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Rotary’s ice device floating in Lake Dillon; winners to be announced soon

The Rotary Club of Summit County’s ice device sits on its side Tuesday after breaking through Lake Dillon this weekend. Club members said, after it’s safe for them to retrieve the device, they will be able to determine who won the $7,000 in prize money awarded to the ticketholders with the three closest guesses for the date and time when the ice device would fall. It was placed on the lake in March, and club members say it fell on Sunday.
Eli Pace / epace@summitdaily.com |

Ice device by year

According to the Rotary Club of Summit County, here is a list of previous dates and times that

2017 — April 16, time TBA

2016 — May 13, 13:10

2015 — April 20, 12:30

2014 — May 7, 1:32

2013 — May 20, 17:52

2012 — April 11, 18:09

2011 — May 23, 13:13

2010 — May 16, 19:03

2009 — May 5, 17:18

2008 — May 20, 20:57

2007 — May 3, 20:00

2006 — May 2, 12:27

2005 — May 11, 14:40

2004 — April 29, 23:07

2003 — May 15, 22:18

2002 — April 28, 11:45

2001 — May 9, 10:23

2000 — May 11, 1:03

1999 — May 13, 16:40

1998 — May 10, 13:27

1997 — May 11, 16:03

1996 — May 12, 16:20

1995 — May 26, 16:46

1994 — May 7, 13:14

1993 — May 19, 15:44

1992 — May 1, 15:21

1991 — May 19, 18:08

1990 — May 15, 12:53

1989 — May 7, 15:24

1988 — May 13, 17:51

1987 — May 7, 16:02

1986 — May 4, 20:13

The ice device put out on Lake Dillon in March is floating in open water, but exactly who won the $4,000 grand prize has yet to be deciphered.

Organizers for the annual Rotary Club fundraiser are waiting for the thin sheet of ice covering much of Lake Dillon to disappear before they can retrieve it, and so they don’t know exactly how long the ice lasted before the device took the plunge.

However, Diane Monaghan, chairperson for the fundraiser, said that they can see it through a telescope, the barrel has clearly flipped and is indeed floating. This is only the third time ever that it’s fallen before April 21 since the contest began in 1986. The other times that happened came on April 11, 2012, and April 20, 2015.



“All we know right now is the ice under the device is melted and it’s floating,” Monaghan said. “It occurred sometime on the 16th, and we’re waiting for the Dillon Marina to decide that it’s safe to go get it.”

The device is a 55-gallon drum full of air and weights to keep one side up after it hits the water. The barrel also has a clock inside that tracks when it goes buoyant.



Just how long it might be before they’re able to retrieve the device is largely up to the weather, Monaghan said.

“My personal guess is it’s a few days away, but who knows what Mother Nature is going to throw at us in the next week,” Monaghan estimated.

The person who guessed closest to the time the barrel went to float will receive $4,000 with second and third place taking home $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.

With about 5,000 tickets printed and more sold online, the fundraiser typically generates about $14,000 to $18,000 for Rotary Club, Monaghan said, with $7,000 going into the prizes.

“It’s helping Rotary do good things in the world,” she added.


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