slave lake

[wcbarker]

how is slave lake with all this snow. Can a guy still get around or are the drifts bad. at Joussard

[spoons]

Hello. Just curious on the conditions. Hilliards or cut bank area. Headed there next week and wondering if they got as much snow as Edmonton did. Hopefully not. Thanks

[RavYak]

I was hearing it was tough to get around even before this last snow hit. A buddy was going to go up a week or two ago and he was told not to bother unless he had a snowmobile. Lots of guys getting stuck all over the place right now. I know a guy was stuck at Utikuma and another at Swan Hills recently, both due to soft spots caused from flood water because of the snow weight.

[spoons]

Thanks Ravyak Good info. Maybe a better trail out by mid week. I’m sure joussard is a good path to drive out but I have heard it’s slow on that side. Thanks again

[skidderman]

One guy through the ice west end. Only went down to next layer so I don't think there was any damage. Be careful. He says fishing has been slow.

[Lowrance Fishburn]

Originally Posted by RavYak

I was hearing it was tough to get around even before this last snow hit. A buddy was going to go up a week or two ago and he was told not to bother unless he had a snowmobile. Lots of guys getting stuck all over the place right now. I know a guy was stuck at Utikuma and another at Swan Hills recently, both due to soft spots caused from flood water because of the snow weight.

Hey Rav, can you explain the flood water thing a little better? I am headed north this upcoming weekend and although we are bringing a snowmodbile were hoping to be able to drive the truck on. I thought flood water was caused by warmer temps melting the top layer(s) of snow. This recent cold snap and snow dump we had somehow caused flood water? Its been below zero even on the warmest days, -2, -3.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by Lowrance Fishburn

Hey Rav, can you explain the flood water thing a little better? I am headed north this upcoming weekend and although we are bringing a snowmodbile were hoping to be able to drive the truck on. I thought flood water was caused by warmer temps melting the top layer(s) of snow. This recent cold snap and snow dump we had somehow caused flood water? Its been below zero even on the warmest days, -2, -3.

Heavy snow load bend the ice downwards and allows water to come up through cracks or holes. This water sits on top of the ice and does no freeze easily due to the snow cover above it insulation it from the cold air. Any time there is heavy snow there is real danger of flooding and some of these spots can be 2 or 3 feet deep if you are out a long ways from shore.

[RavYak]

And the biggest problem with those situations is that you often have no idea where they are until all of a sudden you are stuck.

Had it happen to us once with a quad on a remote lake 20+ kms from the truck. Was driving along and all of a sudden water is flying up around us and the quad was sinking... I thought we had broke through for some reason but fortunately it was only a foot or so of water on top of the ice. We had to unhook the sled and push the quad out, if we had been using a truck we would have been stuck for good.



Pictures I saw from Utikuma and Swan Hills area looked similar and were both from this weekend.



I would definitely be sticking to the main trails if going out fishing right now. You never know when you will hit something like this or a snow covered crack/ridge etc.