#Summit County #Colorado
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| Summit Daily News Photo |
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 decided that it's safe to go get it."
The device is floating on a 55-gallon drum full of air and weights to keep right 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.
