Wild Ice is designed for anyone with an interest in skating outdoor ice. 

 If these statements apply to you, you are in the right spot:

• I want to know how to identify strong and weak ice—to avoid dangerous conditions.
• I want to know what to do if I break through the ice.
• I want to be able to help my partners out of the ice, and help them recover once they are back on shore.
• I'm curious about 'nordic skates' and don't really know where to start.
• I'm a hockey/figure skater and want to skate outdoor ponds and lakes. 

Wild Ice will make you more confident in your ability to recover if/when something goes wrong on the ice. You will learn about how ice forms, what equipment to carry, and how to get out of the water if someone breaks through the ice.

• Equipment: Different styles of skating, what to wear and carry on the ice.
• Self, partner, and team rescue: How to self-rescue using ice picks, assist a partner with a rope, and what a professional team rescue looks like.
• Ice strength, load, and cracking: How to determine the ice's strength, thickness, and which cracks are worrisome.
• Emergency and medical planning: Risk assessment, what goes wrong, and patient care.
• Searching for and navigation on ice: Use Google Earth, near-real-time satellite imagery, Windy.com, and navigation apps to find and explore wild ice.
• Ice formation and break up: An understanding of how ice forms and deteriorates can help you identify safe ice to skate.

The course does not cover skating techniques, though I hope to add that content later.

No experience is necessary. If you are curious about outdoor ice, you will fit right in.

Wild Ice is organized into several modules. Essential information is highlighted, and optional content, a deeper dive, is indicated. Participants that want to cherry-pick the important parts can expect to dedicate two hours. Another three hours of content is available for folks who want to dig deeper.

Access to the video tutorials is unlimited.

Q&A office hours will be available during the skating season.

Luc Mehl is a full-time outdoor educator based in Anchorage, Alaska. Luc's background places him in a unique position to combine formal training, academic training, teaching experience, and hard-earned outdoor experience:

Academic teaching experience: Luc worked as a geology lab assistant at Carleton College, UC Santa Barbara, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology before teaching physics, chemistry, and math at Alaska Pacific University. 

Outdoor education: Luc is a certified ice rescue instructor (Lifesaving Resources LLC) and swiftwater rescue instructor (the Swiftwater Safety Institute). Luc also teaches trip and emergency planning workshops. Former clients include the Air National Guard 212th Rescue Squadron, Denali Mountain Rangers, Juneau Mountain Rescue, and several guide companies.

Online educator: This is Luc's third online course. His first course, Start & End at Home, has had 160 participants as of 2022.

Hard-earned experience: Luc has traveled over 10,000 miles of remote Alaska visited by foot, ski, paddle, pedal, and ice skate. Luc's unique contribution to the skating world is several multi-day and multi-sport skating trips in rural Alaska(~60 to 150 miles). Visit https://thingstolucat.com/ for trip reports and instructional material.