How to Survive Falling Through the Ice

These were oddly comforting, yet scary. Good to know though.

I once spoke with a man who said he had crewed on a cable tender in the Bering Sea. A man went overboard; the vessel stopped immediately, and they lowered a boat. The man was very robust. He was wearing a life vest which kept him afloat, but after less than five minutes in thirty-two-degree water he couldn't lift his arms to help men pull him into the boat.

I will always remember the lessons I learned the time I went out on a frozen lake with my friends one moonlit winter evening at around midnight after drinking and smoking lots of marijuana. We felt confident that night that the ice would be thick enough to support us because it had been measured to be over a foot thick. What I learned that night was that in the lee of the windward side of the shore and other exposed islets, the ice was paper thin where drifting snow had insulated the ice. I fell through that ice and sobered up real quick. Fortunately, one of my friends knew what to do. That and other experiences of my feckless youth have taught me the importance of sober planning when adventuring in hazardous environments. ALWAYS perform a systematic risk assessment (no matter how brief) and prepare appropriately.

I feel through the ice when I was a teenager. Skating party at night, my friend and I decided to skate down to where the others were and surprise them. Turned out the spot we chose was right near where a stream flowed into the reservoir, invisibly weakening the ice. One second I was skating along, the next I was over my head underwater. My puffy jacket floated me to the surface, but the worst problem is that when you hit the water your diaphragm instantly expands to maximum and you can't breathe out. I'd experienced this before, deliberately diving into Lake Minnetonka when there was still ice in the water as a kind of tough-guy experiment when we were kids, but it's a huge problem because you can't cry out. I was trying to get the attention of my friend while I was still afloat, and could only produce a kind of whispery gasping sound. Fortunately my friend noticed, despite the fact it was pitch dark, and he was able to pull me out. But that "can't cry out" problem is the worst--I'm not sure there is an answer to that one.

"How to Survive Falling Through the Ice" - don't walk on ice...

Not to be flippant, but even better advice-- stay off ice except in skating rinks or unless absolutely necessary for some reason or unless you are certain it is very thick.

I grew up a block from Lake Ontario and was taught a handy rule: never, ever walk out on ice. Ever.

The advice to turn around and face the direction from which you came before attempting to clamber out of the water is excellent, but incomplete. Once you are back up on the ice, it is critically important to retrace your steps back to shore, even if that is not the most direct route off the ice.

My dad and I learned this lesson the hard way while skating on Lake George back in the '70s. We were well away from shore when he fell through, and once we got him out, our initial thought was that we needed to get him warm and dry ASAP. So we started skating on a beeline towards home. And got about 100 yards before I fell through. We then spent an agonizing 45 minutes lost in a maze of stronger and weaker ice, during which I fell through a second time, before we stumbled upon a (barely) viable route back to safety.

If we'd just retraced our steps after the first dunking, we would have avoided the most dangerous part of this misadventure.

Now I can barely wait to fall through the ice and put your method to the test! A very thawed provoking article.

The Scandinavians sell special "ice spikes" with handles for you to grip while pulling yourself out of the water. "Ispigger" is the generic Norwegian name for spikes on everything, including shoes and bike tires. But if you do an image search for "ispigger" you can find lots of pictures of the relevant kind of spike. Editor’s note: This comment has been anonymized in accordance with applicable law(s).

Thank you for the information, but it is -29 outside today (windchill making that feel like -42); I am certain that the ice is quite thick, and that I am not going outside.

Hmm - there's a whole section of these tips! Something I've been missing by not subscribing to the print edition of the Sunday NYT ...

Thank you for this advice, which is counterintuitive but could save lives.

This is good advice and should be taught to every child along with how to escape a fire, the Heimlich maneuver and basic CPR. There should be a rather long list of things like this, that should be part of every curriculum. I remember as a kid having to learn CPR and basic first aid in Boy Scouts and wondering why was this not taught in schools?

Here is an idea? Stay off the ice. My father who grew up in western Wisconsin has told me numerous times, his father, a reasonably intelligent dentist said you should never fall through the ice. It should be at least 8 inches thick and the temperatures will have been below freezing for weeks for it to be that thick. Short of that STAY OFF THE ICE. And they ice fished continually.

This is both fascinating and macabre!!

I have been in freezing temperatures in water several times and one thing you should remember is you will not freeze evenly and your extremities will stop working very quickly. Personally I wouldn't wait or take a minute to control my breathing, seconds should be enough to clear your head and escape the water. The exit plan is perfect (arms out and swim kick hard), however, your next move is very important especially in temps below freezing especially so below 10F. Run to the closest area with any heat, freezing feels like 10,000 needles stuck into your skin, your legs will slow until you can't walk. Get warm but avoid this situation if at all possible.

Proof once again that DiCaprio's character in Titanic could have survived if she had just moved over end let him lie on the wooden floater with her!

Upon falling through ice:

1) remember the NYT article that addressed this situation

2) don't panic, but slow my breathing down

Thanks for the info, but I'm pretty sure I'd be doomed.

Here in Alaska, and probably in other places where people are prepared, we wear a pair of sharp picks attached to a length of cord that goes around the back of our neck when we spend time on icy rivers and lakes. The picks can allow you to haul yourself out instead of just lying there with your forearms frozen to the surface. The latter only works if there's someone around to rescue you.

You need a way to start a fire immediately, too, (a lighter in a Ziploc), and you'd better hope you have enough dexterity to use your lighter. Best plan is to get, very, very active once you get up.

Good advice given the assumption that the water below the ice is still.

Falling through ice over moving water is a whole 'nother ballgame.

Been there, almost done that...

As an ice boater, it's part of the sport. Don't panic, you'll get out and have some great stories to tell.

Before reading your article, I skimmed to see if it contained "ice pick." If it had, I'd most likely have stopped reading immediately. When I was a boy (1940s), we were instructed to withdraw ice picks from our rear pockets on falling in, dig them in to thick ice and use them to pull ourselves up from the frigid water. Needless to say, no one with any sense carried an ice pick in either pocket You have replaced this foolishness with sound advice. Thank you.

sounds good - in theory. Perhaps some people can think in such conditions, I learned by hard experience, I can't. One rainy February some years ago the sky light in the stairwell of my apartment bldg on the Lower East Side started to leak. Since the Super was quite elderly, a few of us tenants took the matter in hand. I put on boots and went up the ladder to the roof. The water was so deep (because the drain was clogged with debris) that it came over the top of my boots. Once that ice cold water hit my feet, my brain simply short circuited. Didn't care a fig about finding the source of the leak, only wanted to get out of there, which I did with great haste. Ice cold water - just not my cup of tea.

The author leaves out what happens when that gasp reflex happens when the head is underwater-- you inhale water. Not a good thing!

Also, that if you're going to be spending time on ice that you should have ice claws -- two ice picks tied to a short cord that can be used to haul yourself out of ice. You can make them or buy them.

Good survival information.

I would think that in addition you could use a pen, knife or similar to either get a firm hold in the ice or carve indentations that would help with your grip to pull yourself out.