Swede Lake???

[Professor Robae']

Anyone get a visual? Could be good to go?

[EOPPEN]

Was out kinda that way today...looks like Minnewashta is frozen....Halsted's bay mostly frozen just last night. I am sure if swede is frozen is still pretty thin. I am thinking of running out that direction tomorrow and scope....will let you know.

[wyatt]

Sounds like the iceboaters are out on Swede:

http://www.iceboating.net/

Report is 2-4" of ice with an inch of snow. Should be good for kites next week - good for iceboats on Sunday.

It's about time, I'm already tired of tearing up soccer fields.

[sekollera]

Swede is good to go for both kites and iceboats - sailed it yesterday. Snow is not so deep to kill the iceboats but grippy enough for kiting. Just an inch of windpack...

/Adam

[Al C]

I can confirm Adam's statement. I did a recon there today and drilled about 15 holes and it was fairly uniform in thickness from 3-4.5", there was 2" of snow nicely bonded to the ice covering 99% of the lake. Tomorrow should be nice!

[scottman]

Anyone going out to Swede today?

[tom_latcham]

I am packing up to head to swede. Dave Iceman is heading over that way right now.
tom

[MK]

Nice to see you today Scott. The field had patches growing throughout the day getting bigger and bigger. The road leading into it was completely snow covered when we showed up. By the time we left most of the snow was gone. Ross suggested we lost close to 2" of snow. Hard to calculate the actual amount but it was significant. I won't be on that field again until we get some more snow.

The season is so early! We've been very fortunate. Hope others got some rides in today. Ross left completely stoked. I was glad to get a couple of quick sessions in. It feels so much different on the skis than on the board. The body balance isn't comfortable for jumps... Maybe I need to give my snowboard some love and strap it on next time I go out.

Tuesday is looking promising.

[jrjohnson1]

After 2 days of temperatures in the 40's, does anyone know the current ice thickness at Swede Lake?

[scottman]

Good to see you too Mike, wished the wind was stronger and the snow was deeper. Hope it snows quite a bit today and tomorrow, other than having to deal with that darn barn cat the field was good for an early year ride. Should be good if the temp stays lower for the next few weeks and more snow would be nice.

[tom_latcham]

Not to sure about ice thickness. But the snow cover is now bad. When I started riding at noon on Sunday we had 2 inches of nice snow on Swede. At the end we had an 1/8 inch of slush or puddles that felt more like water skiing than snow skiing. I suspect the ice is still good because nights are so long. The light snow that fell last night would mostly melt into the wet lake ice and refreeze with the dropping temps. Could be real hard to get an edge. With more snow we should be ready to go. Looks like saturday is next chance for snow. Lower Tonka is still open. But upper lake has been frozen for 5 days. So it too should be ready by weekend if we get some snow cover. Cold weather the rest of the week will help ice thickness. I had only 2 weeks beween last water and fisrt snow session. Usually once a lake freezes. If it stays frozen over during the day. You gain an inch of ice a day because of long cold nights. High temps or rain and snow cover can change that. Sub zero temps speed it up.The only safe way to tell is to drill a bunch of holes at different spots and check the thickness. Ice fisherman are a good source for info. When I see ice boats I feel safer. They have allot of down force on that down wind blade over a small footprint. Our skiis disperse the weight better and the lift of the kite makes us lighter. When I start to see four wheelers and sleds out on the ice it is even better.
Be safe
Tom

[reutersju]

I have never been to Swede Lake, where is it? I am coming from Blaine. Anyone know of any fields in or around Blaine for a land snowkiting adventure? The sports center soccer fields are not a good option, too many soccer nets and posts.

Thanks,
Chad

[tom_latcham]

Swede lake is near Watertown. Head south out of Watertown on co road 10. Take a left on swede lake road. The DNR landing is on the ne corner of the lake. Nathan and crew will set up a terrain park once they have enough snow to move around and pile up into jumps and sliders.
TL

[pete168]

Chad

Keep an eye on Coon Lake and Forest Lakes. There's also a sod farm close to town that I've been meaning check with the owners.

Pete