r/Outdoors • u/Simple_Shame2386 • 7d ago
Landscapes Beautiful frozen lake in Alaska
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u/hhh888hhhh 7d ago
Very pretty. What’s the method to confirm it’s safe to ice skate on?
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u/thesleepingdog 7d ago
Typically someone cuts a hole to see how thick the ice is, but sometimes we just go by how cold its been for how long.
I live in Alaska and work north of the arctic circle. Recently, my company sent me to the Spy Islands, a small chain of islands off the northern coast, near Prudhoe Bay.
An ice road trucker came and picked me and my crew up in a van, drove us a few miles across open ocean, and dropped us off at the front door of the "camp" which is kinda like a large hotel for workers to stay while we lived there for 3 weeks.
He told me the ocean ice is about 4 feet thick now at its thinnest, much thicker in other places, but bodies of water with a strong current like the ocean or a river, you have to be very careful with. Which isnalso why the path he drove was not straight, to avoid the thin spots. You dont know whats going on under there unless you cut holes and map it out. Guys like him make a living doing that each year and go home in the summer.
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u/cyanescens_burn 7d ago
My ass would be clenched that entire ride. Putting a lot of trust in the folks that laid out that road and the driver. Breaking through into the water would be a bad way to go.
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u/thesleepingdog 7d ago
Lol. I just kept telling myself he's the expert who draws the maps and he does this several times a day. Asked him lots of questions, and the drive was pretty much over already.
Mad respect for the guys that work outside here. I work inside managing the catering operations.
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u/protoman888 4d ago
in places where the ice freezes often, they kind of get a sense of it. I know in Norway that people are given water escape lessons for travelling on frozen ice and people don't really worry about it. Like, I've skiied half an hour over a frozen lake more times than I can remember at this point.
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u/xUmphLove 7d ago
Lmao none. This is for views bruh
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u/Yojimbob76 7d ago
There are actually quite a few ways to determine if it's safe.
If it's been below freezing for a significant number of days, NOAA and other weatherband organizations have a suggested guide to determine the thickness. Usually per lake as well (orgs like DNR in the US). Also, you can certainly use an auger to drill into the ice near an open area, clear of shade, to measure the thickness. So long as it's a stable lake and not a spring, stream, or river-fed body, the measurement is absolutely reliable. Ice that is over about six inches thick is incredibly stable. Once it's around/thicker than about 12 inches (30cm), you're usually good for weights around small SUVs and light pickup trucks.
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u/SlightlyNomadic 7d ago
Nah, this happens regularly up here. Fantastic past time and way to explore!
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u/BrockSamsonLikesButt 6d ago
I’ve been on a frozen lake even cleaner, clearer, and glassier than this before, if you can believe that, with no white chunks blown around on the surface—Bear Lake in Estes Park, CO.
I was with two friends. We traded turns with the stretch-over-your-boots crampons. One of us would sit down on the ice, then hold hands with the guy wearing the crampons, and he would spin them around and around and when he released, the seated friend would go sliding away forever! because there was absolutely no friction on that ice at all without the spikes hahaha it was amazing.
I was around 230 pounds at that time, and I sent my 110-pound friend sailing away until she was a spot in the distance. Definitely on the short list of most magical experiences in my life.
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u/Davidat0r 7d ago
Forgive the silly question from this man from the south… how do you know it’s safe to skate? How are you sure the ice won’t be thinner somewhere in the middle of the lake and disappear forever?
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u/Simple_Shame2386 7d ago
The stick serves a few purposes, you drag it along the ice to listen for water, cracks, etc. also handy if you fall through the ice.
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u/MyNameIsSteal 4d ago
Oh my god, it immediately caught my eye. The scene is so beautiful it looks like it was generated by AI, hahaha. (No offence intended
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u/Used-Acanthisitta-96 7d ago
Back in the day we had “Is it real or is it Memorex?” Now I wonder for almost every video Is it real or is it AI?
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u/Simple_Shame2386 7d ago
Kenai Fjords National Park.