Ice Bubbles

My friend Jon and I finished the panelling installation to the high ceiling on January 24.  On the 25th we packed up and headed back home to the city.  Before heading home we took a drive up to Abraham Lake to check out the Ice Bubbles.

The lake was swept fairly clear of snow by the dominant winds.  In particular, it was very clear around the elbow of the lake... at Windy Point, across from Mt. Michener.  We wandered down to the shore of the lake and checked things out.  It was very windy on this day, and photography with a view camera was not possible.  Water is released from the reservoir over the winter months and as a result the ice collapses.  In areas where the shore is steep, this results in sloped sheets of ice laying on the shore.  Access to the horizontal ice on the surface of the lake is challenging, and ice cleats are necessary.  We neglected to bring any and so had to limit our exploration to the shore.

We travelled further up the lake to the headwaters.  Here access to the lake was much easier, but it was mostly snow covered.  It is not nearly as windy at the upper part of the lake.  The recent mild weather melted the surface of the ice somewhat.  This not only reduced the clarity of the ice, but also made some of the remaining snow stick to it.  Subsequent light snow has now further adhered to the surface and the winds are not fully clearing it.  We wandered around for a while and took some snapshots, but the wind was still fairly brisk and I did not attempt any large format photography.

At least there were no issues with my truck this time, and we managed to explore at leisure for a while.  As it was a weekday, there were not nearly as many people around this time.  By early afternoon we hit the road and made our way back to the city.