MS screwing around again

[Horton]

[The_MS]

Nice. Where do you come up with this stuff?

[oldjeep]

Well, there isn't always a lot to do in MN when the weather is cold so you make your own fun.

[Skoot1123]

@horton - you better go out an ski......or you'll get frozen just looking at that picture.

[Chuck_Dickey]

Too cool!

[GaryWilkinson]

Havin' fun while dropping course anchors old school!

[Edbrazil]

 

Once again, back in the back-when, the ice augurs were one way to go.

We would drill a hole, and then use "arrowhead" type anchors and a drive pipe

to put them in the bottom, when it was not deep, as in under 10 feet.

 

However...many years past, in order to make a decent hole in the ice to put in

larger anchors, I'd first start with a small hand ice drill to make a hole maybe one

inch in diameter. And, then, after some experimentation, I would use a 1/4 stick

of dynamite (yes, when you could buy it), lowered to the level of the bottom of

the ice. Higher up, too much got blown into the air. Lower down, it would just

crack a lot of ice. 1/4 stick was the optimum, with the optimum depth.

 

These days, if I could even purchase dynamite, post 9/11, I would probably get

a prison term for doing that. I have other stories vs. dynamite.

[klindy]

Haha @Edbrazil‌ another great story. Back "in the near back" we marked the course out on the ice and cut a roughly 2' square in the ice with a chainsaw. One of the corners was the exact location of the buoy. Even if the ice was thick you could cut the block smaller and submerge it.

 

Then tie a rope to your anchor and use the corner to lower the block exactly where it needed to be. Lesson learned however was never leave enough rope to let it refreeze in the ice. It'll look nothing like a slalom course after the lake opens up!

[Wish]

PLEASE SOMEBODY Change Ed's from "baller" to "historian"

[Horton]

@wish give you enough time and a good idea had to come out

[schafer]

can i borrow that auger? i have this idea that if i drill 5000 holes in the lake it will melt faster

[Horton]

@MS what I have to know is how many phone calls do you get in the first 10 minutes after I post stuff like this?

[oldjeep]

Might be time to go for another ride. 8" of snow this morning, and I was supposed to pick up the new boat tomorrow.

[ForrestGump]

I'm just curious why in the hell anyone would be cutting or drilling holes in ice in order to set course anchors. WTF?

 

Back to the original topic, though........... that made me laugh.

[The_MS]

@‌Shane When we put the jump course in mid winter, we used chain saws.

@Horton The text messages definitely increase. That video has to be from Wisconsin, you just cant see the case of beer buried in the snow.

[oldjeep]

@ShaneH‌ seems like a really easy way to get the course laid out when you can just walk around, measure and drill

[Horton]

@oldjeep‌ what you were talking to @shaneh I recommend you avoid the following words easy - laid - drill.

[Edbrazil]

 

Back in the New Hampshire Olde Daze, and a lot of the Northeast, thru-ice was the

EZ way to go, at least initially. Cuts down eventual adjustments needed, and maybe

not any needed, esp. back when tolerances were not that strict.

 

Best way is to station the survey gear on solid ground. On the ice, you will need to

some continual adjustments for tripod "settling".

 

Best time is after there has been a thaw and then a re-freeze, so you can walk on

the corn snow without slogging around in mush. Very recently, the site for

the 2014 Easterns put the biggie jump ramp anchors in that way. Early and mid-\

March tends to be the time, depending on the Winter and weather.

 

We did the jump course at Ultra Pond that way. I worked with Lex Carroll (RIP) back

when at Adams Pond. That day featured a near total eclipse of the sun. No joke.

 

I had a very rewarding experience for the 1991 Disabled Worlds in Michigan, doing all

the preliminary setup this way. And, dealing with people who were competent and

experienced. Sort of deep water, and maybe 3 buoys in the SL course needing to

be adjusted pre-tournament. For that project, it took something like 3 SCUBA

divers, until we found a master diver trainer who looked about like a walrus, and

who got it done.

[OTF]

@Edbrazil‌ as our resident historian I think you should post a weekly history lesson on the front page. I always enjoy your posts, great stuff