When Kelsey Haas made the decision to join a group of about a dozen people skating to the Grewingk Glacier, she was well aware her surroundings. Having been there many times before, in both summer and winter, she was happy to join the group of experienced adventurers. They had throw ropes and rescue gear in tow, and were testing the thickness of the ice they encountered with ice screws. On this day, however, it wasn’t the throw ropes and rescue equipment that saved Kelsey. It was actually a snowshoe hare. She had found the carcass on the ice while exploring around the glacier and decided to take it with her so she could skin it and save the fur. Later in the day, just as the sun was about to set, Kelsey and the rest of her crew discovered an interesting ice formation right in the middle of an iceberg. She decided to skate to it, even though she knew the risk. As you might imagine, it wasn’t long before the 29-year-old fell through the ice. Instinct kicked in and she knew she needed to position her body horizontally instead of vertically, which would make it easier to pull herself up and out of the water and onto solid ice. The dry bag she carried on her back and the air inside it also acted as a makeshift flotation device. She also still had the hare with her, so once she reached the ice’s edge she slapped it forward onto the ice shelf and used it as an anchor to pull herself out of the icy water. Thanks to the hare, she was out of the water before her friends could throw their ropes. Once she got to shore, the group was waiting for her, a change of dry clothes in hand. As for the hare, Kelsey said she’s going to make slippers out of it.
