Take in the Splendour of Winter in the Kawarthas on Ice Skates
Date: 12/06/2013
In fact, this photo is of my niece, Elise, skating on the frozen, linear waterway near Balsam Lake on a sunny weekend afternoon in January.
And after a couple of hours outdoors on the ice, kids and adults alike welcome frothy hot chocolate and homemade shortbread inside the cottage by the fireplace.
Nonetheless, skating on natural ice always involves risk. The following ice safety tips are from the Canadian Red Cross. Ice safety is a key part of the Canadian Red Cross water safety program. The organization says you can learn a great deal about ice simply by observing it.
Ice thickness
Ice thickness can help determine its tenacity. Many factors affect ice thickness, such as the type of water, location, the time of year, and other environmental factors including:
Water depth and size of body of water
Currents and other moving water
Chemicals including salt
Fluctuations in water levels
Logs, rocks, and docks absorbing heat from the sun
Changing air temperature
Ice thickness should be:
15 cm for skating alone
20 cm for skating parties or games
Ice colour
The colour of ice may also be an indication of its strength. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind:
Clear blue ice is the strongest
White opaque or snow ice is half as strong as blue ice; Opaque ice is formed when wet snow freezes on the ice
Grey ice is unsafe; the greyness indicates the presence of water
