I just saw this very interesting tip that might be worth telling everyone you know ...just in case. It could save a life some day.
Here's the picture from
the Sierra Club site:
Narrative from the image:
Survive | On Thin Ice
At the time I involuntarily joined the Polar Bear Club, I'd been an outdoor writer and adventurer for 10 years. But I'd yet to experience the dangers of California's Ice-covered lakes in winter. -- Paul McHugh
I was at Tule Lake in Northern California with a prominent local guide and a goose-hunting party. It was only 2 degrees, so I was swaddled up like the Michelin Man. The guide wanted to collect decoys he'd left out on the ice; I volunteered to help.
BAD IDEA! As soon as we stepped on the ice, jagged cracks spread around us. The guide sprinted to safety, but I plunged into the frigid water. I could stand on the soft bottom, but only barely.
As I fought to hoist myself out, the ice kept breaking under my weight. The guide had no good suggestions.
Then I got an idea. I shoved the biggest ice slab floating around me under the thin ice that led to shore. That extra buoyancy supported the thin ice so it wouldn't break...
...allowing me to clamber out to safety. Moral: Thin ice can be made thicker. And Don't volunteer to retrieve decoys.
