The winter campers who post on wintertrekking carry a pair of ice awls for self-rescue if you break through the ice-they go on a lanyard around your neck. A lot are handmade, but you can buy something like these-
http://icerescue.marsars.com/it030020.html
They would consider those an essential.
Here's a video on using them-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KDqEJlwclg


Edited by TomD (12/10/12 05:44 PM)
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