Frozen Rabbit Carcass Saved the Life of a Daring Ice Skater in Alaska

A brave and daring ice skater in Alaska who was visiting a tourist attraction fell through the ice, but she managed to save herself by using a frozen rabbit carcass.

In late November, Kelsey Haas who lives in Homer was skating with a group of people in the Grewingk Glacier.

Particularly during the winter, the glacier has grown to be a well-liked attraction in Kachemak Bay State Park. The massive, 13-mile-long glacier is reached from Homer after a boat ride across Kachemak Bay, which includes a portion over a frozen lake.

Haas, who works as a hiking and rafting guide, claimed that her friends were also seasoned adventurers and that she had been there frequently in both warm and cold seasons. They were using ice screws to gauge the thickness of the ice they came across while towing throw ropes and rescue equipment.

However, on this particular day, Haas was not saved by throw ropes or other rescue tools. Her story of survival is quite unusual and involves a frozen snowshoe hare. Haas stated that she wants to tell the tale to raise awareness of the dangers of skating on thin ice.

Rabbit Carcass and a Picturesque Arch

Haas claimed that while exploring the area around the glacier, she discovered the dead hare's carcass on the ice. It seemed a little mysterious to her so she decided to keep the carcass to bring it home, skin it, and preserve the fur.

Later in the day, as the sun was about to set, Haas and the rest of her crew came across an intriguing ice formation in the middle of an iceberg that she described as a "perfectly picturesque arch."

Haas acknowledged that everyone knew it was extremely shaky ground and that proceeding wouldn't be wise.

She claimed that despite the danger, the arch was too lovely and alluring to pass through without skating.

According to Alaska.org, one of the most well-liked hikes in Kachemak Bay State Park is Grewingk Glacier. The well-maintained trail makes it one of the park's simpler hikes, and the lakeside glacier view is unbeatable. The trail winds its way through mixed Sitka spruce and cottonwood for the first 1.5 miles. Visitors usually take some time to marvel at the size of these enormous cottonwoods, which are some of the biggest in the park.

A Back-Up Plan and Survival Instincts

She admitted that in retrospect, she was aware that the ice may have been too thin. But if anything did go wrong, there was a well-trained team of people nearby who could assist if she fell through the ice.

Haas also had additional warm clothing in her backpack. She skated through the arch as quickly as she could, tempting fate. She looked for thin ice, but all she discovered was an open water hole.

Haas claimed that when she fell into the water, her instincts took over.

She felt cold right away and realized she needed to go back the way she had come, in the direction of where the ice must have been at least rather more stable.

She also understood that to raise herself out of the icy water and onto the solid ice more easily, she needed to hold her body horizontally as opposed to vertically.

According to Outside, Dr. Howard Donner, a specialist in hypothermia, emphasizes the importance of properly exiting the water. This can be achieved by simultaneously kicking and pulling out horizontally, much like a seal emerging from the water and landing on ice. This is what Haas did.

According to Haas, the air in the dry bag she was carrying on her back served as a makeshift flotation device. She remembered that she still had the rabbit carcass with her.

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Now Frozen Rabbit Carcass

She claimed to have slapped the rabbit forward towards a shelf of ice as soon as she reached the edge of the ice. On the chilly surface, the wet hare instantly froze. Haas claimed that to get herself out of the icy water, she used the frozen rabbit carcass as an anchor.

She emerged from the icy water before her friends could assist her with their throw ropes and other rescue tools, thanks to the hare.

A group was waiting for her when she returned to land so they could help her get into dry clothes as soon as possible.

Life Lessons and Rabbit Slippers

The most crucial factor, according to Haas, is to be conscious of one's own safety while visiting places such as Grewingk Glacier.

It is crucial to understand the degree of risk. She also advised adventurers heading out onto the ice to always have dry clothing, to always use a dry bag, to always have a throw rope, to always have everything they need to rescue people from the ice, and go about adventures with extreme safety in mind.

Haas later decided to make slippers out of the snowshoe hare she had used to rescue herself from the frigid water, Alaska Public Media reports.