Watch your step

Here in the lower portion of Minnesota we have had too much warm weather yet to set up any or much decent ice. On Monday we got upwards of 9" of snow in Rochester area, some areas slightly more, some less. Even with the lower temperatures behind all this snow, the combination of heavy snow and thin ice can spell problems for those who get too anxious and venture out on ponds, lakes and especially rivers. The news has had a couple stories already this year of people going thru the ice, the ice sheets busting free and heading to open water and even drownings associated with ice fishing.

Don't venture out on a pond, lake or river if you don't see tracks coming and going. Don't be the first. Be sure to spud your way as you go. And always watch for wet spots in the snow cover....stay well away from wet snow. Water can capillary thru snow and hide where its source begins. This is a good season to not trust any ice.

Whenever I see the pics of trucks and 4 wheelers out on ice, I always wondered who had the biggest stones to be first to try. Good post and stay safe up there.

Being first on the ice doesn't always work the way it was intended to. We've already had a couple drownings this year because the un-wise push getting out too soon to far. No ice is safe. Period. A few years ago there was a picture of a line of pick-ups sunk along a shoreline on a Twin Cities Metro Lake. The must have been 6 or 8 with water right up half way on the windows. There was a parking lot 50 feet back from where they were parked. Lazy saps didn't want to park and have to haul uphill when leaving and it was a very shallow grade to go up. I think there was only 8 or 10 inches of ice where they were parked. For a single pick-up 12" of ice is needed. For those that need to be first having stones isn't a requirement, but having an IQ on th top side of negative numbers certainly is.