Late Winter Season, Ice Safety is Priority #1

If you are new to the outdoors or a seasoned veteran, remember that the ice beneath you during late winter is equally unsafe! No matter your experience, death is the end result in a worst case scenario, but everyone breaking through ice will experience cold and wet as well as a whole lot of panic and pain should you fall through. The best thing to do? Don't get caught in dangerous ice situations by following these simple tips. While these are tips, they are no means the rules and they do NOT work for every body of water. The factors involved in creating dangerous ice conditions include the following: 1. Ice buckling The act of freezing & thawing can shift the plates of ice and create dangerous splits & cracks in extreme cases. 2. Sun & Thawing Bright days can create holes between morning & evening especially on heavily trafficked areas either from walkers or vehicles. 3. Wildlife Fish & Birds congregate in open water areas because of food, sun, water & oxygen. Large groups of geese for example can keep a hole open in water all winter long! The motion of schools of fish creates current and can keep holes open just the same. 4. Current Current from hidden water sources can provide movement beneath the ice, add oxygen to the ice (weakening it) and can create thin spots. 5. Bubblers & Man-made trouble Drainage pipes and oxygen adding aerators can keep ice open all winter long as well as create extremely thin ice and dangerous holes. Warm-water discharges in terms of drainage can pump water under ice that will cut a patch of thin ice beneath your feet. Since many of these occurrences might not be present when you are heading out on the ice for a walk, skiing or fishing- you should stay up to date on the changes of your local lakes by contacting the city or area experts. You can ask if any improvements have been made to the icy water you are visiting such as " aerators, bubblers, drainage added during the last season". Ice that seemed safe for years may have changed during the Fall and is now changed vastly from the last time you stepped on ice. Experts to contact include city hall, parks department, DNR as well as your local bait shop owner. A simple phone call can mean the difference between a horrible, cold, wet experience (even death) and a nice trip out onto the ice. Having contacted the local experts, you can also do the following when you go. There are ice safety devices such as "hand cleats" which are spikes that you wear on a rope around your neck. If you fall in, they are accessible around your neck to quickly grab and you can use these to jam into the ice for traction. These will help you drag yourself to safety. Getting out of cold water once you have broken through is job one. In some cases hypothermia can set in within a matter of 2 minutes- you have to move quickly. Another item of safety- the cell phone. When you are venturing out on ice, always wear your cell phone in a high, outside chest pocket. Better yet, store it in a mini Zip-Lock