Ice Safety: 3 Steps That Could Save Your Life
If you’re trying to determine ice safety, you may think that the first thing you need to do is measure the thickness of the ice. But actually, there are two steps before that.
There are three unique steps required to assess ice safety:
Complete a visual inspection
Note the colour of the ice
Measure the thickness of the ice
The Government of Ontario has put together some tips for Ice Safety. Before selecting a body of water, remember ice safety depends on many things:
Size of the body of water
Movement of the water, including currents and tides
Current temperatures / recent and upcoming temperature fluctuations
Fluctuations in water levels
The chemical composition of the water
Depth of the water under the ice
The 3 Steps in Detail
You have picked your lake and have arrived on site. You must now complete your visual inspection.
1. Visual inspection
During your visual inspection, always remember that logs and rocks absorb the heat from the sun, which results in faster melting and slower formation of ice. If you see any of these signs during your visual inspection, do not go out onto the ice:
Cracks, breaks or holes in the ice
Water on top of the ice
Water flowing onto the ice
Ice that’s soft or mushy
Flowing springs in spring fed ponds and lakes
Ice that appears to have thawed and refrozen
Snow on the ice, as snow can warm up the ice as it acts like an insulator
2. Ice colour
The next step in the inspection is looking at the colour of the ice, which is extremely important. There are 3 colours of ice and each means different things when it comes to the strength of the ice:
Dull grey is a sure sign of unsafe ice. This grey colour means the ice is unsafe and that water is present. This ice will NOT support much weight. Grey is very common in the spring and in faster moving water all winter long.
White opaque ice or snow ice is only half as strong as blue ice. It is formed by wet snow freezing on the top of existing ice. It can be very dangerous if this ice has formed on top of ice that is not completely frozen. When this forms, it takes even longer for the lower level ice to solidify. This type of ice can cover up danger and has caught even seasoned anglers off guard.
Blue ice is clear and strong and the safest ice of all. The colour of ice deepens with increasing thickness because naturally water is turquoise blue. It forms when the temperature drops below -8C.
3. Ice measurement
The final step is ice measurement, and this must always be done. Do not test alone, always ensure you are using the buddy system. You can chip the ice with an axe or hatchet to create a small hole in the ice or utilize an ice auger or spud bar. Then measure the thickness of the ice. Continue to check the ice thickness as you move around the lake. Remember: ice thickness is NOT uniform across most lakes and rivers.
When you are looking at heading out for a day of skating, more ice thickness is required for a group than for one skater. The Canadian Red Cross recommends that ice should be at least 15 cm (6 inches) thick to carry a single person, but if you are heading out with a group of friends for skating or a game of shinny, ensure it’s 20 cm / 8 inches.
Ice thickness for a sled or snowmobile is a minimum of 25 cm (10 inches). Always keep in mind when you move around the ice that thickness does vary, so check the depth of the ice often.
For driving on the ice, you are looking for a minimum of 30 cm (12 inches) or more for a light vehicle, according to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Again, remember this is 30 cm of blue ice, so double that thickness if the ice is white or opaque.
Click here to check out more on the Government of Ontario’s website for Ice Safety.