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Tag archives for ice

Navigating the Icy Spots

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slippery ice

This picture shows how the snow freezes and becomes slippery ice. What's disorientating is that the whole walking path isn't this icy--just certain parts. Photo by K. Lund

 

It hasn’t been too cold in Uppsala and Stockholm in the last few weeks. The temperature hovers around freezing which actually feels quite balmy compared to when it’s truly cold. But there’s persistent patches of ice (usually frozen snow) all over the place and this fascinates me. I guess it’s because I’ve lived in California so long that I forgot about the perils of ice.

I don’t own a car so I rarely drive one here in Sweden. (Although you can read about my adventures driving a car through Swedish roundabouts here.) It’s not ice on the road that I catches my attention, it’s the ice on the sidewalks and on walking paths. I can be walking along at a fast clip and then suddenly I come to a section that requires mincing along like tentative little mouse.

I have already had two back surgeries for herniated disks and once, several years ago, I did a cartoon-worthy fall on my derriere when I tried to stand up on roller skates that left me unable to sit properly for months.

No more, thank you very much.

I live at the end of a short road shared by three houses. To walk out to the main road, takes a lot of focus. I must pick my way carefully, placing each foot and walking next to a fence or bushes so I can grab hold of them if necessary.

Everyone, including the municipalities, spends a good deal of time spreading a fine gravel over the ice for traction. I was told that the gravel used to be more of a sand but now it is more like coarse kitty litter. It’s everywhere. It really helps combat the slipperiness but there is lots of it built up all over the place. Because there’s not much snow on the ground, it’s not very attractive. In some spots, it is nearly an inch thick. On bike paths, you can see where the tires have pushed it to the sides. There’s so much of it that the cars kick up fine clouds of it in the streets.

No complaints, since as I’ve noted, I am not interested in the alternative…pulling another foot-on-the-banana-peel move that leaves me injured for an extended period.

And it’s not just we humans who have trouble negotiating the ice. A recent article in the English language online Swedish newspaper, The Local published a story about some moose calves who had trouble negotiating the ice. Whew, it can’t be easy being a moose mother in Sweden…

Kristin Lund

March 12, 2012

The Swedish Ice Claw

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Swedish ice claws

A popular sports store in Sweden sells a set of ice claws for under $30. They come with protective covers over the spikes and a whistle for calling for help. Photo by Stadium.se.

 

It’s finally super cold this winter in Sweden. The temperatures is staying between -10 and -5 degrees celcius (14 and 23 degrees farenheit). The snow is sticking on the ground and the lakes and rivers are frozen. People are strapping on skates or boots and venturing out on the ice.

I like to go for walks on my two days off of work and I have begun to pass people wearing sets of brightly colored handles around their necks if they are anywhere near water. What are these things? I wondered.

They are ice claws or “isdubbar.” They’re what will save your life if you accidentally fall through the ice. The modern version has a plastic handle at one end and a sharp pick at the other. They have a neck strap and are designed to be worn close around the neck so you can find them quickly if you fall into the water. The neck strap is worn short so they don’t slip off your head if you fall in.

My 9–year old Swedish godson takes swimming lessons and this week they practiced what it’s like to be in the water with regular clothes on. They also practiced how to get out of the water if they ever fall through the ice.

In the pool, they had a large, hard plastic float with a special “deck” to simulate slippery ice. Each child practiced jumping into the pool with a set of ice claws around his or her neck. Then they used the claws to pull themselves out of the water. (The special deck allowed them to stab into it with the claws and pull themselves out.) The adults at the pool went ahead and practiced as well. It’s a good thing to know how to do this in advance because our ability to think and move can be very short-lived in freezing water.

child practices using ice picks in a pool

A child in an Uppsala pool practices pulling himself out onto simulated ice using "ice claws"...a good skill to have in Sweden!

 

There have been various articles about people in Sweden falling through the ice in years past (this year, the ice has only just gotten hard enough now to even contemplate walking on it.) The Local published a article about two people who fell through melting ice on Lake Mälaren in central Stockholm in March 2010. The Local also write about ten people who fell through ice on a Swedish lake in February 2011.

When looking for advice in English on what to do if you fall through the ice, I turned to the State of Minnesota which knows a thing or two about icy lakes. Here’s what the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources advises:

What if you fall in?

  1. What should you do? First, try not to panic. This may be easier said than done, unless you have worked out a survival plan in advance. Read through these steps so that you can be prepared.
  2. Don’t remove your winter clothing. Heavy clothes won’t drag you down, but instead can trap air to provide warmth and flotation. This is especially true with a snowmobile suit.
  3. Turn toward the direction you came. That’s probably the strongest ice.
  4. Place your hands and arms on the unbroken surface. This is where a pair of nails, sharpened screwdrivers or ice picks come in handy in
providing the extra traction you need to pull yourself up onto the ice.
  5. Kick your feet and dig in your ice picks to work your way back onto the solid ice. If your clothes have trapped a lot of water, you may have to lift yourself partially out of the water on your elbows to let the water drain before starting forward.
  6. Lie flat on the ice once you are out and roll away from the hole to keep your weight spread out. This may help prevent you from breaking through again.
  7. Get to a warm, dry, sheltered area and re-warm yourself immediately. In moderate to severe cases of cold water hypothermia, you must seek medical attention. Cold blood trapped in your extremities can come rushing back to your heart after you begin to re-warm. The shock of the
chilled blood may cause ventricular fibrilation leading to a heart attack and death.

OK, got all that? You’ll thank your lucky stars that you read this blog the next time you find yourself clawing your way out of the icy Swedish water.

Kristin Lund

February 5, 2012