How to Walk on Ice Without Falling: Penguin Walk and Other Tips

The safest way to cross ice on foot is to walk like a penguin: bend your knees slightly, point your toes a little outward, keep your weight directly over your feet and take short, flat-footed steps with your arms loose at your sides. Add footwear with real grip, slow down, and treat every dark, wet-looking patch as if it were ice. Those few habits prevent most winter slips.

Falls on ice are not a minor nuisance. Figures from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, reported in January 2012, counted 7,138 Canadians admitted to hospital in a single year after falling on ice, and about half of them were 60 or older. Injuries range from bruised tailbones and sprained wrists to broken hips and head injuries. Below is how to stay upright, what to wear, and what to do when the ground gives way.

Why we slip on ice

Normal walking is a controlled fall. You push off with the back foot, swing the front leg forward and land on the heel, with your body briefly ahead of your base. On dry pavement, friction catches that heel. On ice, the thin film of water on the surface removes most of that friction, so the heel shoots forward and the body drops backward.

That is why the classic winter fall is onto the back, the hip or an outstretched hand. The fix is to stop "reaching" with each step and keep your centre of gravity over your feet the whole time.

Walk like a penguin

Workplace safety teams and health services, including NHS Tayside in Scotland and Stony Brook University's environmental health office, give almost identical advice:

• Bend slightly forward and soften your knees.
• Turn your feet out a little to widen your base.
• Put your whole foot down at once instead of striking with the heel.
• Take short, slow steps, or shuffle on the worst patches.
• Keep your hands out of your pockets and your arms slightly out for balance.

The penguin graphic below, credited to artist Curtis Whaley of Tablet Infographics, became a popular Reddit lifehack because it captures the idea at a glance: a penguin's body stays stacked over its feet.

Keep your centre of gravity over your feet

A posture specialist who posts on YouTube as "posturedoc" demonstrates the same principle from a different angle. His point is that a steady core and upright trunk let you move your weight straight down through your legs, rather than letting it drift ahead of you. The video is long-winded, but it is worth watching how he places each foot.

A few extra habits help keep that balance:

• Carry less. Heavy bags pull you off centre and tie up your hands. A backpack is better than a shopping bag in each hand.
• Get in and out of cars carefully. Swing both legs out, plant your feet, and use the door frame for support before you stand.
• Use the cleared route. Shortcuts over snowbanks and frozen grass are where many falls happen.
• Look ahead, not just down. Spot shiny patches and shadowed areas a few steps before you reach them.

Shoes, boots and ice cleats

Smooth leather soles and high heels are the worst choices on ice. Look for rubber or neoprene soles with deep grooves or a chunky tread pattern, which channel water away and give the sole something to bite with.

For regular icy commutes, slip-on traction devices are worth the money. Models such as Yaktrax use steel coils; others use small studs or spikes and strap over the toe and heel. They were sold for roughly $16 and up when this guide first appeared. Remember to take them off indoors: most cleats turn tiled or polished floors into a skating rink.

Salt, grit and black ice

Salt works by freezing-point depression. Dissolved salt lowers the temperature at which water freezes, so ice can melt even when the air is below 0 °C. Ordinary rock salt (sodium chloride) stops working at around −21 °C; in deeper cold, calcium or magnesium chloride is used instead. A small bag of salt or grit in a coat pocket lets you treat a doorstep or a bad patch on the way to the car.

Black ice is the hidden hazard: a thin, clear layer that makes pavement look merely damp. In freezing weather, assume any dark, glossy surface is icy, especially on bridges, in shade and near downpipes, where meltwater refreezes overnight.

If you start to fall, and who is most at risk

Safety guidance commonly suggests trying to fall to the side rather than straight back, tucking your chin to protect your head, and letting the fleshy side of your leg and hip take the impact rather than landing on a stiff outstretched arm. Relaxing as you go down tends to spread the force. If you hit your head, feel dizzy or cannot put weight on a limb afterwards, get medical help.

Older adults face the highest stakes, because bones become more fragile with age and a broken hip can mean a long recovery. Anyone who has fallen before, uses a walking aid or takes medicines that affect balance should talk to a doctor about fall prevention before winter. On the worst days, the safest step is often the one you do not take: wait for the gritters, or ask someone else to run the errand.

Sources: Squamish Reporter on CIHI injury data (2012); NHS Tayside: Avoid a fall in icy weather; Stony Brook University: Walking in icy conditions; Wikipedia: Freezing-point depression, Ice cleat; penguin graphic by Curtis Whaley (Tablet Infographics), shared on Reddit.