Palooza

Do any snowmobile clubs out there offer as a service to measure ice thickness on lakes or rivers and sign as safe for travel? I'm interested in a way to check the thickness on a river, which is obviously riskier than a lake due to currents, ice dams, etc. Does technology exist to do a helicopter flyover and get a map using sonar or something similar? How can we know if it is safe to cross/travel on a river?

DitchPklCowboy

Rivers are always ride at your own risk however lakes are staked by our club and we rely on the DNR report for safe thickness which is 5 inches for snowmobiles


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Palooza

There HAS to be a way to check, isn't there?? But how?

JheLrey

Thickness would change daily anyways due to moving water

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DitchPklCowboy

We also have lake association that report ice thickness


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smokingcrater

And don't assume a river is worse than a lake... I've got a couple lakes near me that are notorious for having little pockets of very thin ice or open water, while the rest of the lake might be 18 inches thick. There are numerous springs under the lake that feed water into it, and can slightly warmer water to bubble up.

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gpa21

Absolutely, I know guys ride the river where I live from time to time, and one goes through every year! As JheLrey said, rivers constantly change thickness due to moving water, and debris. Personally, you want to ride a river, add me to your life insurance policy first please. Cuz it is only a matter of time!

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JheLrey

Or in my case... have a friend that does ice diving!

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Phoenix

Do you have guys who ice fish locally? They're always the ones I talk to and they know all the details. Plus most of them go out there with sleds/quads/trucks and they measure the ice all over the lake.

Palooza

Lakes are a pretty safe bet, and word travels fast in the community on how thick the ice is because there are are lot of fishermen. I'm in northern Alberta, and the Athabasca river is very well travelled in the Athabasca area every winter, but usually not until this time of year.