Sheer ice? Just walk this way and hope
Don Sweeney knows a thing or two about ice. First off, he's Canadian. Second, he was an All-American for the Harvard University hockey team. Third, he was a star defenseman for the Boston Bruins for 15 seasons, and he still works for the organization.
And he is here to tell the people of Greater Boston that ice is the enemy of good health, one that can and often will take you down.
"You can learn to navigate in snow," Sweeney said. But ice? "Unless you're on skates, there's no way to really counter it."
It is a message dozens of hobbling, splint-wearing victims from Monday's surprise Ice Capades undoubtedly appreciate, after what Dr. Alasdair Conn, chief of emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, described yesterday as "the busiest day I've ever seen in 20 years."
A barely visible sheen of ice unexpectedly froze to roads, stairways, and walkways, and a region typically accustomed to confronting foul weather found itself flat on its collective face.
"A lot of people were coming in with homemade slings and hobbling in on homemade crutches or being brought in on stretchers," Conn said.
The scenario could be repeated today. The National Weather Service expected 2 to 3 inches of snow overnight, followed by sleet that could turn to ice as the temperature hovers around freezing in Greater Boston. Intrepid walkers might consider strapping on rubber or metal shoe bottoms to improve traction. Tony LaCasse, a mountaineer and former winter rescuer in New Hampshire's White Mountains, advised people to walk more like skiers to lower their center of gravity.
"Put a little bend in your knee and the tops of your shoulders." LaCasse said. "And know how to fall. One of the first things I teach kids learning to ski is to fall on their butt."
If only it were that easy. Monday's weather produced a notorious form of ice known among mountaineers as "verglas." A thin coating of rain or snow frozen on rock not deep enough for crampons to grip, verglas has caused winter climbers to slide to their death.
"It's one of the most dangerous icing events you can have," LaCasse said.
Unsuspecting pedestrians got a taste on Monday. About 35 patients were treated for fall-related injuries in the Tufts-New England Medical Center emergency room, Dr. Frank Friedman said. One patient slipped and hit his head, only to learn he had a concussion in two places and bleeding in his brain. A woman broke her tail bone. Friedman said the only treatment for such an injury is pain medication and "sitting on a donut-shaped pillow."
"I can't remember any day quite like it," Friedman said.
Rich Serino, Boston Emergency Medical Services chief, said 49 people were transported by ambulance for fall-related injuries between 7 and 9 a.m. Monday.
Conn said MGH treated 27 wrist and arm fractures, nine people who had hurt their back, and eight who had ankle or knee injuries.
"The people who go down, their natural incentive is to put their hands out" to break the fall, Conn said.
Winter walkers could learn a thing or two from penguins. Heather Urquhart, a biologist and the manager of the penguin exhibit at the New England Aquarium, said many penguins in Antarctica have toenails - three on each foot - that help them grip icy surfaces. Still, she said, she has seen footage of penguins falling in "all kinds of funny ways."
"They're covered with feathers and a layer of blubber, so it's a little harder for them to break a bone," she said. So, "they kind of bounce a bit." 