Survival Case Studies: Falling Through Ice  Sometimes it pays to
watch the instructional video  Fall through the ice      Photo:
Illustration by Kagan McLeod  The guys in the bait shop said the
ice was solid, a good seven to eight inches—plenty to support a
snowmobile—all the way out past an underwater hump called Levi’s
Shoal. But when we got there, two guys were already fishing the
shoal. My son Aaron and I went to another hump about a quarter-
mile in the direction of the open water.  The ice felt thick.
The air was crisp, and the coating of new snow sparkled. We went
a few hundred yards. The snowmobile slowed. We heard a loud
crack, then the sled tilted backward and disappeared beneath us.
Next thing I knew, we were in the water. The hole was about 15
feet in diameter, and I could see Aaron out of the corner of my
eye. Instinct told me to help him, but there was nothing I could
do from the water. I had confidence in him. He had lost 100
pounds and was now a strong, competent adult. We had both been
in poo