It happened on Lake Teletskoye in Altai. It was an ordinary ski trip in winter, I was leading a group of tourists. By this time I was already a fairly experienced hiker, but I made a mistake and took this route quite lightly, as if it was just a walk through forests and lakes.

I recklessly did not take with me the special equipment necessary for this type of hiking – a rope and an awl. We walked calmly and thought that there was a second bottom under the wet ice.

At one stage of the journey, the ice that had been bending before eventually cracked, I fell through the ice and floated. Usually, if there is a rope, and there are experienced hikers in the group who are ready to help, there is nothing extreme. But we didn’t have a rope, and the ice was so thin that it was difficult to climb out on your own: you lean on your hands, but the thin layer of ice immediately breaks. The rope gives the load forward, not down, and in this case it is much easier to climb out.

While I was swimming, throwing off my backpack, holding on to it like a life preserver, and trying to get out, one of the experienced participants tied several sticks with lanyards, threw the end and pulled me out, and then my backpack. Of course, after that we went to the shore to warm ourselves and dry my clothes by the fire. Fortunately, everything ended well. That is why it is important not to neglect the necessary equipment even on an easy route. And I was very lucky that my friend turned out to be resourceful.