How To Survive A Fall Through Frozen Solid Ice

1. Brace yourself. Once you have the sickening realization that you're falling through the ice and into the cold water, you need to brace yourself and consciously stop your reflex to gasp and breathe in if your head gets submerged. The shock of being in freezing water should not be underestimated, as it causes immediate changes to your breathing and heart rate. Once in the cold water, your body's cold shock response, called the "torso reflex," will make you want to gasp for air and hyperventilate because your heart rate accelerates rapidly, but you must avoid doing so, especially if you're underwater. This initial shock typically wears off in one to three minutes as your body slightly acclimatizes to the cold.
Although the initial cold shock passes, you're still in grave danger of quickly developing hypothermia, which means your body loses heat faster than it produces it. Just a 4-degree drop in body temperature can trigger hypothermia.Show more

2. Keep as calm as possible. The physical pain of being submerged in freezing water combined with all the physiological changes in response to "cold shock" (increased heart and breathing rates, high blood pressure, adrenaline release) can easily lead to panic. However, remaining calm and controlling your breathing allows you to think better and develop a plan to get out of the water. You don't have a lot of time, but likely more time than a panicky mind perceives.

Hypothermia occurs as your body temperature passes below 95°F (35°C), but it takes some time to get there and depends on many factors. Keeping your head above water and as much of your body as possible out of the water will buy you more time.
Depending on multiple factors such as physical conditioning, the amount of body fat, type and layering of clothing, ambient temperature, and wind chill, it can take between 10 to 45 minutes to develop hypothermia and lose consciousness in cold water.
Remove any heavy objects or clothing that are weighing you down, such as a backpack, fanny pack or skis. This will reduce your risk of drowning.

3. Focus your energy on getting out immediately. Once you have calmed down and your head is above the water, you must focus your energy on getting out as quickly as possible rather than treading water and waiting for help. Remaining in the water can shorten your survival time by 50% Orientate yourself and focus on getting back to where you fell in, as the edges are probably sturdy enough to support you getting out.

If underwater, always look for contrasting color. When the ice is covered with snow, the hole will appear darker; ice without snow will make the hole look lighter.
In most cases, neuromuscular cooling or "swim failure" is a bigger and more immediate concern than hypothermia. In essence, most people will have between three and five minutes before the cold water incapacitates their muscles and coordination, making it very difficult or impossible to swim and kick their legs.
If you are with other people, yell loudly to let them know you've fallen in. They may not be willing or able to help you, but at least they won't abandon you and might be able to make an emergency call from their cellphone.

4. Get horizontal and kick your legs. Once you're orientated and decide where you're going to exit the water, quickly swim towards it and grab onto the edge of the ice. Get as much of your upper body as possible out of the water. Grab onto the top of the ice and use your forearms and elbows to prop yourself up. Then position your lower body horizontally and kick your legs as forcefully as possible in hopes of propelling yourself out of the water and onto the ice — much like seals in the arctic do.

Once you've lifted your upper body on to the edge of the ice, wait a few seconds to let your clothes drain as much water as possible. It will reduce your weight and make it easier for you to actually propel yourself out of the water.
If you're unable to get out of the water after about 10 minutes, then you're almost certainly not going to get out by your own efforts as swim failure and hypothermia will be upon you — but don't panic at this stage either.
If you can't get out by yourself, conserve your energy (and heat) by moving as little as possible and wait for rescue. Cross your legs to conserve heat and try to keep your arms out of the water, as your body loses heat 32 times faster in cold water than in cold air.

5. Roll your body across the ice once you're out. Once you've propelled yourself out of the cold water, then resist the urge to stand up and run for the shore because you may fall in again. Instead, remain spread out on the ice (so that your weight is distributed across a larger area) and slowly roll your body toward thicker ice or hard ground. At the very least, roll away from the hole in the ice by several feet before attempting to stand up.

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