2 Wis. Men Survive 2 Terrifying Hours on Ice Floes

[fishnowworknever]

From KSTP.com

For two terrifying hours, a pair of Wisconsin ice fishermen clung to small ice floes that rolled and crashed in Lake Superior while waves as high as 12 feet raged around them.

The men, 80-year-old Skip Wick and 61-year-old Mike Popko of Saxon, feared the worst.

"I really didn't think I was going to make it," Popko told the Duluth News Tribune.

Wick and Popko were among 50 to 75 ice anglers fishing on 1-foot-thick ice Saturday in Saxon Harbor east of Ashland. Wick said he was about 500 yards from shore when, without warning, a network of cracks appeared and suddenly began spreading through the ice.

"As I was standing there, the ice kept breaking up," said Wick, a retired shop teacher. "There was a big roar, like a jet going over, and here would come a wave."

The roar was the sound of waves that began to churn as high as 8 feet to 12 feet, lifting chunks of ice and slamming them against each other as far as Wick could see.

He yelled to his son and grandson to clear out. Those two made it to shore, along with the other anglers. Meanwhile, Wick and Popko began jumping from one ice chunk to another until they ran out.

Wick and Popko ended up on separate ice floes, about 30 yards apart. Wick estimated his floe was the length and width of a car.

"It was awful," Popko said of the surroundings. "It was like a bowl of Jell-O with all this busted-up ice. He (Wick) and I would be in troughs between the waves, and we couldn't see each other."

The men couldn't hear each other over the gnashing and grinding of the ice. They managed to stay dry and warm, although they were always at risk of being thrown into the frigid water.

"I looked at the situation and thought, 'Am I going to drown or get crushed to death?"' Popko said. "When a wave would crest, the chunks would separate. Then, in the troughs, one big chunk would crash into another one. It would about knock you on your rear end."

Wick felt isolated on his ice chunk. He knew no one on shore could get a boat or snowmobile to them through the heaving ice.

"I had no control over my survival," he said. "(But) I was never fearful. I was hoping I would be rescued by something. A chopper (helicopter) was my No. 1 thought."

As it turned out, firefighters from Ashland had a sea-going vessel that was up to the task. They launched a 20-foot-plus airboat, powered by a large single fan, and ventured out to where they could see Wick and Popko from the shore.

"I gotta be honest with you," said Lt. Tom Walters of the Ashland Fire Department. "My whole crew, we were pretty worried. We didn't know that the craft could handle that situation. We had never had it in water like that."

The boat bounced across the ice chunks and reached the men in about 10 minutes, Walters said. Rescuers threw a weighted rope to the men, and the watercraft was able to get close enough that the men could clamber aboard.

Wick and Popko both said they were grateful for the firefighters' efforts. However, neither man would say that the ordeal meant his ice-fishing days are over.

Wick said he's been ice fishing for almost 60 years, and he doesn't plan to stop now. Popko said he was torn.

"My wife said, 'You gotta promise never to go out there again,"' he said. "But fishing is one of my favorite pastimes."

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[GotALunker]

thank God they made it!

[goblueM]

glad they made it, but they deserved a darwin award

you couldn't pay me to go ice fishing on an unprotected area of Lake Superior on a windy day

and I for sure wouldn't "be standing there" as the ice broke up!

[PurpleFloyd]

That is bad news. I went to College and spent 5 years living in Ashland and my wife is from there so we spend alot of time there. That lake can be so unpredictable.

[herefish101]

I love to hear that old guys can still kick some butt out there, that had to be like riding a bull on those ice chunks in the big waves. i'm glad they are still fishing.

[goblueM]

That is bad news. I went to College and spent 5 years living in Ashland and my wife is from there so we spend alot of time there. That lake can be so unpredictable.

you went to Northland? I visited there, it was awesome and I def considered going there. I probably would have hunted and fished way too much instead of going to class though...

[PurpleFloyd]

[H2O Milfoil]

That's great news! We now have new role models...a 61 year old and an 80 year old who are physically fit and mentally strong enough to survive something that most could not. My hat is off to you guys! Now, were you guys wearing the blue suits or the gray suits?

[AsianSensation89]

God bless their souls. Glad to know they made it okay.

And I probably would have gave my wife the same answer if I was in the same situation. lol. Sorry, fishing runs in the blood.

[Northlander]

They are very very lucky guys.

[Surface Tension]

We have to watch out for the exact same thing on the Western end of Lake Superior.

Great job on the Rescue Team that put their own lives at risk!

I enjoyed the read and they were lucky to be able to go home and tell of their epic adventure to their grand kids.

[paceman]

Wow that is just a crazy story. they are extremely lucky to be alive. How in the world did they hang onto a sheet of ice the size of a car with 8-12' rollers. Thank god none of the rescuers got hurt or worse. It sounds like an expensive day on the water.

[PierBridge]

For an hour and a half, Skip Wick had been trying to stay upright on a chunk of ice in Lake Superior’s 8-foot swells. The 80-year-old ice angler, stranded on the lake Saturday after big waves undermined the ice in Saxon Harbor east of Ashland, knew his options were limited. “As I was standing there, the ice kept breaking up,” said Wick, a retired shop teacher from Hurley, Wis. “There was a big roar, like a jet going over, and here would come a wave.” The roar was the sound of the waves, later estimated by Ashland firefighters at 8 to 12 feet, lifting and grinding chunks of ice as far as Wick could see. The chunk he was on was about as long and wide as a car, he said. As it turned out, Wick and fishing partner Mike Popko of Saxon, Wis., were plucked off their respective ice pans after a harrowing two hours by the Ashland Fire Department using an air boat, or wind sled, called an Ice Angel. “Those were the worst conditions I have ever been in for an ice rescue,” said Lt. Tom Walters of the Ashland Fire Department. Popko, riding a chunk of ice 30 yards away from Wick during the ordeal, feared the worst. “It was awful,” said Popko, 61. “It was like a bowl of Jell-O with all this busted-up ice. He (Wick) and I would be in troughs between the waves, and we couldn’t see each other. … I really didn’t think I was going to make it.” Walters said it was surprising Wick and Popko could remain on their ice chunks. “How they were able to maintain their balance going that high up in the air and back down is beyond me,” Walters said.

AN ICE PUZZLE

The day had begun like many for the 50 to 75 ice anglers fishing on 12-inch-thick ice out of Saxon Harbor near the Michigan state line. Then, without warning or big wind, the ice began to fracture, Wick said. He was about 500 yards from shore, he said. “The first crack was to the north,” he said. “The second one went through my tent.” These were fine cracks, Wick said, giving the ice the appearance of a puzzle. The wind was not blowing hard at that time, Wick said. But a front was moving into the area and the waves may have been pushed by winds farther down the lake. When he saw the cracks form, Wick yelled to his son, Richard Wick, also of Hurley, and grandson Cal Wick, 8, fishing nearby. They threw all of their fishing gear into a 12-foot boat they had towed onto the ice on a trailer behind a snowmobile. But as they and other anglers headed for shore, the swells began to further fracture the ice. The trailer’s wheels became lodged in a crack between ice chunks, so Richard and Cal continued to shore on the snowmobile. Skip Wick and Popko kept moving toward shore, jumping from one ice chunk to another. “We got to the point we couldn’t go from cake to cake,” Popko said. The ice ahead of them had broken into pieces too small to support them. Other anglers, who hadn’t been fishing as far out as Wick and his companions, were able to reach shore safely.

LONG WAIT

From that point, and for almost two more hours, Wick and Popko were alone on their respective floes. They couldn’t communicate over the gnashing and grinding of the ice. They both managed to stay dry and warm, but the ride was terrifying. “I looked at the situation and thought, ‘Am I going to drown or get crushed to death?’ ” Popko said. “When a wave would crest, the chunks would separate. Then, in the troughs, one big chunk would crash into another one. It would about knock you on your rear end.” Wick had been on ice floes four or five times previously in his life. “This isn’t my first rodeo,” he said. But all of those had been clean breakaways. He would just get in his boat or canoe, which he’d brought along for just that purpose, and row or paddle back to landfast ice. On one occasion, he had to paddle a floe back to solid ice using only his ice chisel, he said. But this was different, because waves were pushing all of the broken ice toward shore. Reflecting on the incident, Popko thinks the men made a mistake. “We should never have left the boat,” he said.

[jBohmer]

AM1500 Garage Logic had Skip on the phone today right at the beginning. He told the story well, I never woulda guessed he was 80 until Sooch mentioned it.

[WalleyeBIZ]

Unbelievable story!!!!!!!

[deadeye]

I saw that today and all I could say was wow. Talk about a odd situation and a sketchy deal. Amazing they were able to keep on the ice for that long and even more amazing that the ice they were on held up being smashed all around like that. Someone was watching over them for sure!

[MJ1657]

The 80 year old guy told Sooch he still has a $3000 boat floating around out there somewhere.

[fish2morrow]

Wow I never knew that lake was that unpredictable. Glad those two youngins made it.

[WyoChris]

"Wick had been on ice floes four or five times previously in his life. “This isn’t my first rodeo,” he said. But all of those had been clean breakaways. He would just get in his boat or canoe, which he’d brought along for just that purpose, and row or paddle back to landfast ice. On one occasion, he had to paddle a floe back to solid ice using only his ice chisel, he said. But this was different, because waves were pushing all of the broken ice toward shore. "

haha! Seriously?

[snoozebutton]

Wow, that would be enough to keep me from fishing there again but apparently they don't plan on stopping.