Cold Weather Survival
Six hours from the trailhead, 2 hours past his turn-around time
and with storms filling in from the valley, Alex Theissen was at
the edge of panic. What had started as a unremarkable spring
outing in the White Mountains was going south quickly and the
prospect of spending the night exposed at the timberline, with
plummeting temperatures and not much more than some hard cheese
and a foil survival blanket was becoming a distinct reality.
The impending sense of panic is familiar to any individual
stranded on a windward shore with a gale coming on, disoriented
in a maze of bike trails or caught, like Theissen on an exposed
ridge with foul weather on the horizon. In many cases, what
happens next is the crux moment wherein survival or full blown
disaster ensues. In the case of Theissen, survival started with
the acronym, S.T.O.P.
Sit ... Think ...Observe ... Plan ...
Rather than giving in to an all-too-human panic response,
Theissen sat, took stock and acted in a way that likely saved
his life. What follows is a briefing on what went through his
head ... it's a lesson applicable to all hikers, hunters,
canoeists and others who find themselves exposed and unprepared
in falling or already frigid temperatures.
Shelter / Warmth
In cold temperatures, exposure can kill before anything else has
a chance. In Theissen's case, staying above the timberline was
untenable; thus getting below the treeline was his first
priority. After that he would need to find or create shelter,
and finally (if possible) create warmth.
While it's beyond the scope of this article to describe shelter
making or fire building in detail (shelter can be found in
tree wells, in snow caves, and in the hollows of river banks;
tinder is less available in winter than summer, none-the-less
evergreens will often yield dry needles, pitch impregnated bark
can often be sourced and if the snow-pack is not so deep as to
disallow it, reserves of dry leaves and grass can be found under
trees, rock overhangs and in tree wells), suffice it say
that without either, chance of survival diminish.
What Theissen did was find a root cavity that provided both
shelter and tinder; he sealed it as completely as possible with
packed snow, and insulated himself from the ground using
evergreen boughs. He managed to nurse a fire which, while it
really never took, provided a certain degree of comfort and
localized heat.
Route Finding
There was no way Theissen was going to find his way back to the
trailhead in the impending whiteout. And it needs to be
stressed; there was NO way he should have tried ... even
descending to the treeline was a challenge. That said, he was
not lost and he had to keep it that way.
Route finding depends on visibility; thus traveling at night, in
a white-out or in heavily wooded terrain increases the chances
of becoming lost. It's doubly important in these conditions to
think, observe and plan ... and to acknowledge that it's not
always prudent to act. It's often better to stay put than it is
to flounder around in unfamiliar terrain risking further
disorientation and injury.
By marking his return route to the ridgeline, and traveling only
so far as required to ensure shelter, Theissen knew that once
visibility returned he would be able to find his way back to the
trailhead.
Creating Visibility
If all went well, Theissen would hole up for the night in his
makeshift shelter and walk out the following morning. This
presumes of course, that he wasn't lost. If he were, creating
the conditions to be found would be his next priority. Experts
agree that the three following elements will increase the
chances of a rescue party locating a lost hiker...
Visibility - created by smudge fires, markers, signals
Positioning - on ridgelines, open riverbanks, at the treeline
Mobility (or lack thereof) - stationary targets are easier to
find
Had Theissen been lost, he would have returned to the ridgeline
when conditions allowed, created visibility (stamped a signal in
the snow, anchored his foil blanket, built a smudge fire ... )
and not strayed from the area.
Hydration
It hardly needs said, that if you've got fuel and a means to
light it, the ice and snow you're surrounded with are a viable
source of hydration. If not, there are other sources. Depending
on how cold it is, flowing water is frequently available under
the snow pack in the bottom of creeks and at river bends.
Animals and birds will keep patches of swamps and ponds
ice-free. In the alpine, solar radiation can be powerful enough
to create ice-melt against dark rock faces.
Nutrition
Nutrition can be more difficult, and needs to figure heavily in
any self-rescue plan. Cold weather requires more calories from
the body and, while it is possible to live weeks without food,
hunger is debilitating and lowers the bodies resistance to cold
and the ability to cope.
There is good reason why survival literature frequently
describes frozen landscapes as arid ... there's not much alive,
and there's not much to eat. As flippant as it seems to say it:
getting out sooner than later is a very good idea. Once the
situation has stabilized all efforts need to turn towards
positioning one's self to being found or logically and
methodically finding one's way out. One dies of starvation
sooner in winter than summer.
As it turns out, the Theissen's storm passed and by 3am the
White's were lit by a brilliant moon. There was enough light for
Theissen to return to the ridge line and find the marked descent
by dawn. The previous day he had stupidly decided to ignore his
turn-around time. Every decision after that however was the
right one, and by early afternoon the following day he was back
at his car hungry tired and sheepish ... but alive.
About the author:
In addition to his lifelong interest in the outdoors recreation
community, Trevor Paetkau is the proprietor of Moraine Adventure
Books, an independent source of Adventure Travel,
and Outdoor
Recreation articles, advice, books and resources.
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