If you haven't read many of my posts, then you don't know that I have this big yellow streak down the middle of my back when it comes to serious Wx flying.
It starts at the base of my skull and runs right down to my ass.
You and me both, Jim.
One of my job functions right at the moment is to go find as much ice as I can, as much supercooled water as I can, and ideally as much convectivity as I can, and stay in it. 2-3" of ice isn't uncommon. However, while that's going on, we're VERY careful to monitor our flying surfaces by instrumentation and visually, augmented by visual observations, to determine that ice using building where we don't want it.
Under normal circumstances, this isn't something you want to do. Part of our mission is research to study these conditions, and part of it involves other work related to these conditions...but we fly specifically to find and enter these conditions.
Be careful about advice regardint tops of clouds vs. other parts of clouds...we often find very large water droplets and rapid ice buildup in the middle of the clouds. Tops can already be freezing...but there are mid points near or just above the freezing level, up to around minus ten C or so, where icing buildup is very rapid and the largest amount of supercooled water exists. If you're finding that the aircraft wants to climb you're in rising air, and you've got moisture coming from beneath you. If you're in freezing conditions, you're in circumstancs that are very conducive to forming ice.
Traditional wisdom says that climbing a little or descending a little will get rid of it...and in stratified air that's true. But if it's bumpy you may be in convective conditions and icing can extend a lot way above, and may not melt well beneath. If you weren't in them a moment ago, your best bet may to be going back from whence you came, which may mean turning around. Icing in the cloud can extend to minus 40 in some cases, which is very cold...but where supercooled water can still exist.
Any time lifting action is taking place, be it convectively with warmer air from beneath, or from another source such ar orographic lifting from rising terrain, icing can extend for a considerable vertical distance. Once icing begins and performance deminishes, climbing out of it may not be possible...especially in a limited performance airplane that's already struggling with climb at altitude. Descending further may not save you, as you're descending into rising supercooled air.
We get a lot of graupel, which is by definition soft hail. But it appears as large globs of freezing ice, doesn't sound like rain or hail, doesn't do damamge on impact as a rule, but builds up very rapidly into a glazed-rime appearance that adds significant aerodynamic disruption as well as weight. it doesn't shed easily, but it does build up and can go beyond protected anti-icing or de-icing surfaces, quickly. In these cases, once you're have it on the airframe, very likely you won't be getting rid of it very quickly.
Some of the worst icing I've seen was in a piston twin commander in Arizona in the spring time, and it did significant damage to the airplane in very short order, as well as causing a rapid performance loss in conditions that neither had a forecast of ice, nor were seeing reports of ice from other aircraft in the area. It occured in mountainous terrain, and a rapid of injection of moisture into rising air in one particular location (mogollon rim) caused enough icing to cause a 50 knot airspeed loss in less than a minute, airframe damage (holes in the sides of the airplane adjacent to the propeller cut line), and controllability issues. In that case, descent was unavoidable, and our descent was limited by terrain, whch we reached visually at nightfall, and we were unable to shed much of the ice...because we couldn't descend further.
I have a very healthy respect for ice, because I've seen it grow beyond my capabilities and those of the aircraft very quickly...going from unreported or trace ice to severe in a very short time. Even with deice and antiice available, it can still quickly overwhelm one's ability to cope, in which case one is left to planning...avoiding, or knowing where to go to avoid it or escape it. In the case of the latter situation above, following contact with the surface visually, we landed nearby and had considerable airframe ice present after exiting the airplane by the fuel pumps on the ground. Again, ice wasn't forecast, wasnt' reported, and hadn't been an issue up until it began to rapidly build. When it did, we were unable to hold the MEA, unable to turn or divert due to terrain, and were left with a descent to lower straight ahead. In retrospect, either higher altitude prior to reaching that area, alterante routing, lighter weight, or a number of other choices would have enhanced our ability to cope...but conditions still quickly overwhelmed us beyond what we were capable of handling. Keep that in mind as you approach your winter flying.
Bear in mind, too, that ice isn't soley a January thing. Years ago I recall three crewmembers, including the chief pilot and a check airman who were killed in a light twin on an approach in mountainous terrain in the US in June...due to airframe ice. They were experienced in the aircraft type and in the area, and the aircraft was equipped for flight into known ice.
It scares us both for a good reason...and that's a good thing. A healthy respect for what gives you goose bumps may just mean a longer life for you, and your passengers!