...on thin ice

It happened to every one of us. We'd get up where the ice was thin, and Andy Petefish (our guide) would softly call out "hook it... hook it..." We'd take a swing. Sparks would fly. "That's ROCK!" No more swings -- we'd reach up gently and hook the axe onto the lip of a hole in the ice.

It didn't feel secure, but if you weighted the axe and pulled straight down it would hold really well.