Wednesday, December 29, 2021

The COVID and the COLD!

Total number of coats;

Upper =29

Lower =29

Between the temperatures being sub -25ºC and the COVID Cases rising, the ice is getting little use this Christmas season. 

Big thanks to Willem, Jeff, Bill and Craig for scraping the surface last night.



We have a few iceguys in "ICE-olation" due to COVID. We hope to be back to normal in the New Year. 

Keeping the hose on the ice,

Kurt 

Thursday, December 23, 2021

The Warriors Tonight...

 Big thanks to Peter (bringing blower), Bill,  Andrew, Craig, Daniel,  Andrew, Chris, and Jamie.


Total Coats

Upper = 29 coats

Lower = 29 coats


Well done team. 








Keeping the hose on the ice.
Kurt

Monday, December 20, 2021

27 Coats to Date...

 -20ºC and we threw down 3 coats each.

Total Coats

Upper = 27 coats

Lower = 27 coats


Bill, Andy, Andrew P., Jamie, Craig and Kurt braved the cold weather and got to work putting down some cool water that froze almost as it hit the surface tonight.

Well done.


Kurt took this shot as he delivered the snow blower back from repairs this afternoon around 3:45 pm.


Steam in the air as Andrew P. finishes the upper second coat.

See you all Wednesday night at 6:00 -6:30 pm for the annual flood fest.


Keeping the hose on the ice,

Kurt




Wednesday, December 15, 2021

  Total number of coats, (-20ºC while flooding)

Upper =24 coats

Lower =24 coats





Jamie, Bill, Kris, Chris, Craig, and Kurt laying the H2O tonight. New technique on draining the hose video to be shared.

Its a go tomorrow night at 8 PM.

Keeping the hose on the ice,
Kurt


We are Catching UP...

 Total number of coats, (-16ºC while flooding)

Upper =20 coats

Lower =20 coats


We had to clear off a bunch of skater before we could clear the snow off. We should switch to 8 pm instead of 7 pm to give the skaters a chance to skate. We will set the timer lights on Thursday night and go to our normal schedule of flooding Monday and Thursdays (Starting this Thursday).

Peter saved the day with his blower, while the rest of managed to scrape around the mob of skaters.

Here is Kurt trying to get the last of the skaters off the ice so we can flood.

Andrew P., John, Craig, Peter, Adrian, Bill (the machine), Special Guest appearance by Kris, and Kurt kept warm by the fire between the 4 coats on each.

The "master" iceguy Kris has been away, but still has the master touch on the nozzle.


Peter is bent over picking up the hose which is nicely organized ready for a lower flood.


Andrew P. warming up during a shift change.





Let's meet at 8 PM tonight and Thursday night.


Keeping the hose on the ice,

Kurt



Tuesday, December 14, 2021

After a ONE Week...

 It's hard to believe that one week later, we are getting crowds of people. Great job everyone.

The snow we had on Sunday morning was removed like a military operation. Peter brought down his blower, (cause the hall's is still in the shop), and we were able to clear off the snow on both rinks in an hour. Thanks to the help of many.


Two coats Monday night were the work of Bill, Craig, Peter, Chris, Adrian, Danial, and Jamie.

Total coats:

Upper 16

Lower 16









We will have to clear the fresh snow tonight. See you at 7 PM.

Keeping the hose on the ice,

Kurt



Friday, December 10, 2021

Day 6 ! Awesome Team Work...

Team Friday; Bill, Peter, Andrew P., Chris, and Kurt.

 

Total Coats Tonight; 3 coats

Since Sunday...

Upper 14 coats

Lower 14 coats.

Just a note, make kindling for the next crew. After you start fire, replenish the small pieces... Ready for tomorrow. (Boyscout Style).





We are a go Saturday, tomorrow... But take Sunday off and enjoy the Grey Cup.


Keeping the hose on the ice,

Kurt




Thursday, December 09, 2021

Skatable Ice on Day 4...

 Daniel WINS!

Photo in the snow shows evidence of skaters on the ice. There were also skate marks on the ice but I, Kurt, was busy trying to start the fire. Bill and Peter were flooding and confirmed skate marks on the lumpy bumby sheets.


Total coats to date: 3 Coats tonight

Upper 11 coats

Lower 11 coats


The Calgary Flames LOST to the Huricanes tonight in overtime, but we WON on getting the ice to become the fastest skateable ice in recent history. The Thursday night crew..., Bill, Peter, Daniel, Criag, Andrew P.,  and Kurt listened to the hockey game on the radio while flooding.



Hose management between coats...


Improvising on tools used to drain the hose. Kid's shovel works great. (hard to see, but the red blade is the shovel)





The Finish Coat as we put on THIRD layer...

That's Kurt on the nozzle.


See you tomorrow, Friday night at 7 PM.
Might be a mini-flood Fest, Just thinking.

Keeping the hose on the ice,
Kurt





Wednesday, December 08, 2021

It Was a Work OUT Tonight, but INcredible Results

Day 4 and 8 Coats


Temperature -15ºC

Upper 8 coats

Lower 8 coats


Absolutely incredible results tonight after showing up with 3 cm of snow over the lumpy, bumpy frozen Goo-of-surface. The team pulled through by bringing down their shovels and clearing off the upper at the same time laying out the Whoopsie Doodles!.

Thanks to the Lads; Bill, Daniel, Craig, Adrian, Andrew G., Jamie, and Kurt.



Laying out the Whoopsie Doodles. We made the WHALE BACK disappear by covering it up. "If you can't fix it, feature it! "

Freezing in the banks and solidifying the islands on the upper ice. 



You can always tell when its the first few floods, the hose is a rat's nest.  We have a much better layout once we remember what to do.




Kurt did not make this fire! (for the record, he tried twice to get it started with GAS.)



We should have skatable ice soon.



We installed a new "Leader" hose. The old one had signs of "RF" Rubber Fatigue. From now on, let's store the Leader hose over the roll and let it drain. There were a number of kink marks that caused the old hose to fail.





See you all Tomorrow at 7 PM.


Keeping the hose on the ice,

Kurt






Tuesday, December 07, 2021

Day 2 and Day THREE!...

Ice Guys Christmas Party and Flood Fest Combo...

We decided to combine the two this year because its so late. Check out the email I sent for detail.


 Great Start Everyone! Yesterday the gang put down 2 coats on each without the nozzle.







Well done yesterday, we now have great base!.

Photo taken in the upper north alley




See ya all tomorrow at 7 PM..



Keeping the hose on the ice,

Kurt