Outdoor advocate survives icy lake plunge

Long-time Whitefish resident and outdoor-advocate Steve Thompson had a quite a scare in January when he fell through the ice on Whitefish Lake while cross-country skiing near Les Mason Park.

Thompson tells the story on www.crownofthecontinent.net, the Web site that parallels the National Geographic geotourism map he helped create.

"I've ventured onto the frozen lake for years by ski, skate and bicycle," Thompson said. "But in January 2009, I got careless."

It was a cold and sunny Saturday with lots of snow on the ice at City Beach, but Thompson headed up to Les Mason Park looking for a skiff of snow on ice.

"Foolishly, I didn't bring my hatchet to chop my customary test holes," he said.

Thompson had skied out onto the ice about 150 feet from the shoreline when the ice gave way, leaving him treading water with his skis still attached.

"Fortunately I stayed calm and clear-headed," he said. "Yet adrenaline must have coursed my veins, because I never felt cold during the 12-15 minutes I desperately tread water."

With no one in sight, Thompson knew he had to get himself up and out of the water. That meant getting his skis off his boots and onto the ice to help him distribute his weight.

"I concentrated on removing my skis while hanging onto the crumbling one-inch ice shelf," he said. "That took 10 difficult minutes, clawing at my boot with a bare, numb hand."

Skis finally in hand, Thompson broke through the thin ice several times as he struggled to get on top.

"I began to consider the eternal as my strength ebbed," he said. "Determined to survive, I summoned the right burst of technique, power and luck to push up and onto the ice. It held as I crawled to shore."

Thompson said it took him 10 minutes to stagger to his car. It took another two weeks to get him back on the frozen lake, which is popular with cross-country skiers, ice fishermen, kite-skiers and hikers.

"Venture onto the lake with full caution," he advises people who are drawn to the lake in winter. "Chop or drill test holes or check with anglers. I recommend four inches of solid ice or at least six inches if there's a punky layer. Don't get careless like I did."