Snowmobiles

[beerbatter]

Hey guys wondering if anybody could tell me what lakes if any are ready to take a snowmobile on. Thick enough ice with some snow on top.
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[fishmaniac]

Uintas do. I was there two weeks ago and there plenty of ice and snow, about 10" of ice and maybe 6" of snow on top of the ice. Plenty of snow on the hwy to get up to the lakes. I'm sure the ice is thicker and more snow up there now, should get slammed with snow this weekend
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[beerbatter]

Thanks for the info fishmaniac. Anybody know if scofield or mammoth would be okay to taker a snowmobile on?
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[kj]

One way to look at it is to take the square inches of surface contact of your machine and divide it by the weight of the machine and that will tell you your weight per square inch. Compare that to your weight when standing on one foot. i.e. - I weigh 215 lbs, so when walking across ice, with each step I am supporting 215 lbs on approximately 4 inches by 12 inches. In comparison, my atv weighs (in round numbers) 500 lbs. There are 4 tires with a foot print of each about the same size as my boot. 500 lbs divided by 4 works out to be 125 lbs supported by each wheel, which is less weight than when I stand on the ice on one foot (leg). If I get onto the machine that adds another 215 lbs, spread out over 4 wheels. That works out to be 715 lbs, divided by 4 (wheels), comes out to be about 178 lbs per wheel. A snow mobile has a bigger "foot print" so, in theory, it is safer. I have seen many a wheeler riding on 5 inches of ice over the years. Even though I know better, I like thicker ice. I have taken my snowmobile on 7 inches of ice with both my wife and I on board. Not even a crack. I prefer a minimum of 7 inches. Here are the guidelines put out by the Minnosota DNR:

For new, clear ice only

2" or less - STAY OFF
4" - Ice fishing or other activities on foot
5" - Snowmobile or ATV
8" - 12" - Car or small pickup
12" - 15" - Medium truck

If you look up various sites on the net, they all seem to claim the same thing as stated above. I believe this formula factors in some safety. As kids, we would ice skate on 2 inches of ice as a minimum. I think I only fell through once and that was because we were seeing how close we could skate to the open water.
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[lakepowellnut]

Based on the ice thickness reports at Scofield, there should be safe ice for snowmobiles. I'll be taking mine out tomorrow.
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[brookie]

Mammoth would be fine. Was there Wednesday. 8 inches of ice with 6-8 inches of snow on top. Got there at 8:00 and it was colder than Toby's - even when it warmed up the ice kept forming in the hole. I expect the ice is building as we speak.
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[beerbatter]

Thanks everybody for the info. I am going to try to hit either Scofield or Mammoth this weekend. Will let ya all know how it goes if do.
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