where were you?
Just curious. Sad about your dog. I can't imagine losing mine. My dog and I did long walks last winter. Snow wasn't an issue despite there being about 5' around my house. We would walk out from Brickyard cove out around that gigantic mansion the race track guy has. Never did I sense any danger. It was mid Feb.
I watched to lake freeze this year at various points. I noticed that the last place to freeze generally is the top of Alton Bay, where it joins the broads. Were you walking from Alton to Rattlesnake?
I am cautious when I approach shore near bubblers, or around strange formations on the ice, or around the big pressure fractures. I grew up around lake erie and used to walk out on that lake in winter. You want to talk about pressure fractures...they were 10 feet tall.
Of course if there is snow I wear snowshoes or skis. But near me, the wind usually blows the snow off...which is why I have large amounts of snow even when there isn't that much snow as the prevailing wind is onto my shore.
Last year I walked out with kids and everyone had fun. We even put a radio controlled car onto the ice and it was so smooth that the car could go forever at high speed.
I have a pretty high danger antenna, especially when it involves my children, and I sensed none. That said, when alone I walk with a climbing axe ...essentially a small pick axe...that I would claw my way out were I to go in.
The main danger I've heard of are in warm ups...where the snow melts and can form pools under the ice into which you can fall. A friend's father fell into one up to his waist once. Cold. But it's not like breaking through into the lake.
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