A friend flew with John Hogkins over the sierra nevada. They would dropp a brick ,if it wentthrough the ice, go to another lake. If it bounced, land, tie rope to the tail wheel and tow your friend on the ide. New use for a Cub.
"Although veteran pilots predicted Hodgkin would crash when the Piper Cub’s skis touched down on the grass strip at Spanaway, he made a perfect landing and slid to stop within 25 feet."
I've landed twice this winter with skis (experimental) on bare grass: zero snow, not even frost. It is a non event, no pitching over at all.
Taking off I did need to borrow enough snow from elsewhere to get about 35' of runway, then once off that and back on the grass I continued to build speed for a normal takeoff. The little bit of snow was absolutely needed as without any I couldn't move at all.