Do you know what to do if you fall through the ice? Every year, people of of all ages fall through the ice and are in danger of drowning or freezing to death.
It can happen out in the wilderness, at a local park, or even in a familiar neighborhood. But if you don’t know what to do to get out quickly, the situation can be life-threatening.
Kenton Whitman is an outdoorsman from Wisconsin and made a video to help people that fall through the ice get themselves out.
Whitman demonstrates the self-rescue measures he uses that may help you get out of the ice if you fall through. He shows off the technique by falling into an icy lake himself!
Note that Whitman strongly cautions that people not attempt what he does in the video (which is to fall purposely into an icy lake). He warns “cold water immersion can cause sudden death from cardiac overload. Do not attempt unless under professional supervision.”
This clip is taken from Whitman’s longer instructional video which you can watch in full below.
Whitman goes into more detail about the effects that freezing water have on the body and what he does to rescue himself after he has fallen through the ice.
People commenting after watching the video say that another possible technique to get yourself onto stronger ice is to roll instead of drag yourself. “Kick yourself up and forward, and then turn 90 degrees while lying down, and roll towards the strong ice,” says redditor AgainIGoUnnoticed. “Crawling works as well, but you won’t be putting your weight on four areas (knees and hands or elbows) if you roll.”
Share this survival / outdoors safety video with your friends and family.
Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links.