First Lake Ski of the Season!

Yesterday I ventured out for my first lake ski of the season. The temperature was around -5 degrees Celsius with a wind chill factor of -10 degrees Celsius. We had fresh snow the night before which left 15 to 20 cm of powder on the ice. I spent a good deal of time yesterday morning reading ice fishing message boards to understand what the ice conditions were. Kempenfelt Bay (by far the deepest part of the lake) was reporting 4- 6 inches of ice however half of that was black ice (considered weak). Along the shore of the main portion of the lake (where it is shallow) was reporting 7-9 inches of good ice (white or blue). Mid-lake only had about 3 inches of ice. After I figured out that it was relatively safe (I am never fully trusting of ice) I got my gear and headed out from Big Bay Point.

Immediately it felt like there was much more snow at this time then last year. Last year saw very little snow on the main part of the lake. Towards the end of the season, Kempenfelt Bay was getting fairly tough to ski on given the amount of snow accumulation. Strong winds and low snow accumulations kept the main lake fairly clear.

There were some snowmobiles on the lake yesterday but not enough to make it the " snowmobile highway" that typically runs south from Big Bay Point to Cook's Bay. The snowmobile highway makes it easier to ski if there is deep snow on the lake.

Although the snow was fairly deep, it was generally pleasant to ski on once I got away from shore. I headed down towards Sandy Cove (round trip it was about 45 minutes). The wind was fairly strong but more then tolerable. My biggest obstacle was that I left late in the day and would have to be careful not to get caught in the dark (one of my greatest fears of lake skiing is being hit by a snowmobile. Snowmobiles travel at insane speeds on Lake Simcoe and I am always aware of their proximity to me. I now have a strobe safety light that I wear).

I managed to make it back before dark. About 15 minutes after I got back it started to snow again producing near zero visibility. All in all, a good start to the season. I was thinking about skiing today but right now the temperature has not gotten above -16 degrees Celsius (not counting the wind chill)!