Self rescue procedure when falling through ice, but the ice keeps breaking
There are a lot of videos and instructions out there on what to do when you fall through ice: You turn the direction you came from, pull and kick until you get out and roll yourself to safety.
But what is the procedure, if you are in the middle of the lake, you break through, but the ice all around you is too thin and keeps breaking, when you try to pull yourself out of it.
What do you do in this situation? Just keep moving, trying to basically swim through the ice, while breaking it hoping to reach thicker ice or the shore? How long would you be able to keep that up?
Note: This question is about the specific situation, in which you can not climb back on to the ice, as it keeps breaking and you are far away from shore.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/15021. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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What do you do in this situation? Just keep moving, trying to basically swim through the ice, while breaking it hoping to reach thicker ice or the shore?
More or less, yes with two caveats. If someone else is in the process of attempting a rescue (e.g., their first rope toss came up short or the boat is on the way) you might be better off making sure you do not end up under the ice (and potentially conserving energy).
The second caveat is you need to reevaluate which way to go. The general idea of going back the way you came from is that you know the ice quality there. If you have crossed a long expanse of ice and are near the "far" shore, you might be better off going forward instead of backwards.
How long would you be able to keep that up?
There are a lot of factors that influence survival/exhaustion times (cf, http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/coastal_communities/hypothermia), but you could probably manage to keep your head above water for somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes (maybe 60 if you are in shape and a good swimmer/water treader).
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/15022. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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