Pregnant snowmobiler breaks through ice, swims to safety

It's cold, yes. It's freezing, to be sure. But it's not quite freezing enough, as a pregnant Wisconsin woman and her companion discovered to their shivering chagrin.

The snowmobile they were driving on the Wolf River went through the ice and -- this is the kicker -- they had to swim 50 yards to safety in bone-chilling water. I just got done living on a tropical island for a year. I know people there that couldn't swim 50 yards in warm water that are not, as this individual is, six months along with child.

Here's the part of the story that I'm going to try, and fail, to let pass without comment.

"Jennifer Pliska of Stevens Point and Shaun Wenzel of Fremont had to swim about 50 yards to get help after their 2001 Ski Doo snowmobile went through the ice at 2:59 a.m. Sunday."

As many of us are well aware, 3 o'clock in the a.m. isn't actually early Sunday morning -- that's late Saturday night. And that's often when things like "I'm sure the river's frozen, let's take a wee hours snowmobile jaunt" start to sound reasonable. Moral: resist such irrationality, or end up swimming surrounded by ice floes.

Although if you're hearty enough to make that swim, I'm sure the cold just makes you paddle faster.

[Tip o' the fur-lined cap to the Obscure Store.]