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Thin ice still out there
Swampy, drainage areas pose hazard for snowmobilers

Daniel Campbell
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, December 18, 2013

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknife snowmobilers are warning each other of thin ice areas around the city.

A man reportedly fell through the ice on his snowmobile on Sunday night, west of Kam Lake. Bruce Hewlko, president of the Great Slave Snowmobile Association, said the trail the rider was on follows a drainage pattern and it's not the first time people have fallen through.

"The ice sets up a lot slower in areas where there is drainage and swamps," Hewlko said. "There are gasses percolating in the area preventing the ice from forming."

The condition of the rider is unknown at this point, although Yellowknifer has received no reports the man was seriously hurt. Yellowknife RCMP said that it received no reports of a snowmobile accident from Sunday evening.

Hewlko said he knows the trail, and advises riders to stick to the north side and follow the marked trail. He pointed out some other hazardous areas around Yellowknife, including drainage areas out of Kam Lake, Mac Lake, Duck Lake and Martin Lake. He said riders should watch out south of the bridge over the Yellowknife River as well.

By mid-November, the Great Slave Snowmobile Association had deemed most lakes in Yellowknife safe for walking and snowmobiling. It said at least six inches of ice are needed for those activities. The city saw some particularly cold temperatures recently, including a few -40 C days last week.

Still, Hewlko said areas with swamps, creeks and rivers can have thin ice during the early parts of the season, regardless of low temperatures.

He warns riders to stay on marked trails as much as possible, and keep as close to the shoreline as they can.

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