The warmer temperatures mean ice is melting, and anglers, snowmobilers, UTV and ATV drivers, and ice skaters need to check conditions before venturing out. On February 26th, The Wisconsin State Journal reported the Lake Rescue Team rescued an ice skater on January 8th after a fall through the ice near Monona Terrace. The area where the skater fell in had ice heaves or areas where ice sheets pushed against the shoreline. On Jan. 22, rescuers saved a man who had fallen through Lake Mendota's ice. The following story, told by a Wisconsin Dells resident, could have made the paper as well. Picture yourself in his place.

You’re far north in Alaska, above the tree line, and it’s a chilly -13F. Still, there’s fish to be caught, so you dress in a moose hide coat with a wolf fur hood and sealskin boots. You ride on a sled pulled by a snowmobile. Six Inuit natives, each on snow machines, complete the fishing expedition. You take a circuitous route through valleys and over hills to get to the large lake.

Once you’re at your fishing spot, you dig through the snow to the ice, creating a snowbank on the windward side as protection. You join the others crouching or lying on the ice behind the snowbank to avoid the wind. After a long day, you’ve caught enough Arctic Char and Lake Trout to call it a day.

You and the group decide to take the shortcut over a section of the lake where the water continually seeps over the top, forming new layers of ice. The other six snowmobilers have no trouble, but you’re not so lucky.

The ice begins to crack. Your driver quickly turns sharply toward shore, which jack-knifes the sled and sends you flying out over the ice. You fall into open water. You’re beyond terrified, picturing yourself plunging into deep, icy water. 

It’s your good luck that the water isn’t as deep as you feared. You don’t have ice picks to help pull yourself out of the hole, but once you’ve caught your breath, you can stand on a lower layer of ice and soon find solid ice. You’re completely soaked, head to toe, and the temperature has dropped to -10F. Your life is in danger, and you run back to the snowmobile.

Once you’re back on the sled, the driver guns the engine and, full throttle, whips you toward shelter. If you’re lucky, you’ll only lose a few fingers or toes. In minutes, the cold freezes your clothing, making it stiff as armor. But this turns out to be lucky. Your “wet suit” warms the water next to your skin and insulates you. You’re surprisingly warm. You make it to the shelter and, to this day, have all of your fingers and toes.

This true account was shared by Dave Clemens, who had been working as a dentist in Anaktuvuk Pass in the Brooks Range. Today, he enjoys ice skating on Mirror Lake and Briggsville’s Big Slough. Dave will be among the first and last skaters out there. But he’ll also carry ice picks. He’s wise enough to know that the best luck of all is the luck you make for yourself.