This really has been a very strange winter in North America.

With large areas of the country having record snowfalls, storms and low temps, Montana has been unusually warm. During recent winters, the temperature at the lake normally plummets to well below zero (-10 to -25 deg C!) around November and usually stays there until late Feb, with only occasional warm days.

This winter, in contrast, has had only brief spells of very cold weather, but many warm days of significantly above zero temperatures. This, combined with pretty regular dustings of snow, has made the surface completely unusable for me this year. The Greenbird has been on standby here in California all winter, but the window just did not appear. There was a brief period of about a week in January when the local sailors reported a nice patch of ice further up the lake, at an area called ‘White Earth’. However, it is the narrowest part of the lake at under 2 miles wide, with steep hill on either side – not good for wind. I decided that the available space at White Earth was too marginal and to wait to see if the larger south lake improved. Within one week, that small nice patch had also been covered in snow.

I was all ready to head up there this weekend as it did look like it was improving, but storms in the sierras delayed the journey by a few days. Good thing too, as my friend, Dennis from Santa Cruz who did make the trip, took three days to get there through treacherous conditions, only to find it starting to snow on Canyon Ferry almost immediately after arriving. He had half a day of sailing, then headed home! Such is the uncertainty of ice sailing and this particular quest.

With only a few weeks of the season left, I have to face the reality that the conditions are probably not going to work out for me this time.

So how can I increase the chances of success? The only option is to be more mobile and start earlier. Having to tow the big trailer from California, meaning a long slow journey, certainly impacted on my judgement of when to go and were the conditions good enough to warrant the journey. I think it would have helped if the yacht was already at the lake, so I could fly in and rent a car at a moments notice. I will therefore try to deliver the yacht, in its trailer, to the lake during the summer, when the journey is easy, in preparation for next year.

I have to remember that it did take me 10 years to get the land record after my first efforts in 1999. My first ice sailing challenge was during the winter of 2001/02, so maybe the winter of 2011/02 will provide the illusive 10 year conditions required to get this one done and dusted…

Richard

Unfortunately nothing new to report. The lake had a little more snow last week and it is also suffering (unusually) from pressure ridges. As the ice expands and contracts, it cracks and can leave either open water or protruding ice – both potentially very dangerous for ice boats. One of the reasons we chose Canyon Ferry was its history of large open areas without pressure ridges, but this year is a little different with some new, and difficult, ridges. This could be explained by the reservoir being unusually full, or just the water level management by the hydro electric dam at the end of the lake, I’m not sure.

However, the result is a considerably smaller sailing area than we normally have and a rough surface with many drifts. John Cassidy, a fellow iceboater who lives in Helena and took a flight over the lake last week, took some pictures. As you can see, if the drifts look significant from 2000+ ft, they are very big when standing on the ice!

Many thanks to John, Dale, Lance, Dave and all the other local Montana ice sailors who are keeping me up-to-date as conditions change. Somehow, I now seem to have a job and a 5 month-old baby, so can no longer spend extended periods of time sitting by the lake drinking beer, waiting for the conditions to improve!

We will remain on standby for the entire ice season, ready to take advantage of any good ice as it appears. As always, all ice reports always gratefully received.

Despite being more technically prepared than ever, ahead of the ice season, the weather has just not cooperated this freeze.

After the snow and rough ice of last year, I had counted on the smooth ice of the first freeze to give us the best chance of high speeds. By the first freeze, I mean the time between when the ice gets thick enough to sail on (6 inches) and when it snows.

However, it froze last week during an arctic storm, meaning that some parts of the lake are very rough. A few days later, it snowed, effectively putting a stop to the season before it had even started. To add to the problems, a few pressure ridges have now also formed that are very difficult to cross and divide the sailing area into smaller sections. All this means that Canyon ferry is probably out of service for the immediate future, but may well get better again later in the year as the air temperature warms up during the days and can smooth the surface back to perfection.

If the surface never recovers, there are other lakes further east, forming part of the great lake region of America, that will become sailable in Jan and Feb.

We will just have to sit and watch for the time being, waiting for an opportunity to arise. Any ice reports from sailors across the country are gratefully received.

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!