CALGARY -- Winter snow is starting to limit the open ice available to skaters on mountain lakes west of Calgary, but some officials say this season wasn’t as safe as they’d like to see.
From parking close to industrial traffic on highways to a lack of caution around ice thickness, there’s a sense a serious accident could happen any time.
Gap Lake near the hamlet of Exshaw has been one of the busy destinations. Longtime locals say there is often open water on the lake, even during prolonged cold spells, the result of underground springs eroding the ice.
“Obviously it’s thick enough to support people because they’re still skating on there and no one has gone through yet,” said Exshaw fire Chief Rick Lyster. “But with the increase in people using it there’s going to be an incident sometime.”
He says 14 members of his department are currently taking an ice rescue course to be ready for that call.
Calgary photographer Lee Nordbye was the skater in a viral photo tweeted recently by the NHL, among others, showing him striding up the ice on Lake Louise.
He says behind the beautiful and dramatic images are plenty of precautions.
"We'll put a (personal floatation device) on, rope up and someone will gradually go out and test spots with the ice screw" he said.
The Canadian Red Cross recommends ice be at least 15 centimetres thick to safely hold up an individual and 20 centimetres for hockey games or groups.
