From: Claude Roy

To: Bryan Quickmire

Copies to: Luc Vaillancourt

Subject: MONTEBELLO 2016 - ICE REPORT

Date sent: Wed, 27 Jan 2016 18:18:10


Good evening Bryan, Hi everyone:

In a nutshell, here is the situation of the surface at Montebello: acceptable but not ideal.

Luc Vaillancourt and I assessed the normal operating areas in front of le Château Montebello. The ice thickness is not an issue, with 10+ inches on the normal landing area, up to 200 feet from the shore directly in front of the hotel.

We measured 8+ inches inside the marina. At 8 inches, we were not through, but the drill hole filled up with water, indicating that the water is not far below that. Wheel operations are not recommended, as the surface is not smooth and hard everywhere.

The issue lies with the surface within the marina. There is a film of water on top of the ice. This water is insulated by 2 inches (5 cm) of snow, itself covered by a crust of ice ¼ inch (1 cm) thick. The snow/crust combination on top is enough to prevent the water from freezing underneath.

The problem will be when parking the aircraft. First of all, you don’t park in the docks nearest to the shore, as there is too much water there. That’s where the water seems to come from. And if you park anywhere else, be sure you don’t leave your skis in the trampled snow/water slush; otherwise your skis will soon freeze into the ice.

You walk anywhere in the marina area and you see your own traces become grey with water, just behind you. The speed of this graying effect in your own boot marks goes from (1) 5 seconds near the shore to (2) up to 3 minutes when you walk away from the shore, near the marina entrance, to (3) no graying at all of your boot traces on the landing area which is all ice.

So you can land and taxi (skis only) to the area inside the marina, but you must be prepared to work hard to get your aircraft properly propped up and secured in a suitable parking spot.

You will need some bits of wood, like small flat pieces of 2” by 4”s, to prop up your skis off the slushy surface. Let the wood freeze to the ground, rather than your skis. The pieces of wood can stay there and the Montebello staff is OK with that. They will pick up the wood pieces after our departure.



Please do all the landings near the shore, parallel to the shore, directly in front of the hotel. We could see open water in areas to the south, where the current flows.

Where there normally is a major skidoo trail, there is just one lonely trace of one skidoo in front of the hotel, about 150 feet from the shore and parallel to the shore. It was obviously slushy when the skidoo went by. The track is now frozen solid and transparent.

You may not see any trace of that skidoo track in two days time, as it is supposed to snow a bit from now until the weekend. But, if you see it, do land between the skidoo track and the shore. The ice is safe on the north side of the skidoo track. We only walked a further 50 feet south of that skidoo track. Landing any further south than the skidoo track is not recommended.

In conclusion, the normal takeoff and landing area at Montebello is fine. The marina surface is lousy. Be prepared to elevate your plane on wood pieces and off the slush for any long term parking of your airplane in the marina.

Have a great evening all!

Claude Roy 613-836-7243