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With the warm bouts of weather many across the Prairies have been experiencing this winter, outdoor enthusiasts are taking advantage by lacing up their skates or tossing in a line.
But it’s important to know the conditions before you make your way onto a frozen lake, pond or river.
My Wild Alberta recommends ice thickness should be 10 centimetres for a person to walk on and at least 30 centimetres to drive a pick-up truck on.
Doug Massig is an outfitter with Ice Fishing Alberta and recommends drilling holes in the ice if you’re going out on a lake you’re not familiar with.
“I always tell people: start drilling a hole walk a bit, drill another hole, walk a bit drill another hole and if you do see that depth start to change then you know you don’t want to go any further, you want to stay where you have that nice depth.”
Most lakes should be well frozen over at this point in the season but there can be spots of weaker ice, especially on ponds and rivers within Alberta’s cities and towns.
Calgary Fire Department spokesperson Carol Henke said their peak time is fall, winter and spring where they can field anywhere from 25 to 50 ice rescue calls.
Henke advises that if you see someone who may be in need of help, call 911 immediately. If you are trying to reach for the person in distress, you shouldn’t put yourself at risk.
“The biggest concern is hypothermia,” Henke said. “If people fall through the ice and they’re immersed in the water for even a short period of time, hypothermia can set it very quickly.”
While temperatures fluctuate and ice thaws and re-freezes, Massig says you can often gauge the ice thickness by its colour.
So if you’re skating or fishing, staying close to home or heading into mountains, make sure to check the ice thickness before heading out.
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