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Wednesday, February 12. 2014

News You Can Use: How to Survive Falling Through the Ice in winter


My Mom fell through ice once, rescuing her doggie who fell through a thin spot of ice on a pond. Luckily, her feet reached the bottom so she was able to carry the pup and break through ice to the shore. She was alone in the woods at the time. She jogged home to try to stay warm, took a hot shower, and had a couple of hot toddies. She and the pup were just fine after a while.


How to Survive Falling Through the Ice: An Illustrated Guide

Posted by The Barrister in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 13:03 | Comments (5) | Trackbacks (0)

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You've actually only got about 5 minutes tops to get out. At 32.5 degree water, you'll lose consciousness in less 15 minutes. Your limbs will stop working well before that.

Oh, and we should presume you aren't wearing the best type of clothing to have wet and trying to lift out on a slippery edge of ice without underwater purchase. Most fun part is your every effort is splashing warmer water on top of the ice to make the ice surface as slippery as possible.

And ice melts from below, so anywhere there is water flow, the ice will be thinner. Watch out for springs that feed ponds and such, nice warm ground water rising up to melt the ice.

All in all, stay off the ice unless you are following a polar bear who can test it for you. Rule two, don't follow polar bears as they'll eat you.
#1 JKB on 2014-02-12 14:13 (Reply)
Thanks for this link, and thanks to JKB for input too. I was just thinking about this as I walked out on our lake today. We don't usually go out until the snowmobiles are out in full force, just to play it safe. Even then it's a bit scary. I stay close to the edge where I know the lake is only a few feet deep but there are soft spots where streams enter, and some very deep areas right by the shore, so it's never failsafe.

I think it would be nice to have a sled with sails (iceboat) that would float if the ice broke.
#2 LT on 2014-02-12 20:12 (Reply)
Yay for your Mom! I'm sure the dog was worth it. I'm curious how long dogs have before they pass out in the icy water (as compared to us weakling humanoids, that is). Labradors and such, with their great blubber and insulating fur?
#3 retriever on 2014-02-13 00:06 (Reply)
Excellent post. Lead me to this site which has common ice features with pictures and much much more...http://lakeice.squarespace.com/dogs/

PS my Grandfather could read ice but who has that passed down knowledge anymore?
#4 Karen on 2014-02-13 09:17 (Reply)
Just scanned the article quickly but wasn't the gist of it's survival advice to stay off the ice? Sound counsel. On the other hand, venturing onto the ice may be just the kind of thing we should all be doing to show the 'nanny state' that we cherish our freedom and want to be left alone. Take that, nanny state! I won't be told what to do and if I want to hold my breath till I turn blue or drown is icy water, it's my business! So there!
#5 W. C. Taqiyya on 2014-02-13 09:23 (Reply)

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