Stay off ice that looks weak: dark or gray patches, slush on top, cracks, snow-covered ice, ice near moving water, inlets, bridges or shorelines with open water. No thickness is a promise. Ask locally and test the ice with a polepoles Dead, straight sticks about as thick as your wrist and 2 to 3 meters long. Dead standing wood is best: dry, and it snaps clean. or spud as you go.
Cold and weather · Cold and weather course
If you fall through the ice
Cold water pulls heat out of your body far faster than cold air does. The first minute is the most dangerous because of the gasping shock, not the cold itself. Knowing the steps ahead of time is what lets people climb out.
Why this matters
Every winter people fall through ice while fishing, skating or walking across a pond. Most who die never get out of the first few minutes because they panic or swim away from solid ice.
Knowing the steps, and carrying ice picks, gives you the best chance to climb out by yourself.
What you need
- Ice picks on a cord around your neck, a life jacket or float coat, and a rope. Tell someone where you are going.
- A spud bar or auger to test thickness as you go.
Five minutes to learn; practice the self-rescue moves with a trained group if you can.
Step by step
If you break through, the cold will make you gasp and breathe fast for about a minute. Keep your head up, keep your mouth above the water and control your breathing. Do not try to swim yet.
Keep your winter clothes on. Trapped air in them helps you float and stay warm.
Turn toward the way you came. That ice held you, so it is the strongest.
Put your arms flat on the unbroken ice. Use ice picks if you carry them (they hang around your neck). Kick your legs hard like a swimmer and pull yourself forward onto the ice.
Once out, do not stand up. Lie flat and roll away from the hole to spread your weight, then crawl toward shore along the path you came.
Get warm right away: shelter, dry clothes and a warm, sweet drink without alcohol or caffeine. Shivering hard, confusion or clumsiness mean hypothermiahypothermia Losing body heat faster than you can make it. Shivering first, then confusion and a false feeling of warmth, then unconsciousness. Wet and wind do it even above freezing.: call 911.
If someone else falls in, do not go out after them. Call 911, then reach from shore with a long poleridge pole The one long, strong pole that the whole shelter hangs from. About as long as you are tall plus an arm, and at least wrist thick., a branch, a rope or a jumper cable, or throw them something that floats.
Tips from survival instructors
- Wear ice picks around your neck over your jacket where you can grab them, not in a pocket.
- Walk in a single line spread far apart on ice, never bunched up, and carry a long pole crosswise.
Common mistakes
- Going on ice that looks dark, slushy or snow-covered. The fix: stay off it.
- Trying to swim to the far side. The fix: turn back toward the ice that held you.
- Standing up right after climbing out. The fix: lie flat and roll away.
- Running out to save someone. The fix: call 911 and reach or throw from shore.
Practice it safely
Make a pair of ice picks from two short wooden dowels with nails, joined by a cord. At a pool, practice turning around and pulling yourself out on the deck with your elbows and a strong kick. Talk through reach, throw, go-for-help with your family.
Quick check
A friend falls through. What do you do?
- Run out to grab them
- Call 911 and reach or throw from shore
- Wait for them to climb out
Show the answer
Call 911 and reach or throw from shore
Take the quiz and earn the badge
The app checks your answers, keeps your place in the Cold and weather, and works with no signal once saved.
Before you rely on thisA learning tool, not a replacement for training. In an emergency, call 911.