Coast Guard: Ice may be weaker than it looks
• Coast Guard: Ice may be weaker than it looks

Burlington, Vermont - January 10, 2010
Rescuers who responded to a fatal snowmobile accident on Lake Dunmore Saturday said ice on the main lake was very weak -- not yet thick enough to support three snow machines plus their drivers and passengers.
Three people died after falling through the ice. "It's always uncertain. No ice is safe ice," said Boatswainmate 2nd class Brent Walsh. He said it can be a tough argument to make because lots of people enjoy fishing, skating or snowmobiling on lakes that appear to be frozen. But, he said, you can never be totally sure of the strength of the ice. And a late start to winter makes that especially true right now. "This was a later ice than we've had in past seasons," he said. "There's locals around here that say they've grown up on the ice, they go on the ice every year this time of year every year, but every year it changes. So you never know."
Another problem, Walsh said, is that this year the ice formed at the same time the snow fell. Snow acts like a blanket, insulating the lake. "It does not keep it from freezing but it slows the process," he said. "It's kind of like a shelter. If you think of an igloo, you can stay warm in an igloo if you aren't exposed to the outside air."
Walsh says each year the Coast Guard responds to five to ten ice rescues on Lake Champlain. There are ways to increase chances of survival, such as wearing special clothing that protects against hypothermia or carrying a screwdriver or ice picks that can help one grip the ice. "The best way to do that would be to remain calm, get yourself to the edge of the ice or the hole where you fell in, and if you don't have screwdrivers or ice picks you'd want to just press your forearms onto the edge of the ice and then have your feet kick out behind you," he said. "Once you get yourself up onto the ice, keep rolling away from the ice or the hole."
Still, Walsh said the best advice is simply to stay away from ice that may be weaker than it looks.