I'll open this thread for future updates on the ice (we had 19" of ice on Saturday, Jan. 28 - BMW WDT).
Ice: Well, with the current cold weather for the upcoming week/foreseeable future, we should have well in excess of 20" of ice since there is precious little of any kind of snow out there to insulate the ice/water from the cold! My estimate: 24" by the 12th. We'll see how that is by that time. Approximately 11" of "blue ice" (e.g. no bubbles or limited) is sufficient for a 3/4 ton truck (approx. 6000 lbs/3000 kg). There is no lack of ice at this time and we should be good to the end of the year (last one is Sunday, Feb 26) and beyond.
I will make at least one trip out there prior to that to try out the new gate system I "cooked up" ... using plumbing insulation tubes in a drilled hole in the ice and might as well check the progress of the ice at that time. I have drilled a hole in a bucket of ice I froze at home and it seems to work so we'll see how it goes ... The system is a bit more complicated than that but this should be sufficient for now as a description ... They will be cheaper than cones and softer as well as take up less room so a good thing all around provided the anchorage to the ice works.
Updates from visits and such will be posted here until the event and then links to photos etc. can be posted here.
Questions can be answered here too.
Cheers,
Reijo