Full chisel chain for frozen wood.

Use a full-chisel chain. The sharp square-cornered cutters bite into hard, frozen wood better than the rounded cutters on a semi-chisel chain.

Frozen wood is basically rock with grain. A semi-chisel chain will dull faster and bog down because it’s designed for dirty or softer wood. Full chisel clears chips more aggressively and cuts faster in cold, hard conditions. The trade-off is it’s more prone to kickback and wears faster if you hit dirt, but for straight-up frozen logs you’ll be fine.

Keep the chain sharp — a dull chain on frozen wood is misery. Touch up with a file every couple tanks. And go easy on the rakers; you don’t need a deep cut in ice.

Don’t use a skip-tooth or ripping chain for this. Stick with full chisel in the standard pitch for your saw.