Anyone ever broken through ice?

[KZKlimber]

I read that a fellow ice climber fell through on Chapel Pond on Saturday, fortunately he was close to the edge and managed to escape with 1 wet leg.

After the popularity of the thread on spending an unplanned night in the woods I thought I would ask if anyone has stories or lessons learned they would like to share about falling through ice?

 

[hillman1]

I fell through the ice on johns brook two winters ago. When I fell through, it was like a cartoon clip, with about a four foot circle of ice around me breaking, and me on the ice sheet going about two feet down to the water. Only my feet got wet, and I ripped my thumbnail off, and I got out safely with the help of a friend. It was a bit scary when the ice broke. But all is well that ends well.

 

[sli74]

A friend of mine also fell into John's Brook on a trip to the Wolf Jaws last winter. He ignored the wet foot at first against my better judgement but eventually it began to be a problem and we stopped to have him change socks and place a garbage bag around the dry sock. Even with all that the wet foot took its toll and we had to turn around a little above the Lower Wolf Jaw shelter.

sli74

 

[snowshoe]

I fell through some ice about 2 weeks ago. Although it was my own stupid fault. I was doing a short walk localy on the Cedar Swamp trail, (Actually considered a Northern Bog) A trail I have done a hundred times. There is a section that goes through the bog. Usually there is a boardwalk to cross but with the XC ski season they removed them for the groomer. Normally this time of the year the water is frozen, so I thought. Besides the water is not that deep, again so I thought. Anyway Just as I got about 20 ft from the end of the swamp the ice broke and I went up to my waist. I was able to get out quick but if I was any deeper in it would have been tougher especially with the thick peat moss at the bottom. What made it bad was the fact that it looked like it was a few inches deep but with all the plants, mosses and muck in the bog made it hard to tell depts. All the rain and snow melt latley made the water levels higher than usual. Luckly I was only about a mile from the car because by the time I got back my pants were frozen solid. The one thing I learned out of that was always treat an area as if it was my first time even if I have done it a hundred times, never assume. Luckly I was close and not in some remote area.

 

[mink319]

Last year a friend of mine fell through the ice while ice fishing. It was his fault, he even admits it, because he walked underneath a bridge to get to the other side instead of going up to the road. The water was deep, but before he went down real far he was able to pull himself out, he got wet up to his waist. He then ran to his car and blasted the heat. He also lost all of his stuff because he wouldnt go back and get.

About 5 years ago I was up in the Catskills on snowshoes, and it was below zero, but it had been warm a few days before. I was crossing a minor stream, and fell through barely past my ankles, yet I didnt know until then that my boots had a small leak, and my foot became wet, but it took me a little while to realize it. Once I did I ran back to my friends house to thaw my foot.

 

[Grumpy]

Two experiences . . .

In February 1967 a friend and I camped for two nights in one of the leantos along the Opalescent Brook at Lake Colden. Second morning my pard stepped out onto the ice to break an opening and get water for coffee. A couple of stomps and the whole sheet collapsed, dunking him to near the hips. By the time he had scrambled out (without undue difficulty) and made the 50 - 100 ft dash back to the leanto his pants were frozen solid. Air temp at the time had our thermometer -- hung on the front post of the leanto -- pegged -40° F. Yep, you read that right -- 40 below.

Luckily, we had a good fire. We got things into decent shape during the morning and snowshoed out to Upper Works by mid afternoon. No ill effects. But the car we had parked at the trailhead hesitated over starting, which gave us a bad moement or two.

Another time one of our family dogs got poking around on the frozen creek in back of our house. Temp was in the 20s. She went through the ice and was unable to get back out. For some reason -- by lucky chance -- I heard the dog yelping and managed to spot her out the window. She was in very bad shape by the time I got to her. I plunged in thigh deep, busted ice while wading across to the dog, and scooped her up. She was hypothermic.

Mrs. Grumpy drew a bathtub full of warm water in which we immersed the dog. I got defrosted by working nekkid in the warm bathroom, keeping the dog reassured and in the water. All turned out OK. Both the dog and I slept very well that night.

G.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Five or six years ago, climbing Street&Nye one -20F morning, I went through the ice at a surprisingly deep spot on the brook that the herd path follows up. I went in up to my thighs.

I can only think that it must have been adrenaline that kept me warm while I was standing barefoot with my fleece pants off wringing the water out of them. I was glad that I had a change of socks. The change/wringing out could not have taken longer than a minute or two. Fortunately there was a nice seat right there.

When I first fell in, I thought I would cancel the trip. I was surprised that I didn't get cold.

Lesson learned? A cold snap will decrease the level of water in streams. This may leave sections where the ice has a large air pocket beneath it, before the water. These cannot take much weight at all.

 

[carole]

I did a lot of ice skating on neighborhood ponds when I was young, and though I never fell through, it created a pretty healthy fear of crossing ice. As such I am more than willing to turn back or take a large detour rather than cross ice that is uncertain. Even then a few things I try to remember is: as with crossing rivers – undo the waist strap on your pack (easier to remove if you go down), snowshoes (or skis) disperse the weight better than bare boot, and I walk with hiking poles parallel to the ice (this may aid in keeping head above water – and give you two sharp points to dig in the ice for grips to pull yourself out.)

Any other helpful hints?

 

[JimB]

Like carole, I ice skated a lot as a kid and I used to follow the stream behind our house into town. Once I broke through the ice over a spot where we swam in the summer. The water was over 8 ft deep and I managed to catch myself with my arms. I was immersed all the way to my armpits. I walked through deep snow to the street and managed to get home with very cold legs and feet. To this day I'm wary when crossing ice. At the time it was quite traumatic.

 

[raftingguy]

I had a friend who had a similar experience coming down Street & Nye. He had injured his knee earlier in the day. They were descending down a brook and his party had gotten ahead of him. Because of the sore knee, was kind of jumping down the brook but landing on the same leg. At one point, he went through the ice right to his armpits. He said he heard the water rushing underneath and figured he would have washed right under the ice if he hadn't caught himself. He was lucky that day.

 

[sardog1]

I thought I would ask if anyone has stories or lessons learned they would like to share about falling through ice?

1. Pay attention to your dog if he refuses to come over to where you are walking.
2. If you gotta fall through the ice, 'tis "better" to do it while not wearing the skis or snowshoes than while wearing them. (Been there, done that, both ways.) If you're thinking pre-fall that the distribution of your weight argues for wearing them, then you already know in your heart that the ice is unsafe -- GET THE HELL OFF! (No, I'm not advocating going out onto questionable ice after shedding the skis/snowshoes. The "gotta fall through" scenario presupposes that it has already happened.)
3. If you gotta fall in, a calm, sunny day in the upper forties is the best time for it to happen. Being only a mile or so from camp helps also. Other circumstances are far less pleasant.
4. Fling your elbows out as you go in, they might just catch. (Been there, done that as well.)
5. There may or may not be a chance later to flagellate yourself for not carrying those ice picks you meant all along to carry. Get 'em now and keep them as close to you as any thing in your life while you're on the ice.
6. Carry a floating rope with a big loop and a way to deliver it to your traveling companion if he/she should fall in. And the converse.
7. If the hair on the back of your neck is vibrating, calmly shed your pack and lay down on the ice. Try to make as large a contact surface as you can (imagine Gumby getting flattened.) Then slide like a seal, or roll slowly, to safety. (If the pack is essential to your survival, drag it with you as far away from your body as possible, knowing that it might be your undoing as well.)

 

[BobK]

Waist deep solo 4 mi. from car

My experience wasn't breaking thru ice, but falling unexpectedly while snowshoeing around a bog. There was several feet of snow in the Hoffman Notch Wilderness (southern access). After skiing in 4 miles in single digit temps., I wandered around on my brand new snowshoes. After a few minutes I suddenly dropped down about 5 feet and landed in liquid water. Fortunately I could stand, but the snow surface was about eye level and I was soaked from the waist down.

My first attempt to climb out was unsuccessful as the wall of snow gave way. After collecting my thoughts, I braced myself across the opening I had made by pushing my snowshoes against one side of the hole, and my back against the other. As I arched my back, I rolled over to the side and got to firmer snow.

With the adrenelin rush, I quickly put on dry mittens, got my skis on and headed out rapidly to my car (4 miles away). Even though my pants and gators froze, I never got too cold. It took about 30 minutes in the car until I could get my boots off. That experience educated me about bog water (warm) vs. ponds which normally freeze - and the benefits of having the right clothing. I had HD wool pants and wool socks.

 

[el-bagr]

Snowshoe's story about the bog reminds me of a ski trip a few friends went on around and across Church Ponds at Christmas 2000. Skiing was great, and we had already crossed the long aspect of the pond, skimming along the snow-dusted ice with the wind at our backs. The pond is fringed in many places with a wonderful bog-ish ecotype (Labrador tea, larches, bog rosemary, leatherleaf...), and these plants had served as a snow fence on the downwind side of the pond. Snow had piled up on the shrubs, making a 24" snowbank at the pond's margin. Two of us skied up the bank, but the third chose to sidestep up with skis parallel to the bank. Her outside foot went right through the light snow and into the brown water below.

A bit scary for her, and this could have cut our ski short (camp was still several miles away). Fortunately, we had extra socks and, as importantly, a piece of wisdom from our friend Fred: "Make her laugh." We all stood around under some pines telling awful jokes. It worked very well to raise her spirits, and we were soon on our way over Birch Hill for views to Green's Cliff.

Lesson: be careful on the margins of ponds/bogs, where wind can pile up and insulate the ice from forming well.

 

[iceNsnow]

Thanks for the info, Sardog!

Great reminders!
I always unbuckle my pack when I cross larger bodies of water, but I think I will shed the snowshoes now also.

I greatly appreciate you advice, especially with the willy-nilly winter we are having this year.

 

[lumberzac]

I’ve fallen through twice and have seen someone else fall through.

When I was about 13 or 14 I was playing hockey on a pond near my friends house. I was standing in the center of the pond when the ice cracked and I went in. Fortunately the pond was only about two feet deep in the center and I was able to pull myself out of the water and walk back to my friend’s house to warm up and dry off.

A year or so later I was ice fishing on Ballston Lake (Saratoga County, NY). My father decided to go and get rid of some water up on shore. After relieving himself, he started walking back and he fell through up to his waste. After pulling himself out of the water he walked back to the car to warm up. After about an hour he walked back out and we picked up all our gear. The funny thing was the ice was 18” to 24” thick where we were fishing, but only 2” to 3” near shore where he fell through. My guess is the heat in the ground and the large abundance of vegetation growing up through the ice near shore thawed the ice.

My last encounter with thin ice was just last month after the first big snowfall. I decided to break a trail out in back of my house down to a stream about 3/4 of a mile away. The plan was to walk up to the bank and turn around and go home. About 20ft from the bank a large sheet of ice broke and fell with me on it. This was a surprise to me because I didn’t even know I was walking on ice. The waterline was only a few inches above my snowshoes, but getting out was tricky. When I went in a few of the short brushy plants around the bank went through my bindings. Once I got free of the plants I still had to make it up the sheet of ice, which at that point was at about a 30 degree angle with the ground. The worst part of this whole ordeal was the hike back home. The water caused the snow to stick to the underside of my snowshoes and ice over. This added about 5lbs to each shoe, so I would stop about every 20 to 50 feet and bang my snowshoes against a tree to knock some of the ice off.

 

[sardog1]

A couple of additions gleaned from experience:

1. Close up all clothing as tight as possible when crossing ice. You would be amazed at how little water actually gets next to your skin past the gaiters, shell pants (bibs are better here) and jacket.

2. The one time I've been disappointed in woolen socks was a few weeks ago when I intentionally immersed my legs to make a crossing on a short trip. Having done this alternately with wool and synthetic socks, the latter are much better at the wring out, put back on, march on scenario, IMHO.

However, I must also relate my wife's experience at a canoe landing. She slipped on a wet rock and went into the water wearing an Icelandic wool sweater. She came out completely dry under the sweater. (I still think it was some kind of conjuring trick.) If you wear wool, make sure it's made by people who know from cold water, i.e., Scandinavians, Icelanders, or Kiwis (check that SmartWool label sometime.)

 

[sherpakid]

winter mountain biking

Several years ago (more like 10) when I was in undergrad, a few buddies and I were training through the winter for the upcoming mountain biking racing season. I dunno how cold it was, but cold enough that the stream crossing was freezing. I went to drop down onto the ice cause I thought it would hold. A root caught my back tire as I was pulling up my front tire and I ended up doing an endo (over the handlebars) and cracking through the ice with my shoulder, thigh, and half my face. My body was submersed and instant shock hit my body.

The question was whether to turn around and ride out via the woods which would take longer, but give me shelter, or hit the open road and fly home and deal with the wind chill. My feet and fingers burned so bad that i took the quickest way, which was the road home. I honestly thought I was going to lose some toes and fingers. I made the mistake of trying to warm my fingers in what I thought was cool water, but that made them burn even more! Eventually I warmed up, but it was one of the most miserable experiences in my life!

I felt like the guy in the attached pic!

 

[Maddy]

Several years ago I was climbing beyond HOJO's toward the Tuckerman headwall to watch my friend ski. There were lots of other hikers/skiers going up the same trail. Suddenly my right leg plunged down into moving water. I could not lift it out My foot was held as if by suction. Several hikers came to my aid and they had to lift me straight up and out of the hole or they would have broken my leg if they tried to bend it. I was so relieved that there were lots of people around because had I been hiking alone I don't know what I would have done. Try as I might, I could not lift my leg out of that hole.
We were not hiking off trail. We were all close together and I am the only one this happened to.
I also had to rescue my Akita who fell through the ice and could not get herself out. I heard her got right through. I ditched my pack and ran to save her. I had much difficulty lifting her out but adrenaline gave me the strength to accomplish this. Very,very scary. I never take my dog off leash near any bodies of water/streams/etc. In fact, she is on leash most of the time now.

 

[leduc]

Cross the brook as late as you can

A coupe winters ago, Meo and me broke through the ice of North Fork Boquet. There was a flood, and water went over the "regular" ice, then a second layer of ice formed. When it broke, I stood on the bottom layer. Our boots were damped wet. We had crosses from Round Pond, Dix, Hough, S.Dix, E.Dix, and back. Leaving the brook crossing for the last half-hour or so is a good idea, then:

1) you walk 30 minutes in wet boots, instead of 30 minutes in dry boots !!!
2) you are tired, so after several hours of hiking, turning back is not an option and you HAVE to cross it. My experience of finding an uncrossable brook 30 minutes AFTER leaving the car is that you spend 30 minutes asking yourself how to cross, then turn back. When you are, instead, 30 minutes BEFORE getting to the car, then you make the uncrossable crossable.

Charles

 

[Mountainhound]

a couple years ago me and a friend where out coonhunting on the blackstone river. when the hounds start running a coon and they start baying on the edge of the river where a log jam is. it looks solid so i jump out and down (steep 6') its not solid and of course the hounds follow me down now where all stuck hounds cant get up to steep. so i have to through them up on the bank. first one i almost fall in becuase what i that was solid was only styrfom. get them on the bank now its my turn i push of and my foot sinks a little to much and i wind up doing kind a belly flop over to the edge where i'm able to pull myself up. but i'm soaked from the waist down and the whole front of my coat was soaked. (when i got back to the truck it was real hard to unbutton the coat charhartt). on the way out did'nt chain the hounds and they struck a coon and treed it worst part was the water was a little sewery


another time i remember me and the same guy from above went for a hike one night with his boy about two miles in on a snow coverd road we get to this bever dam where standing around checking things out and he starts getting to close to the edge of the dam and i say mike i'd watch out there he says dont worry no sooner did he say that that his foot feel in up to his knee i laughed.