FAIRBANKS, Alaska — A tool available for less than $15 may prevent the types of tragedies that cost three Interior snow machiners their lives this winter.

Regional Native Corporation Doyon Limited recently bought 100 retractable ice picks from snow machine dealer Craig Compeau to put into the hands of shareholders at the company’s annual meeting.

The device looks like a telephone cord attached to two bright yellow syringes.

It’s designed to be worn around the neck so that someone who is unexpectedly submerged can quickly grab the two retractable ice picks, stab them onto the ice shelf and pull themselves up.

The devices are marketed mainly to ice fishermen. They haven’t historically been used much by Alaska Interior snow machiners.

Alaska’s frozen rivers are important and relatively reliable wintertime highways. They’re especially vital in rural Alaska, where the rivers are principal navigation routes. Usually, people who live along the rivers can predict when they’re safe, but warm winters in the last few years have made it harder.

This past winter was the most treacherous in recent memory for the Interior with three fatalities.

On Nov. 16, Alvin Dayton, of Huslia, Alaska, disappeared on the Koyukuk River while on his snow machine gathering firewood. On Dec. 10, Casey Graham, of McGrath, Alaska, went into the Kuskokwim River during a return visit to his hometown while participating in the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. Andrew Henry, of Ruby, Alaska, went through Yukon River Ice on Jan. 7 while snow machining between Ruby and Galena.

Despite exhaustive search efforts, the bodies of the three men have not been recovered.

“These days our winters are so weird,” Doyon CEO Aaron Schutt said. “Craig (Compeau) had the idea, and we were super supportive.”

The ice picks will be available to shareholders today at the annual meeting at the Westmark Hotel in Fairbanks.

The retractable ice picks aren’t new but were never popular with his customers, according to Compeau.

“We’ve sold them, but nobody even paid attention to them,” he said.

Compeau said he contacted Doyon about helping to distribute the ice picks after hearing details about November’s search operation in Huslia.

“What really tugs at you is here is this guy, he’s in the water, he’s hanging on the ice and you can see where he took his gloves off and threw them up on the shore and you could see where their fingernails were trying to pull themselves out. And they just couldn’t get the traction,” Compeau said.

In addition to selling them to Doyon, Compeau plans to sell the ice picks at cost, $12, to any customer.

“It’s an odd way to look at it,” he said. “But people that drown aren’t customers anymore.”