GREENWOOD TWP — A family group of four adults and two children snowmobiling on Lake Vermilion ended up partially submerged in icy water after their sleds broke through skim ice that had formed along an unmarked inverted pressure ridge.
The family was driving along a marked snowmobile route just off the shore from Tavern in the Bay, a popular area bar/restaurant when the incident occurred, a little after 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 28.
According to reports from neighbors, the adults were able to get one of the children onto the ice and tossed the child a phone. The child was instructed to run to the restaurant, nearby on shore.
“The child got to Tavern in the Bay and said his family was in the lake drowning,” the friend reported. People at the bar quickly responded out on the ice and pulled the remaining five from the icy water. These five were all transported to the hospital for treatment of hypothermia.
“They went through the skim ice but fell onto 16 inches of solid ice below,” said Mike Indihar, president of the Vermilion Penguins Snowmobile Club, which maintains snowmobile routes on the lake. “Three sleds were in the water, and one was up to its handlebars.”
“The good thing is you aren’t going to drown,” he said. “But hypothermia is the real danger.”
Pressure ridges are a true hazard on Vermilion and other large area lakes. And weather conditions this year, with warm and then very cold temps and scant snow cover, have created them all across Vermilion, Indihar said.
The pressure ridges form when the ice warms and expands, and they can push the ice up, creating a berm, or downwards, which brings water up to the surface. Upward pressure ridges cause crashes when snowmobiles traveling at high speeds hit them, but the downward ridges are possibly more dangerous, he said, sometimes trapping snowmobiles in the water, but also trapping the riders, because the water-covered ice is so slippery it can be impossible to walk out onto the ice-covered lake surface.
“I’ve had friends who had this experience and needed a rope thrown to them to get out,” Indihar said.
“This is one of those good news stories,” said Indihar. “No one got hurt.”
Indihar cautioned that the lake is “really dynamic” right now.
He said the weather this week is also optimal for creating more ridges, and their locations are unpredictable.
“I’ve never seen a pressure ridge by Tavern in the Bay in over 40 years,” he said.
The Penguins, besides marking riding routes on the lake, will mark hazards such as pressure ridges. Once marked, he said, riders can find a safe route around the hazard. But the club depends on reporting from riders when new ridges occur.
“The lake has been enjoyable to ride on so far,” he said. “No slush yet.” And over the holidays, there was a lot of traffic out on the ice, Indihar said. There hasn’t been enough snow to groom area trails yet, so many riders have been hitting the lake.
Indihar said the best way to stay safe on the lake is not to be riding in the dark when pressure ridges are less visible, and when it’s hard to see open water or skim ice around a downward ridge.
“As a snowmobile club, it’s hard to keep everyone safe. There are 60 miles of trails staked on the lake. We can’t guard everything,” he said.
“No ice is ever safe – never,” Indihar posted on the Penguins Facebook page. “Ride with caution, and a friend, and always be prepared for the worst of surprises. They happen quickly and when and where least expected.”
The sheriff’s office would also like to remind those out enjoying recreation on our area lakes to use caution at all times and ride responsibly. If you encounter issues or hazards on the marked trails report them.
Greenwood Fire and EMS, Tower Fire and Ambulance, MN DNR, and St. Louis County Rescue Squad all responded to the scene.
Learn more about the Penguins Snowmobile Club on their Faceobok page, or at https://www.vermilionpenguins.com/. The club hosts group rides throughout the winter riding season and also co-hosts a fun run fundraiser on Saturday, Jan. 31 (can ride or drive between checkpoints).