Poolburn white...

Frozen creek on way to the first skate

Big day on the ice today with lots of variety.  Woke up to a chilly morning and drove over to meet Dave and his crew at the bottom of the Poolburn track.

While waiting I went for a quick explore and a skate on a small dam nearby.  Great.

 Headed up to Poolburn with Dave, Nick and James.  As usual great to see the dam in all its winter glory - although the ice was covered in snow.  Amazing to find that it was quite easy to skate on with our hockey boots as the snow was light and fluffy.  Good hard ice underneath.  Had a good time exploring but were unable to go around the main island as pressure cracks had opened to clear water in some places.

Next stop the Lower Manorburn -  treated to a good skate on mostly smooth ice.  Good way to finish the skating day.

Small dam.... or dam small skate...

Dave Nick and James on Poolburn

d d d d d d d Dave in action 

Lower Manorburn - Dave Nick and James

Ice Report:  Poolburn - thick ice in main bay and most other areas.  Some open water.  Ice hard but snow covered - with some clear black ice patches.   New ice is thin compared to the main pack.  Track in good condition - but snow covered.

Lower Manorburn.  Good ice over most of the main basin. Hard ice -  mix of smooth and a little bumpy.   Over 100mm in Rushcutters out to 60-70mm on the other side.   Thin ice in neck and water in the gorge.  Skate with the frost.