Unnecessarily crossing a frozen lake
From BearWiki
Claim: Unfamiliar frozen lakes are dangerous, and should be avoided unless neccessary; if one is crossed, it should only be with proper precautions taken.
In the European Alps, Bear trudges out across a frozen lake without mentioning how dangerous this is. He then fakes ice fishing on the lake.
Lest there be no confusion: it takes two inches of ice to support a grown man[1], lake ice thickness varies widely in a given lake[2], and it's hard enough to accurately assess thickness when there's no snow, let alone when the lake is covered in snow[3]. Getting on lake ice in the best monitored of conditions still carries some risk, and is a very dumb idea even when not in a survival situation if the ice conditions are unknown.[4] When trying to survive, taking unnecessary risks is a dumb idea. Even thick ice can be "rotten" -- fragmented and unable to bear weight.[5]
Unless there is an immediate threat to your life, just go around. And don't try to do things that simply don't work, like digging through the ice with a pointed stick (it really requires an ice axe and a lot of work, or an auger) to get some calories (not your biggest concern) from the most risky kind of fishing.
It's not being lost that kills you. It's putting your life in jeopardy when you don't need to that kills you.
