Bob the barrel has made landfall after finally breaking through the ice of Fremont Lake.
This year’s Fremont Lake Ice Off Guess, a long-running fundraiser for the Pinedale Lions Club, ended at 6:25 a.m. Sunday when the bright yellow barrel that had been sitting out on the frozen lake since March was found 200 yards away from the Upper Fremont Lake boat ramp.
The winner of the contest, Mike Nystrom, guessed that Bob would reach the shore at 6:35 p.m. May 3. He was about 12 hours off, but still won the $500 prize.
“Your guess is active until the next guess,” said Bob Goltz, the Pinedale Lions Club member who spotted Bob that morning. “Our next guess wasn’t until 11:30 a.m. Sunday. It might have come in at midnight or 2 a.m. We don’t know. All we know is who had the valid guess during that time.”
Bob making his way to shore is the unofficial beginning of spring in the area, showing the ice has melted and the lake is warming up.
Bobbing Around
The Fremont Lake Ice Off Guess has been a Pinedale tradition since at least 1940. The barrel is placed on the frozen lake at the end of the Big Fish Winter Derby during the first weekend of March.
“The lake froze a bit late this year, but there was a good 18 inches of ice where we placed the barrel,” Lions Club member Jason Essington told Cowboy State Daily in April. “The most likely time for the ice to come off Fremont Lake is between the last week of April and the first week of May.”
This two-week trend has held true throughout the 85-year history of the Barrel Guess. The barrel has reached land as early as April 12 and as late as May 29, but records show the two weeks between late April and early May are the most reliable.
Goltz said that’s when most people who bought $10 tickets hedged their bets. May 3 was a particularly popular day to bet on Bob.
“We had guesses every half hour between 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.,” he said. “I was up there watching the barrel between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and we stopped watching after 6:30 p.m. because that guess was active until the next morning.”
The Pinedale Lions take turns watching and waiting for Bob to ensure they know when the barrel bobs back to shore. They start shifts once the ice is showing signs of breaking.
“This year, it broke through the ice and was floating for quite some time before it reached shore,” Goltz said. “Another Lion was there at the 6:30 p.m. check time and he said it was floating out in the middle of the lake and the water was ‘all glass,’ meaning no wind.”
Goltz was somewhat surprised to find Bob had reached the southern shore of Fremont Lake overnight. Its location made it that much easier to retrieve the barrel from the water.
“It was right in front of the summer homes,” he said. “So, I took my boat out and towed the barrel to the boat ramp so we could fish it out of the lake.”
A Huge Lions Roar
The Fremont Lake Ice Off Guess is a small but important fundraiser for the Pinedale Lions Club. That’s why Nystrom got “a huge Lions roar” for donating the $500 prize to the club.
“Any revenues generated go to the project account,” Essington said. “But for the most part, the Barrel Guess is kind of a breakeven deal. It's more for fun than anything.”
All proceeds go toward the club’s community programs, such as providing free diabetes testing or vouchers for eyeglasses and exams in Sublette County.
In the meantime, anyone who wants to submit a guess for next year’s Fremont Lake Ice Off Guess is welcome to do so. Goltz said the official tickets won’t be printed until January, but the club would happily take $10 for a guess between now and then.
“I’d take a guess right now,” he said. “The Big Fish Ice Derby is the kickoff when we sell most of our tickets, and we cut off sales on March 31. But if anyone wanted to make their guess now, we’ll take it.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
