Aardwolfs Ice Hockey Club
| Aardwolfs Natural Ice Reports |
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| 17th August 2009 9.45am |
Aardwolfs Ice Hockey Club |
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DISCLAIMER: These reports are based on: phone calls, emails, trips to the ice, lakes and ponds. Please NOTE that YOU SKATE AT YOUR OWN RISK and these reports only give you an idea of what to expect when you arrive. Conditions can change very quickly in the mountains and though we make every effort to keep these reports current in season, please be careful when skating.
Remember: ICE SKATING on NATURAL ICE can be dangerous.
Having a tow rope on hand works well for this.
More
Safety Tips |
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HELP US TELL YOU WHAT ITS LIKE ON THE ICE
If you have been to the
Ice Recently. Please
Ring: 03 3238293, |
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For videos of Natural Ice Skating check out the Aardwolfs
YouTube website: http://www.youtube.com/user/Aardwolfs |
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Ice Skating Locations |
Natural Ice Reports for 2009 |
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Skate Hire Staveley: Staveley Store: 03 3030 859 |
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Saturday
15th August 5.51pm: Poolburn Dam From Dave Young by email |
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Poolburn -Still an ice pack (up to 120mm) in main bay and
around to the dam. Very thin or melted at the edges but once on great
skating. Softened in places by midday and warming fast when we left. Last
skate for 09 we think. Dave P on the edge!!! putting his skates on: Photo by Dave Young  Dave Young using the board technique for getting on to the Ice: Photo Dave P |
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| Sunday 9th August 10.00pm: Lake Ida and Little Lake Ida From Clive Murphie | |
Great day at Ida today, 150mm plus of Ice over a 1/3 of
the main lake, some good areas to skate on and some covered with Ice blocks
from the last Northwester. The Ice softened in the sun but was hardening as
we left at 5.30pm, it will last if the weather is kind. Which means frosts
and no strong N/W winds. Clive on the main Lake at Ida, Photo by Ron James   Left: Clive again, Right: Fred, Warren and the boys Photos by Ron James  Some of the crew at Little Lake Ida, photo by Ron James |
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Saturday
8th August 6.26pm: Poolburn Dam From Dave Young by email |
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Poolburn - Large wind smoothed ice pack in the main bay.
150mm. Great skate and Kitewing. Edges thin and a step on board helps to get
on the ice. Areas of water showing and some parts melting. Without frost it
will break up. Dave Young at the Dam at Poolburn, Photo by Dave Young. |
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| Saturday 8th August 1.34pm: Lake Ida and Little Lake Ida From Ron James by Txt | |
| 9.00am Enclosure Skateable 100mm, Main Lake 1/3 skateable 100mm Little Lake Ida all frozen 100mm, People are heading up for a Skate on Sunday 9th | |
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Friday
7th August 6.0pm: Ice Sailing In New Zealand From Scuttlebutt email |
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More on the News front: today I received: SCUTTLEBUTT 2903 - Friday, August 7, 2009(www.sailingscuttlebutt.com) as I do most days, this is a world renowned sailing Digest, it had the following Item in it: SAILING SHORTS * While Wisconsin DN skipper Kyle Metzloff is in New Zealand to attend an engineering conference, he plans to scout ice with the goal of introducing the sport of ice sailing to New Zealand, along with becoming the first person to sail an ice boat there. For this attempt, Kyle will be sailing a Blokart land sailing boat fitted with runners. Full report: http://www.iceboat.org/index.html When I went to the above Link I found one of Ron's Photo's of Little Lake Ida and a plug for these Ice Reports, :-) I sent them the following Photo: It will be interesting to see what reaction I get.  Lake Lyndon July 2001, Photo by Glen Cameron |
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Tuesday 4th August 6.20pm: Lake Ida in the 1950's From Joe Morgan by email/Youtube. |
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Not a recent report but Joe Morgan has just posted the
following 50 second video on Youtube from Lake Ida in the 1950's, to give
you an idea of numbers there are 10 Busses and about 40 cars, in the car
park. Video supplied by Joe Morgan. |
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| Wed 29th July 2009 6.30pm: Lake Camp and Lake Clearwater From Alan Knowles by email. | |
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On Tuesday the 28th July new black ice was forming over
the whole of Lake Camp and most of Clearwater BUT with North westers
pending. On Wednesday (29th July) most of the new ice had broken up, the ice won't last much longer. |
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| Sunday 2nd August 2009 5.32pm: Lake Ida and Little Lake Ida From Jeff Peacock by txt | |
| Strong Northwest winds and rain at Lake Ida today, so no skating. Unless we get more frosts skating on the local lakes is probably over for the season. | |
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Sunday 2nd August 2009 6.02pm: Poolburn Dam From Dave Young by email |
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Poolburn - turned it on! Great skate and sailing with the
kitewing on smooth refrozen ice. Thick ice (150mm) over half of the dam but it was going fast at the edges in the wind and rain. Without frost it will deteriorate. (A local suggested it won't last another week). The Access track was very muddy at the top. (4WD) Watch the Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwORt6N8lig  David Young Kitewing'ing at Poolburn Dam Photo by David Young |
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Sunday 2nd August 2009 6.02pm: Idaburn Dam From Dave Young by email |
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| Idaburn - Creaky skate on ice that is going fast. Big thaw with lots of water showing. The edges are gone, without a frost, the ice will be gone in a day. | |
| Saturday 1st August 2009 5.50pm: Lake Ida and Little Lake Ida From Ron James by cell phone, pic's by email | |
Lake Ida is about one quarter black ice 100mm, Little
lake Ida is all 100mm black ice, perfect for skating. The second gate was
locked today so its a 20 min walk to the lake, there are a group of people
heading that way tomorrow Sunday the 2nd August Ron on the Main Lake at Ida, Photo Ron James.  Beautiful Black Ice On Little Lake Ida, Photo Ron James |
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Saturday 1st August 2009 1.50am: Lake Lyndon From Ron James by email |
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  Lyndon, snow, ice broken up by the Northwester wind. Photos by Ron James |
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Saturday 1st August 2009 1.50am: The Red Lake From Ron James by email |
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 A real Lake...No Ice, Lots of Water. Photo by Ron James |
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Saturday 2nd August 2009 1.50am: Lake Evelyn From Ron James by email |
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 Some Ice, though too thin to skate on. Photo Ron James |
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Sunday 26th July 2009 3.00pm: Manorburn Dam From Dave Young by email |
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Good skating in the main basin (Edges refrozen) Thawed in
other areas. If frosts continue it will hold. Skate early. Manorburn main basin on a clear Central Otago day Photo by Dave Young |
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Sunday 26th July 2009 3.00pm: Lake Evelyn From Jeff Peacock verbally |
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| Couldn't get on the ice as the only frozen area was surrounded by water, looks like the snow ice is melting, it needs several frosts before its worth returning for a skate. | |
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Sunday 26th July 2009 11.00am: The Red lakes From Jeff Peacock verbally |
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About 25 mm of ice/water of Black Ice, 2 layers with a
layer of water in the middle indicative of a freeze, rain and another
freeze, not enough to skate on but very close, needs another couple of
frosts then will be great. Looking at the Red lakes, Photo by Glen Cameron  More Red lakes, Photo by Glen Cameron |
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Sunday 26th July 2009 12.30pm: Lake Ida From Jeff Peacock verbally |
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Lake Ida has plenty of ice there is some water at the
Western end, the Ice is bumpy and there are only very small areas suitable
for skating on. Most of the lake is snow melt refrozen, the good news is: the
second gate is open and cars were able to be driven to the lake edge. The
enclosure has a wet area in the middle of it. The hockey rink is covered in
snow. Lake Ida from the Western End looking towards the Lodge. Photo by Glen Cameron |
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Sunday 26th July 2009 1.00pm: Little Lake Ida From Jeff Peacock verbally |
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Little Lake Ida has good skateable Ice around the
perimeter of the Lake (about 3 meters wide) where the ice has melted then
refrozen, the middle is covered in snow and is rough to skate on. Wouldn't
recommend going back until rain or NW defrosts the surface and it refreezes. Little Lake Ida from the Eastern end from the top of the scree that separates the two lakes, Photo by Glen Cameron  Little Lake Ida from the Western end looking at the scree that separates the two lakes, Photo by Glen Cameron |
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Saturday 25th July 2009 7.30pm: Stavely Ice Rink From Emily Skinner by phone |
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| Good Ice with a smooth hard surface, refrozen with the frost last night. A perfect day with a good frost expected Saturday night | |
| Saturday 25th July 2009 7.16pm: Lake Camp & Clearwater From Alan Knowles by txt | |
| Less than 1 Square Kilometre of ice left. Thawed snow cover with a rough surface, likely new 300m black ice at the east end of Lake Camp tomorrow Sunday. | |
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Saturday 25th July 2009 6.00Pm: Diamond Lake From David Young: by txt |
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| Thick hard ice locked in, a great skate, it was a bit bumpy in places from left over snow, only a 10 min walk to the lake. | |
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Saturday 25th July 2009 11.00am: Idaburn Dam From David Young: by txt |
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| Good Ice good Skating, melted at some edges but the gorge is good. Care is needed in some soft spots, so skate early with the frost. | |
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Sunday
19th July 2009 Pm: Idaburn Dam From Anthony Pidgeon by email from Australia!! |
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Idaburn was smooth and the weather perfect.
Skated over large areas till after 4pm. There was a cool wind coming off the ice. |
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Sunday 19th July 2009 Am: Manorburn Dam From Anthony Pidgeon by email from Australia!! |
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| The ice on Manorburn was bumpy and creaked a little but there were still large areas skateable. | |
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Saturday 18th July 2009: Lake Camp & Clearwater From Fred van Slooten, by email |
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Ice at Clearwater was soft Saturday afternoon and it
looked like it was going to disappear overnight when it turned northwest.
However during the night it calmed down and after a 3 degree frost we had
some great ice again. Skated right around the Island again Enjoying Clearwater: Photo by Fred van Slooten  Plenty of Ice: Photo by Fred van Slooten |
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************WARNING for Lake Evelyn
Skaters**************** Tuesday 14th July 2009 4.00pm: Lake Evelyn From Clive Murphie |
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| It has been brought to my attention that one of the people skating in the afternoon last Tuesday 14th July at Lake Evelyn had their car broken into and some sunglasses and a phone stolen, the offenders car was an older model Grey Subaru Station Wagon. We suggest you lock your cars while skating and keep an eye out for this vehicle. | |
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Friday 17th July 2009 9.33pm: Idaburn Dam From Dave Young by email |
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Idaburn - good coverage of ice all over. Good skating. Weather foggy/low cloud and surface was softening. Good frost will help. (skate early) |
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Friday 17th July 2009 9.33pm: Coal Pit Dam From Dave Young by email |
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Coalpit Ice all over. Skate-able on northern side. Surface softening. Low cloud/fog. Needs frost to keep. |
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Friday 17th July 2009 9.33pm: Poolburn Dam From Dave Young by email |
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Poolburn - still covered in snow and frost. Some parts
skate-able but needs a thaw and re-freeze. Track very slippery when day warms up. |
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| Friday 17th July 2009 5.44pm: Lake Camp & Clearwater: From Alan Knowles | |
| Lake Clearwater and Lake Camp: the snow has melted to give hard fast ice in morning. The ice was soft by 1pm today. There is plenty of Ice left. The temp was -6 on Wednesday and Thursday nights, however the days are warm. It's freezing now at 5.44pm. | |
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Tuesday
14th July 2009 3.00pm: Manorburn Dam: From David Young by email. |
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| Thick enough ice on all three basins, good skating on lower and upper basin. Hard but slightly bumpy ice due to melted snow but can be rough in middle basin. Great skate from the pier to upper basin BUT the neck is dodgy. You can walk around or bum over the rock. Would be great in the early morning frost. Water showing near rocks - and as usual take care! It too cold for a swim! | |
| Tuesday 14th July 2009 11.20am: Lake Camp & Clearwater: From Alan Knowles | |
| Clearwater Ice is now up to 100mm thick. it has Light Snow cover. There was -9.5 degrees of frost on Sunday night and what was open water is now freezing. | |
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Tuesday
14th July 2009 10.25pm: Lake Ida From Clive Murphie |
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| The first gate at the Olympus/Ida turn off is now unlocked, the second gate is still locked. There is still about 100mm of snow on the road. The area around the Lake and Lake Ida is also still covered in snow, there has been a partial melt and the whole lake is very rough and not suitable for skating. There is a very thick ice base so hopefully a thaw and refreeze might bring a good surface back. | |
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Tuesday
14th July 2009 10.25pm: Lake Evelyn From Clive Murphie |
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Lots of Ice, the snow on top has melted and refrozen and
from about 100 mt's out there is excellent skating, the first 100mts has the
occasional soft spot. The ice was measured at over 150mm thick (the longest
drill) the whole area we were skating over. There were a few pressure cracks
running the full width of the ice...a good nights skate. The new official
Lake Evelyn game is playing follow the leader at high speed slaloming
through the tussocks...:-) Skating at Lake Evelyn Jeff, Fred, Ted, Daryl, Hayden, Martin, Phillipa, Ali, Scott and Steph, Photo by Clive Murphie |
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Saturday
11th July 2009 9.25pm: Lake Ida From Fred van Slooten by email |
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| Regarding the Ida road. The first gate is now open and the second Gate locked. There are footprints heading in, but no vehicle tracks. My guess is that it will have snow on it but who knows. At least at Evelyn it has had a chance to melt. It may have been too cold at Ida for that to have happed. | |
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Saturday
11th July 2009 9.25pm: Lake Evelyn From Fred van Slooten by email |
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Great day at Evelyn today. The ice was pretty good. A slight surface
roughness due to the 20 mm layer of snow ice on top but it is very
skateable. Plenty of ice. About 150mm near the parking area and
thinning out down the lake. About 60mm by the trees about 1/2 way
down the lake. That was as far as we thought safe. Definitely worth
a skate if the snow stays away.
I expect the Red Lakes will be similar but after a frost the access
road might need chains going by last weekend.
 Skating at Evelyn 150mm of ice, Photo by Fred van Slooten  Lots and lots of ice and a great skate at Lake Evelyn Photos by Fred van Slooten |
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Saturday
11th July 2009 9.15pm: Lake Lyndon From Ali Pincott by Facebook |
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Lyndon wasn't the
best today, could only get access from the highway end, couldn't get into
the car park unless you have a 4wd or chains, half the lake was just
unfrozen water, quarter was very thick and bumpy ice, the last quarter was
bumpy ice covered in about 10mm of snow. Looks like the road to Lake
Evelyn was closed too so never made it there. Excellent day anyway, even
without having a skate!
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Saturday
11th July 2009 8.28am: Poolburn Dam From David Young by Txt |
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| Saturday am Manorburn Dam Great skating at the lower basin, rough in the middle basin, weather is dull light wind and no frost | |
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Saturday
11th July 2009 8.28am: Poolburn Dam From David Young by Txt |
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| Friday pm, Poolburn Dam covered in snow. | |
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Saturday
11th July 2009 8.28am: Idaburn Dam From David Young by Txt |
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| Friday Pm Idaburn Dam, Great skating. | |
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Friday
10th July 2009 5.35pm: Stavely Ice Rink From Emily Skinner by phone |
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| Stavely Ice Rink was open today: Ring 083291747 for more info | |
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Friday
10th July 2009 11.48am: Lake Clearwater/Camp From Alan Knowles by txt |
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| -7.6 degrees last night -6 all week. There's new Ice on what was open water, too thin to skate. However there is plenty of skateable ice, unfortunately its mostly under 3mm of snow, a bit crunchy to Skate on. Mornings are the best | |
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Thursday
9th July 2009 9.26pm: Lake Lyndon From Warren McKie by email |
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Keep an eye on lake Lyndon this weekend. The wet bit at
the HW73 end may well freeze over and produce some good skating. Most of the
rest of the lake is under snow, understandably.jpg) Lake Lyndon from the North End, looking South, open water and snow over the rest of the ice. Photo by Warren McKie. |
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| Archives | |
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2009(2)
Tuesday 30th June to Tuesday 8th July 2009 Sunday 6th June to Saturday 28th June 2008 Saturday 31st May to Sunday 27th July See older Photos on the Photos Pages for the individual locations for Ice Skating. |
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Some of the events above may have no association with the Aardwolfs Ice Hockey Club |
