The OPP and the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) are reminding snowmobilers that no ice can be considered 100 per cent safe to ride on with a snowmobile.
This is especially true this winter when ice is forming earlier than usual in many areas and may look safe, but is not yet thick or strong enough to hold snowmobiles.
THAW, RAIN
This ice warning also applies during any prolonged period of thaw or rain, and late in the season after ice begins to deteriorate from milder temperatures.
To avoid unnecessary risks, the OPP and OFSC recommend that snowmobilers stick to available, land-based, OFSC prescribed trails whenever possible.
OFSC clubs provide numerous trails that avoid water crossings altogether and also provide many bridges and culverts to pass over known water crossings safely.
STAKE LINE
If you do make the personal choice to take the risk of travelling on ice by snowmobile, wait until a marked stake line is in place and cross only when you can follow it directly from shore to shore, without stopping on the ice.
While ice crossing is never a sure thing, snowmobilers can also reduce their risk by: checking ice thickness and quality before riding onto any frozen water; understanding that ice conditions may vary from day to day, from hour to hour and from place to place; never travelling on ice alone, at night or while impaired; avoiding slushy ice, untracked ice, or ice near moving water or dock bubblers; watching out for obstacles like rocks, stumps, docks, ice roads and fishing huts; wearing a buoyant snowmobile suit and carrying ice picks.
