For the past two Saturday's I've headed out to a couple of different lakes to snowkite. Both times I've found that under about a foot of snow on the lake there is a layer of water/slush under the snow.

I'm wondering what is causing this and if this is really common for all lakes or if I've just had the bad luck to find slush on back to back trips. It been cold enough out both times that my slushy footprints freeze solid by the time I pack up to leave, so it's not that it isn't cold enough. My theory is that the water is seeping over the top of the ice from edges of the lake where it isn't frozen solid. Then the snow over the ice is insulating it and keeping it from freezing.

Does anyone have an explanation for the slush? It is a session ender if you pass through it because its cold enough that your board ices up very quickly if it goes through the water. I've been anxious for the lakes to get frozen and snow covered but so far its been a bust on both lake trips.

Is your board waxed. I've been out often enough in those conditions with skis and I wax often and that's not a session ender for me.

The slush is a result of the literally tons of snow putting enormous pressure on the ice as it squeezes it into the water. This pressure forces water up through the ice and causes the slushy mix you describe - at least that is the explanation that was given to me years ago. It is not an indication of weak or thin ice, it is caused by the pressure on the ice being countered by the pressure under the ice.

No, its not waxed. I actually don't even know how to go about waxing it. I guess I'll have to look into that.

Good explanation for the slush. Sounds reasonable. I know that ice fisherman make plenty of holes on most lakes that allow water to flood over the top of the ice. I wasn't worried about going through the ice with the cold weather that we've had, just staying dry and keeping my kite and board dry.

I take back what I said. There must have been 6 - 9" of slush under the snow on the lake when I got there today - that is a session killer. Normally there's like an inch or two maybe after a heavy, wet snow. Today it was unrideable.

Waxing is easy. Go to your local ski shop or even EMS or LL Bean or sporting stores that sell skis and look for F1 wax, I believe it is. Its a liquid wax in a shaving creme like can with a sponge applicator built in. Simply invert the can and press it into your base as you move it around. For better adherence, get a cork (any fat one will do though you can buy them specifically for this purpose at ski shops) and once the wax has set up a bit rub over the base of your board with the cork to smooth it all out.

Waxing is much easier these days and F1 wax from Swix is good if you don't want to hot wax and scrape.

Whoops, B-Roc beat me to the post as I was typing!

if you don't want to bother with hot wax, follow his advice. otherwise here's a good outline on waxing and base prep:

http://www.tognar.com/guidelines_tuning_waxing_ski_snowboard...

Their site has very detailed info on all aspects of base tuning and waxing.

Prep and wax your bases and kep your edges sharp, and the experience will be much more enjoyable. Snow won't stick, you'll go faster, and you'll edge better, especially on ice and hardpack.


krumly

I just checked my ski tuning kit and its actually F4 wax by SWIX.

Was out on Lake Oneida yesterday, north of Syracuse, and we saw the same thing. Though it was only in patches, and only about an inch of see deep. Not a session ender for us. We rode all day, and had a blast. Snow was very heavy and wet though, due to the warm weather. Was still a blast...

I wonder if snow melt from daily sunshine, or rain, adds significantly to the water / slush on top of the ice. Melt water has no place to go, and it collects on top of the lake ice. The snow "insulates" it, both preventing evaporation and re-freezing. In other words, I think it's not all lake water coming up from the lake, but also snow melt on top of it "stuck" in water.

Could a good "Myth Busters" episode.

B-roc has it...My bro in the Yukon just explained this... when all the weight from the snow and the ice itself, it tends to bow and when it does it cracks. That is where the water come from, the snow acts as an insulator until you put you weight on it and squeeze the water up.

They stay below -10 to -30c for months and still have the water.

I had a pretty awful session in the Sierras with this phenomena. In fact, my feet were so wet after walking out the lines I never really got a chance to get on the board. Awful! And, it looked freakin' awesome too. A bluebird day and it had been snowing for almost 48 hours, but under the surface was this wet layer. I was little freaked about being on the lake and standing in water. Unnerving for a landboarder!

Yeah slush sucks.

And it can take days or even weeks to resolve itself. The best thing that can happen to fix it is rain. The rain kills of the insulating snow layer and helps consolidate the slush and ice mix then when the cold hits it again it sets up and adds another layer of ice.

We've got a crust layer on top of soft on top of slush. if it would rain again or get really warm that would help a lot.

As far as wax goes don't bother with the F4 get a some real wax. Rub on flouro is okay for the ski area or for moderate temps but it just a buff wax. It doesn't use the carbon sint in the base to hold the wax and release it over time. I would use a wax with a more specific temp range and for the sluch something with a lot of silicon in it. The F4 is an all temp wax. Works ok in most temps but not as good as a temp specific wax.

Make sure your'e base is sintered. If it's not then hot waxing is no better than buffing since the base can't absorb the wax if it doesn't have any sint.

It will keep you from sticking to that damn slush.