Ourselves:
The LakeIce site is mostly focused on ice behavior while the human factor plays a big part on many accidents.
Using my experience as an example, I have gotten the ice many times with without one or more pieces of equipment, or without properly zipping my dry suit. I have have often been on the ice with out full safety equipment. I have more than once left shore with my dry suit zipper not fully closed. Looking back I am amazed by how many times I have been lucky.
This human weakness is even more evident with back country skiing, The New York Times published a long article that looked at how being more of an expert can make it more likely to die when skiing in the back country. (see: What I Learned in Avalanche School). It turns out that when we know more about risk, many of us are more confident but more at risk.
Ski helmits are another example. They have not reduced deaths significantly, most likely because people are willing to ski aggressively in icy conditions or in the woods.
Helmet use among nordic skaters is wide spread but far from universal, in spite of many anecdotes of taking falls that might have been fatal with out a helmet.
Judgement, for many people, seems to get worse as they as they get more confident. There is a reason why private airplane pilots use a basic checklist every time they fly.
For ice fishing and walking:
- Flotation
- Ice claws
- Test pole or other test tool
- Foot traction
- Throw rope
- Dry, charged cell phone
- Five days of weather history
- Local knowledge
For Skating
- Flotation
- Claws
- Test pole (not a ski pole)
- Foot traction (for getting to the ice)
- Food and water
- Throw rope
- If you have a suit are the zippers zipped properly?
- Pads and helmet. Everybody takes a hard fall now and then.
- I have fallen throug habout 10 times, only once without a wet or dry suit or or dry clothes in my pack.
- A first aid kit is a good idea
- Know the weather history and forecast
