With all the warm weather we have had lately I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to get out on the snowmobile and explore Yellowknife Bay. I started on Frame Lake and made my way to Back Bay and Yellowknife Bay from there. If you have never had the opportunity to walk, ski, drive or snowmobile Yellowknife Bay I highly recommend you do so. The Bay holds a very special place in Yellowknife, with so many unique things to see.

One of them being something we may take for granted is the road system on the ice. With roads leading from houseboat to houseboat to the castle and the Fish Plant all built on a couple feet of ice. It is something that is just neat in its self. Having roads leading from place to place you have a better chance to get up close to the several houseboats occupying the area and admire some of the architecture. Along with seeing the houseboats you of course can also see the construction of the Snow King’s Castle, if it isn’t finished already, and see what hard work is put into each year.

I always find it surreal to drive a vehicle on the ice right beside a boat frozen in the ice. Just the thought alone sounds surreal, this is why I love Yellowknife.

There are so many interesting and unique places and structures around the bay, to many to name all of them. What are your favorite things around the bay or rather what sticks out the most to you?

It is snowy out there be careful. Here are some winter driving tips.

On Saturday night, like the rest of the city, I ventured to main street to get in the festive season by watching the Christmas Parade. It was really fun getting in the mood for Christmas even if it was only November 20. I don’t know how many floats were actually in the parade but it was a decent turn out for this year. The weather was a little chilling, but better than it could have been. It had been snowing solidly for 24 hours and had just let up for the parade which made it all that much more enjoyable.

The following are the pictures I was able to take. I must admit I am not a very good photographer and wasn’t able to get my camera on the proper setting for the parade so the majority of my photos came out blurry, but none the less here are some alright ones.

If you’d like to see all of the photos head over the my Flickr Page. Now it is your turn. Did you go to this years Christmas Parade? How did you like it? Did it compare to years previous? Dare I ask which you prefer, Night or Day?

It is that time of year again when there is a thin layer of ice on the lakes. It is also that time of year when people don’t think before walking on that thin layer of ice. As of November 2, 2009 it is NOT SAFE, do not walk on it. To check the ice measurements of the lakes around Yellowknife go to the City Website Page, which is updated weekly until the ice reaches a certain point. Keep in my it is at your own risk.

Here is a chart to give you an idea of what thickness can handle what weight.

If you want to check the the ice for yourself here is a How-To I wrote up last year:

What you need: Ice auger(an axe could work, I have done it, but it makes a mess), L shaped stick (can be anything), measuring tape, and a shovel.

How to Do it:

1. Shovel away all the snow in the area where you want to drill your hole in the ice
2. Prep your Ice Auger, make sure blade is sharp. Start it up if it is a gas auger.
3. Start drilling by slowly drilling your hole so that the auger goes down in one spot and continue down.
4. While your drilling it is a good idea to pull up the Auger once and a while to get the ice shavings out of the hole. Use the shovel to remove them once they are up.
5. Once you have gone throw bring your auger back up and make sure you don’t put it in the snow so it does not have clumps of snow and ice on it when you want to put it away. (Not something you have to do, just something I do)
6. Clear all the slush and ice chips out of the area with the shovel and try to get as much as possible out of the hole.
7. With your “L” shaped stick put the vertical end ( — part) into the ice and then pull the stick back upwards you that the vertical part of the stick is underneath the ice at the very bottom of it.
8. Then mark on the sticks horizontal part (|) where the ice (top) begins.
9. Once you have pull the stick our again, with the measuring tape measure from where you mark the ice began to the bottom part.

You will now have a general idea of the thickness of the ice in that area. But remember Ice Thickness can change very quickly and can be different thickness’s only a foot away from where you measure. Many things contribute to how thick the ice can be, such as the depth of the water, if the ice is exposed to the air and/or sun, as well as how much snow is on top of the ice. Think of the snow as a blanket. When snow if on ice it insulating it, preventing it from becoming thicker and stronger.

If you or your companion falls threw the ice here is what you are recommended to do:

What to do if a companion falls through thin ice:

• Keep calm and think out a solution.
• Don’t run up to the hole. You may fall through and then there will be two victims.
• Use an item to throw or extend to the victim to pull them out of the water such as jumper cables, skis, rope or push a boat ahead of you.
• If you are unable to rescue the victim immediately, call the Fire Division at 873-2222.
• Get medical assistance for the victim. People subjected to the cold may seem fine after being rescued, but can suffer a potentially fatal condition called “after drop” where cold blood that is pooled in the body’s extremities starts to circulate again as the victim starts to warm.

What to do if YOU fall in:

• Remain calm and look towards the shore.
• Place your hands and arms on the unbroken surface of the ice.
• Work forward on the ice by kicking your feet. This will assist in keeping your body horizontal and help you “swim” out of the hole in the ice.
• If the ice breaks, maintain your position and slide forward again. If this doesn’t work – keep trying.
• Once you are lying on the ice, don’t stand up. Instead, roll away from the hole.
• Crawl back to your tracks, this will ensure that your weight is spread out until you are on solid ice or on shore.
• Seek medical assistance.

Remember to check out the City of Yellowknife Page for updates of ice measurements

Update: CBC is also reporting that all flights at the Yellowknife airport have been grounded since 9:30am.

Yellowknife is experiencing some bizarre weather out there today. After receiving days of snow, which made the roads slick and lawns white, the weather decided to warm up just enough for it to start melting.

The roads that now have piles of gravel on them are now gravel and water. Puddles on every corner just waiting to be splashed all over the sidewalks. The water itself may not be that dangerous but please be aware that when the temperature drops again that water will freeze. Freeze and make the roads even more slippery than before.

Yellowknife was also greeted with a thick layer of fog blanketing the city this morning. Here are some picture I managed to get while driving downtown.

You can see how all the snow that was once on the roads is now just water

The sky rises that are normally stick out in Yellowknife’s skyline are barely visible.