What is the best way to clear snow and ice from a wood deck?

Pour HOT water on it

I shovel my wood porch with a plastic shovel. Just make sure it's not a plastic shovel with a metal edge, or you'll wreck the finish and plane the wood. Salt messes with the stain, which will almost certainly have to be redone in the spring. I use a salt substitute when snow conditions are severe; there's the blue kind that shows colour where you've spread it; the big containers at Costco save money. And its chemical makeup causes the least damage and later washes off fairly easily. A less invasive option is to get a good runner type of carpet with a non-slip backing, and place that on the most-used area, soon it will freeze to the spot and stay in place, and you'd be able to sweep and shovel over it with the plastic shovel no problem. The heavy-duty outdoor ones with no nap are great for this purpose. That's what I use on the porch I mentioned. This is from years of trial and error. Hope it helps.

Just gently shovel it off with a plastic shovel...

with a big snowbrush