The ice abides: What if you break through and fall in?

It’s every winter adventurer’s nightmare: Breaking through the ice on a lake or river and falling into deep, frigid water. It’s obviously an adventure to be avoided, but also to prepare for, just in case the worst should happen.

First, remember that ounce of prevention. If you’re not sure the ice is safe, stay off or, at the very least, stay where you know the water beneath you is shallow, so that if you break through, you can essentially walk out.

If you’re planning to venture out where it’s deep, ideally go with a companion. Go with a survival plan already mapped out in your head. And go with a little equipment, which includes proper clothing. If you are mentally and physically prepared, you will be less inclined to panic and more able to act appropriately.

Contrary to what you may think, winter clothing is not a handicap if you fall through the ice. Heavy clothes will not drag you down. They will trap air inside, helping you float and keep warm. Snowmobile suits are especially good in this regard.

It also helps to take along simple survival tools, in the form of spikes or a pair of screwdrivers. If you fall through, you can use them to gain enough traction to pull yourself back up onto the ice. Last winter my son made me a pair of ice picks, each with a half-inch or so of a nail protruding from a wooden handle. The picks are connected by a string that I can feed through my coat sleeves, so in case of an accident they would be at the ready; I would not have to fish in my pockets for them and would be at no risk of losing them.

As for taking action, here are a few ice accident survival tips from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources:

• If you fall in, turn back toward the direction from which you came. Chances are the ice is stronger there.
• Place your hands and arms on the ice surface and hold yourself up. If your clothes have trapped a lot of water, you may have to lift yourself partly out of the water, such as on your elbows, to let the water drain – lightening the load – before you start forward.
• This is where the ice picks (or screwdrivers) come in. Reach out, jab them into the ice, and try to pull yourself up. As you do that, kick your feet to provide forward propulsion (think of those kick boards you used in swim lessons).  
• Once you are on solid ice, lie flat and roll away from the hole. This keeps your weight distributed and may help prevent your breaking through again.
• As soon as you can, get to a warm, dry, sheltered place.

The lake ice is wonderful, but don’t push your luck. Be careful – and be prepared – when you do go out.