Tuesday, January 16, 2007
"Slush"!
Manitoba has been in a "deep-freeze" now for a week, with temps in our area hitting -35*C every night, with the coldest morning -39*C. Wind-chills have been in the -45*C range. Just about cold enough for me to wear a "toque", and switch from gloves to "mitts". The cold has been great for the winter roads that criss-cross the province, as they finally can be travelled on, although they are not officially open yet.
I was thinking about our weather conditions since November, and they have been perfect for a "hidden danger" that lurks beneath the snow on our countless lakes and rivers every winter. Any ski pilot with any amount of time has encountered it, and felt his adrenaline pump. I am talking about "slush". Slush is a mixture of water and snow that sits on top of the ice, camouflaged by the top layer of snow. If you have a cold freeze-up, and little snow, the ice freezes fast and becomes thick, and strong, and the frost goes deep into the earth, as there is no insulating snow cover. When you have a slow freeze-up, due to warm temps, you get a lot of snow. The ice is thinner, and then becomes snow-covered. The weight of the snow depresses the ice, and water seeps into these depressions. Water also flows onto the ice from the shorelines, as the blanketing snow allows the earth to retain heat longer, and this heat will also melt some of the under-lying snow and allow it to seep down along the shoreline. Slush is always worse the closer to shore you get. Ski pilots get quite adept at looking for slush from the air before they land. Usually, but not always, as you over-fly your landing area, if conditions are right, you can make out where the slush is, as it makes the over-lying snow darker, as though there is a faint shadow over it. After landing, as you taxi to your parking area, you keep your speed and power "up", and you make a wide circle. If you hit "slush", you "add" power to get through it, then as you come around after completing the "circle", you regain your "tracks" and shut down on a spot that is compacted, where there is no slush showing. I personally have had "bags of fun" in slush, the last time a couple of years back getting stuck at Sagawitchewan Bay, about 35 miles east of Island Lake, MB. The slush was about 12 inches deep, with a frozen overlying crust about 4 inches thick, with another 12 inches of overlying snow. Great conditions. I was flying 1000 HP "Polish" Otter C-GBTU, and I was dropping off two men and gear for a prospecting crew. Well, we unloaded, shovelled, sweated, got wet and cold, and 1000 "snorting" Clydesdales finally pulled me out of that "shithole" empty, but just barely. The only "saving" factor in the whole affair, was that the temperature was just below 0*C. If the temps had been in the -20s, the slush would have immediately froze, and I would have been "screwed". Anyways, winter sure has it's surprises to throw your way, and the "bush" can be unforgiving. Tell you one thing, though, flying in the bush sure leaves the old memory banks "chock-full". Before I go, let me share a photo my buddy Dave Schneider took at Shining Falls Lodge, on Family Lake. Dave is the former owner of Shining Falls Lodge, and was building a dining room and deck for new owners Pat and Chickie Harristhal, during early spring a couple of years back. Dave was using "local" materials for the support structure and railings, and was also using dimensional lumber, which was being flown to the site by Blue Water Aviation, who were my employers at the time. Well, again, the conditions weren't great, with lots of slush. We would land in one direction, and take off in the other direction, empty. I never got stuck that winter, but came close. So, check out what a de Havilland DHC-3 Otter with a Pezetel M18 engine of 1000 HP installed, "wearing" de Havilland wheel-skis, looks like as she "bellows" and "throws slush"!
That ain't snow flying, folks, that is "slush" and "water"! Great picture, Dave, till next time,
"Adios"!
LINK - Shining Falls Lodge!...Roughing It "In Style"!
SEE THE - Dining Room and Deck "Dave Built"!
I was thinking about our weather conditions since November, and they have been perfect for a "hidden danger" that lurks beneath the snow on our countless lakes and rivers every winter. Any ski pilot with any amount of time has encountered it, and felt his adrenaline pump. I am talking about "slush". Slush is a mixture of water and snow that sits on top of the ice, camouflaged by the top layer of snow. If you have a cold freeze-up, and little snow, the ice freezes fast and becomes thick, and strong, and the frost goes deep into the earth, as there is no insulating snow cover. When you have a slow freeze-up, due to warm temps, you get a lot of snow. The ice is thinner, and then becomes snow-covered. The weight of the snow depresses the ice, and water seeps into these depressions. Water also flows onto the ice from the shorelines, as the blanketing snow allows the earth to retain heat longer, and this heat will also melt some of the under-lying snow and allow it to seep down along the shoreline. Slush is always worse the closer to shore you get. Ski pilots get quite adept at looking for slush from the air before they land. Usually, but not always, as you over-fly your landing area, if conditions are right, you can make out where the slush is, as it makes the over-lying snow darker, as though there is a faint shadow over it. After landing, as you taxi to your parking area, you keep your speed and power "up", and you make a wide circle. If you hit "slush", you "add" power to get through it, then as you come around after completing the "circle", you regain your "tracks" and shut down on a spot that is compacted, where there is no slush showing. I personally have had "bags of fun" in slush, the last time a couple of years back getting stuck at Sagawitchewan Bay, about 35 miles east of Island Lake, MB. The slush was about 12 inches deep, with a frozen overlying crust about 4 inches thick, with another 12 inches of overlying snow. Great conditions. I was flying 1000 HP "Polish" Otter C-GBTU, and I was dropping off two men and gear for a prospecting crew. Well, we unloaded, shovelled, sweated, got wet and cold, and 1000 "snorting" Clydesdales finally pulled me out of that "shithole" empty, but just barely. The only "saving" factor in the whole affair, was that the temperature was just below 0*C. If the temps had been in the -20s, the slush would have immediately froze, and I would have been "screwed". Anyways, winter sure has it's surprises to throw your way, and the "bush" can be unforgiving. Tell you one thing, though, flying in the bush sure leaves the old memory banks "chock-full". Before I go, let me share a photo my buddy Dave Schneider took at Shining Falls Lodge, on Family Lake. Dave is the former owner of Shining Falls Lodge, and was building a dining room and deck for new owners Pat and Chickie Harristhal, during early spring a couple of years back. Dave was using "local" materials for the support structure and railings, and was also using dimensional lumber, which was being flown to the site by Blue Water Aviation, who were my employers at the time. Well, again, the conditions weren't great, with lots of slush. We would land in one direction, and take off in the other direction, empty. I never got stuck that winter, but came close. So, check out what a de Havilland DHC-3 Otter with a Pezetel M18 engine of 1000 HP installed, "wearing" de Havilland wheel-skis, looks like as she "bellows" and "throws slush"!
That ain't snow flying, folks, that is "slush" and "water"! Great picture, Dave, till next time,
"Adios"!
LINK - Shining Falls Lodge!...Roughing It "In Style"!
SEE THE - Dining Room and Deck "Dave Built"!
