Unusual ice bubbles on Abraham Lake are once again attracting sightseers and photographers to the reservoir near Nordegg.
But having people walking out onto the partly-frozen lake this early in the season concerns Edward Van Heeren, training co-ordinator and past-president of Rocky Search and Rescue.
With daytime temperatures going up to 7 C this week, Van Heeren said he would be leery of going too far out onto the lake ice. “I would not trust it.”
Most of the Abraham Lake is still open water, yet people are posting pictures of themselves standing on ice bubbles on social media. And Van Heeren heard reports from a colleague that some skaters were out on frozen parts of the lake last weekend.
He believes it’s safest to wait until mid-December to skate on lake ice, to be sure it is uniformly frozen.
Van Heeren noted the ice is about six inches thick on certain parts of the lake but much thinner in other spots, so even walking out onto the lake could be precarious.
The biggest draw to Abraham Lake in the fall and winter are the strange lava lamp-like bubble formations frozen into the ice. The bubbles are caused by decaying organic matter in the water. The gas caught in the ice creates an attraction for tourists and photographers.
The artificial lake, located 211 km west of Red Deer on Hwy 11, is a reservoir for the Big Horn Dam on the North Saskatchewan River.
Unlike most lakes, the water level can rise or fall after ice forms on top. A resulting air gap between the water and the ice could be several feet. Several outdoors people have previously expressed concern that if you fell through the ice you wouldn’t be able to reach up high enough to pull yourself out.
Signs of flowing water under the ice are an indication that water below has receded — and to stay off.
Van Heeren said he’s rescued a lot of people from Abraham Lake, but mostly in the summer when unexpected winds have picked up making it hard for canoeists or rafters to make it back to shore.
During the winter he’s helped a few people who have slipped on the icy banks and been injured. Vehicles have also gotten stuck on mud flats near the lake, which are all under water and ice now.
Van Heeren would advise sightseers to observe the ice bubbles from shore for now.
“Wait. Don’t go out on the ice now. It isn’t safe. Waiting until after Christmas is a good rule of thumb.”