Surfski Knowledge Base

Reivers Dustin
01/06/18 #22404

Video of a self rescue out of ice. Neat trick for climbing out, but I find the most important information here is how you manage your system when immersed in cold water. This is long, about 10 minutes. you can skip to the 7 min mark to just see the highlights. The main point is to mentally collect yourself as soon as you fall into cold water. There are some physiological processes that you can influence with your own strong intention to achieve calm.

https://www.wimp.com/how-to-survive-a-fall-through-ice/

(Editor's comment: Staying calm is almost always a good idea, but be careful about comparing this specific example of falling through ice with open water immersion - in open water if your head goes underwater and you gasp (which is involuntary with cold water shock) you will take in water and that can easily be all she wrote particularly if you do not have a PFD on - you will never get a chance to calm down or get control of your breathing…)

I've found in my experience sometimes I have to really focus - if I don't then everything becomes much more difficult.

rd

Paul Reavley
01/06/18 #22405

Thanks RD,

Local surface water temps close to shore measured with IR thermometer this afternoon - Jan. 6
degrees F

Marine Park - 43.4

Lake Whatcom - Bloedel Donovan - 40.2

Lake Samish Park - 39.6

Lake Padden - 36.2