CFI CLIMBS TO FL240 IN SR22 HOPING TO AVOID PRECIPITATION AHEAD. FAILS TO DO SO AND ICE ACCUMULATES FORCING A DESCENT TO PREVENT A STALL.

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MY PAX AND I NEARED A LARGE AREA OF PRECIP IN FRONT OF US; SO I DECIDED THAT WE SHOULD CLB TO TRY AND GET ABOVE THE PRECIP. IN PREPARATION; I ASKED FOR A CLB TO FL240 AND TURNED THE TKS SYS ON IN THE NORMAL POS. MY TEMP AT 12000 FT WAS APPROX 10 DEGS C; AND MY TEMP AT FL240 WAS APPROX -18 DEGS CELSIUS. ABOUT 5 MINS PRIOR TO ENTERING THE CLOUDS; WE WERE SWITCHED TO A DIFFERENT FREQ WHICH WAS RIDDLED WITH STATIC. I CHKED IN AND COULD BARELY HEAR THE CTLR; BUT I WAS CLRLY ABLE TO MAKE OUT WE WERE CLRED ON COURSE AT FL240; AND IF WE NEEDED TO DEVIATE FOR WX TO ADVISE HIM. I ADVISED THE CTLR OF MY TROUBLE HEARING HIM; AND HE TOLD ME NO OTHER FREQ WAS AVAILABLE. WE WERE IN VFR CONDITIONS FOR THE MAJORITY OF TIME OVER THE AREAS OF CLOUDS OR LIGHT PRECIP; HOWEVER; AT ONE POINT WE WENT INTO THE CLOUDS. I CAREFULLY MONITORED THE WINGS FOR ANY SIGN OF ICE AND DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING FOR AT LEAST 5-10 MINS. DURING THIS TIME I WAS HAVING INCREASING DIFFICULTY UNDERSTANDING THE CTLRS; AND IT APPEARED THAT OTHERS WERE HAVING THE SAME PROB. AT ONE POINT WE REALIZED THAT LITTLE BITS OF SLUSH/ICE WERE STARTING TO ACCUMULATE ON THE WING; AND IT WAS AT THAT TIME I REALIZED I NEEDED TO GET OUT OF THE CLOUDS AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE. I ASKED THE CTLR FOR LOWER; AND THEN SPECIFIED I WOULD LIKE 10000 FT. I HEARD NOTHING BACK FROM HIM; ALL WE WERE HEARING WAS STATIC. MOMENTS LATER; I HEARD A STALL WARNING HORN; DESPITE A 160 KT GND SPD; AND CLOSELY MATCHING TRUE AIRSPD. I ONCE AGAIN QUERIED ATC ABOUT A LOWER ALT AND TOLD THEM I WOULD NEED TO START A DSCNT IMMEDIATELY. AMONGST THE STATIC I COULD MAKE OUT THE CTLR TELLING ME THAT I HAD BEEN CLRED DOWN TO 10000 FT. I SAID SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT OF 'FOR XXXAB THE XMISSION WAS VERY HARD TO HEAR BUT I BELIEVE I WAS CLRED DOWN TO 10000 FT.' A SECOND LATER; THE CTLR REPEATED HIS CLRNC THAT I WAS CLRED DOWN TO 10000 FT; AND I REPEATED THAT CLRNC TO HIM AND STARTED MY DSCNT. I SUSPECTED A FALSE INDICATION OF THE STALL WARNING HORN; BUT I FLEW AS IF A STALL WERE IMMINENT. I WAS CONSTANTLY PAYING ATTN TO AIRSPD; WHICH WAS IN EXCESS OF 160 KIAS; WITH A GND SPD OF 180 KTS. AT APPROX 16000 FT; THE ICE/SLUSH WAS COMPLETELY GONE. WE BROKE OUT OF THE CLOUDS AROUND 13000 FT WHERE I NOTICED IT WAS RAINING AND THE TEMP WAS NEAR 8 DEGS CELSIUS. THE CTLR GAVE ME A DIFFERENT FREQ TO CONTACT; AND I DID SO. UPON CHKING IN WITH THE NEXT CTLR; HE ASKED ME THE NATURE OF MY EMER. I INDICATED TO HIM THAT WE WERE NOT IN AN EMER; AND I DIDN'T REMEMBER DECLARING AN EMER. THE CTLR PROCEEDED TO TELL ME THAT THERE WAS AN EMER ISSUED FOR ME BY ANOTHER CTLR SAYING I WAS ON BATTERY PWR AND MY ELECTRICAL SYS WAS IN JEOPARDY. I ADVISED HIM THE ELECTRICAL SYS WAS FINE AND OUR PROB LAID IN GETTING ICE AT ALT. HE ASKED FOR A PIREP ON ICING; AND I GAVE HIM ONE INCLUDING TEMPS; ALTS; AND TYPE OF ICE. I TOLD HIM FL240 STARTED PICKING IT UP APPROX -18 DEGS; AND CLR OF ICE AT OUR CURRENT 10000 FT AND THE TEMP WAS 8 DEGS. HE ASKED THE TYPE OF ICE AND I DON'T RECALL WHICH I TOLD HIM; BUT I BELIEVE IT WAS RIME; AND I TOLD HIM IT WAS LIGHT; POSSIBLY MODERATE. I WAS HOPING THAT ICE WOULD NOT FORM IF I WERE ABOVE THE PRECIP; AND THE TEMPS WERE COLD ENOUGH. APPARENTLY; I WAS WRONG. THE BEST WAY TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN IS BY EVERYONE PLACING AN EMPHASIS ON THE DANGERS AND REALITIES OF ICING. ALSO; I WISH WHILE IN SCHOOL FOR AVIATION I WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE STERNLY WARNED ABOUT ICE FORMATION; AND NOW I WISH MORE INFO WERE EASILY AVAILABLE.