Well after a few very cold weeks in Montana the lake at Canyon Ferry Dam is now properly frozen. A week or two before christmas temperatures were as low as -30 deg C, which builds ice thickness very quickly and is exactly what we needed. However, very soon after the freeze, it also snowed, which is exactly what we did not need! The general consensus from the locals was that the lake was then out of action for a month or so, or until the snow disappeared.

(Technical note: even a light dusting of snow can make the lake unusable. The moment it snows, it is not necessarily a problem as it is still light and fluffy, but it quickly drifts with the wind into sizable mounds, which then freeze into solid lumps, turning the smooth ice into more of a mogul field. To be able to approach record speeds, we need snow free ice for a minimum of 3 miles)

However, conditions have improved much sooner than we thought and after local inspection on New Years day, a significant part of the lake was clear and usable, with ice conditions improving all the time.

I therefore jumped on a plane and am currently on route to San Francisco, where the team van awaits. After a 1000 mile drive to the frozen north of Montana, we will set up on the lake, hopefully next weekend.

Many thanks to Dave, John, Jim, Dale and all the locals for the detailed weather reports over the past few weeks, much appreciated.

Time to make the sacrifices to the weather gods and hope the snow holds off for as long as possible!