It took a year, but I finally "fall down and go boom".

The weather up here this winter has been a bit odd. After the usual cold spell in December, things got warm here towards the end of January, and the snow melted. Then it got cold again, as expected, and the melt froze up. So I started wearing slip on cleats over my boots and got around well enough, but then we got a light snow of about an inch or so. It was a dry snow, so it stayed loose on top of the ice.

I took a stroll shortly after the snow fell, wearing my cleats as usual, and found that the snow was just deep enough to prevent my cleats from touching the ice. Dry snow is a lot like marbles, and so with my cleats and my tread loaded up, I, um, inverted mid air, and landed on my shoulders.

Nice to know some things you never forget. On the way down, I instinctively threw back my arms, slapping the ground as my legs splayed out above my head. It stung my hands when they clapped down on the cold hard surface (1 inch of loos snow is grossly insufficient to absorb the impact of a 260 load). But other than straining my gut muscles a bit, I was none the worse. I got up laughing, more to assure my wife who saw the whole thing from behind, that I did not need her to call an ambulance.

We headed to the pub and after a beer and another good laugh, the incident was put behind us. But I learned that you can't rely on cleats in the snow. If you don't know (or realize) what's under it, you better watch your step.

Glad to see you're okay! Yeah, you gotta really watch your step when it gets warm enough to melt and then refreezes.

we had the same problem in Minneapolis.warmed up just a enough to melt the under layer of snow and then back down to sub zero with a foot of snow falling on that.when i cleared the walks i ended up with inches of frozen slush.i'm using my old ice ax with a nice big spike on the end for the dog walks.

Interesting I was just going to suggest using an ice axe, one of traditional length, when going out on ice - mine has kept me upright many a time.

Yeah, that's the worst. A layer of hard ice with a sprinkling of nice crunchy "dance wax" on top. Perfect for wrenching backs, breaking hips, cracking heads.

When we get a too-warm thaw mid-winter, I try to sprinkle a thin layer of powder snow on the ice during the day so that it bonds as it freezes. If it's really bad, I have been known to start up the Mantis rototiller to chew up the ice surface (laugh all you want, it works). Can't do that around town, though, unless you want them to take you away in a rubber truck.

If you have warning, a few cups of Epsom salts on a patio or trail can help melt the ice and snow. Advantage of Epsom salts, (magnesium sulfate) is it won't hurt grass and shrubs. It's even recommended as a soil booster in gardens.

Actually, I laid down a bag of osmotic lawn fertilizer (the stuff with the little brown ball bearing looking bits, along with ammonium sulfate crystals)on my driveway a while back. The crystals attacked the ice immediately, and you could hear it cracking. But there was so much and I knew eventually it would dissipate too much, so the ball bearings then become traction devices. Again, it won't kill the lawn when it thaws.

Most of the driveway is ice free, but since I didn't cast the fertilizer all the way to the end, I now have a nice 1 1/2 inch thick layer of clear solid ice. I may have to salt that later.

Reminds me of my flip I took a month ago. I started to slip but partially regained my balance and was almost running in the attempt to stay straight up. Eventually, one foot slid out and down I went. It was comical.

But even worse was that I was wearing my daypack. I felt like an upside down turtle rolling around! I couldn't just bend from the waist and get up so after a couple attempts I finally rolled over on to my hands and knees to get up. Nothing hurt but my dignity since I had many snickering spectators!

Going to the pub was not an option -- I was on my way to the office!