morning, the temperature had still only dropped to 5.5Ā° C.
Alexandra NIWA weather report
The latest Chip off the ice block report indicates that the higher temperatures experienced in Alexandra over the past couple of days did not negatively effect the Lower Manorburn dam and it has in fact improved since yesterday! Things are looking up for the potential of a growing ice pack in Central Otago. Fingers crossed for a few more hard frosts to give us a good solid chunk of ice to skate on at the weekend!
Chip off the ice block Manorburn dam report
Alexandra weather data. The increase in temperatures over the past few days has thankfully not caused a reduction in the ice pack.
Coalpit dam had a good sliver of ice on it yesterday (Sunday) but not enough to skate on. A couple of good hard frosts should get into a good state, but not quite good enough to hold the weight of a skater just yet unfortunately :(I
Ice thickness at Coalpit dam
Dave Young’s latest Chip off the ice block reports are now up:
Chip off the ice block Day 1
Chip off the ice block Day 2
Dave Young at Idaburn dam
At Manorburn today about 30mm needs one or two frosts. Keith.
From Keith Dickson via SMS message.
Very hard ice on shore of the lake. Approx. 20 – 30 mm. caution needed but considerably better than yesterday. Softening in warm 8 deg. C temperatures will cause problems later in the day but conditions were good in the morning.
Updated 8pm 3/6/11. Added more photos.