Adding this article... seems like it gives a lot of insight that I haven't read elsewhere.
So what are the do's and don't of surviving in the cold?
I have no idea, but maybe here's some things I learned just from watching the news.
1) Burn tires - you might not think about that, but yes burn em. Burn anything you can. But maybe burn em during the day. I'm not sure what the Kim's did, but I'm pretty sure rubber gives out some dark smoke. I've once burned some paper in a backyard, just a little of it, and black smoke rose in a fury.
2) Stay with the car - It's all hindsight, and who knows who desperate they felt. James is a brave dude with stones of steel. 8 miles in the cold. That's a tough guy. If you go, I guess you need to be superwarm and will need lots of water for sure. It seemed the news talked a lot about him not having a hat and gloves. Only go if you have a hat. I guess you do have to think about where you're gonna sleep too if you're hiking away.
3) If you do hike away, I guess you need to leave markers so you can find your way back. If it snows, then the terrain will look different in a hurry. This is all sounding difficult as I explain it. I'm not sure if I could do this myself... But in a pinch, even what seemed like a guy who couldn't do it, did it and worked his way through tough terrain.
4) I remember the hunger strike at UCLA, they drank water but no food, I think they went a couple of weeks and I happened to know one guy who said he had no permanent damage to his body.
5) Cell phone. I guess even if there's no signal, try making calls, it seems like it reaches a tower anyway. That's how they started locating the Kim's. Keep that cellphone going. Maybe try it once a day maybe twice. Who knew!? The weird thing is how did the folks flying at 500mph way up in the air in a hijacked plane make a bunch of calls? But you can't get a cell in rural Oregon. Cellphone technology is confusing.
6) Use the mirrors from your cars to reflect light.
7) I'm not sure if starting a forest fire is a good idea, it's probably a terrible one, but I think people have done this before when they were lost.
8) Stay on the road? Who knows why Mr Kim left the road, maybe he had to... but try to stay on the road.
9) Maybe tell folks where you intend to go. What roads etc. Trusting online maps, might not be a good idea. I heard the road they took was a logging road. It seemed that not one car went in that path for the week. That's insane. It's hard to suggest everyone spend money on GPS, but it's a way to go.
Thinking about this is depressing, and although I almost feel like this has become a list of what he should have done, who knows, maybe it'll help just one person. If you have other tips, go ahead and comment.
So what are the do's and don't of surviving in the cold?
I have no idea, but maybe here's some things I learned just from watching the news.
1) Burn tires - you might not think about that, but yes burn em. Burn anything you can. But maybe burn em during the day. I'm not sure what the Kim's did, but I'm pretty sure rubber gives out some dark smoke. I've once burned some paper in a backyard, just a little of it, and black smoke rose in a fury.
2) Stay with the car - It's all hindsight, and who knows who desperate they felt. James is a brave dude with stones of steel. 8 miles in the cold. That's a tough guy. If you go, I guess you need to be superwarm and will need lots of water for sure. It seemed the news talked a lot about him not having a hat and gloves. Only go if you have a hat. I guess you do have to think about where you're gonna sleep too if you're hiking away.
3) If you do hike away, I guess you need to leave markers so you can find your way back. If it snows, then the terrain will look different in a hurry. This is all sounding difficult as I explain it. I'm not sure if I could do this myself... But in a pinch, even what seemed like a guy who couldn't do it, did it and worked his way through tough terrain.
4) I remember the hunger strike at UCLA, they drank water but no food, I think they went a couple of weeks and I happened to know one guy who said he had no permanent damage to his body.
5) Cell phone. I guess even if there's no signal, try making calls, it seems like it reaches a tower anyway. That's how they started locating the Kim's. Keep that cellphone going. Maybe try it once a day maybe twice. Who knew!? The weird thing is how did the folks flying at 500mph way up in the air in a hijacked plane make a bunch of calls? But you can't get a cell in rural Oregon. Cellphone technology is confusing.
6) Use the mirrors from your cars to reflect light.
7) I'm not sure if starting a forest fire is a good idea, it's probably a terrible one, but I think people have done this before when they were lost.
8) Stay on the road? Who knows why Mr Kim left the road, maybe he had to... but try to stay on the road.
9) Maybe tell folks where you intend to go. What roads etc. Trusting online maps, might not be a good idea. I heard the road they took was a logging road. It seemed that not one car went in that path for the week. That's insane. It's hard to suggest everyone spend money on GPS, but it's a way to go.
Thinking about this is depressing, and although I almost feel like this has become a list of what he should have done, who knows, maybe it'll help just one person. If you have other tips, go ahead and comment.
posted by gr @ PERMLINK: 1:37 PM
4 Comments:
I just read somewhere about the rule of three for survival (think it was on CNN):
- you can survive three hours without shelter
- you can survive three days without water
- you can survive three weeks without food
I think this list assumes you are in horrible conditions (i.e. extreme cold) and have fulfilled the requirements preceeding each step.
Sucks about the CNET guy. Guy went for it, and his family was saved.
if you live in a cold climate or plan on travelling it's a good idea to bring an emergency kit in your car if you breakdown/get stranded:
-extra gloves, socks, hats
-flares
-flashlight/spare batteries
-matches/lighters
-bag of sand, or salt or kitty litter (something to provide traction for stuck tires)
-first aid kit
-blankets
-food (fruit, chocolate, energy bars etc)
-bottled water
-jumper cables
-small shovel
-fully charged cell phone
also read somewhere that if you do get stranded you should turn the car on for 10 minutes every few hours to provide some heat while still rationing the gas.
GOOD List - I also read recently that you should TRY to conserve the heater and only use it 15 – 20 minutes every hour. AND VERY important – make sure snow doesn’t pack up against the tail pipe, as you can die from Carbon monoxide poisoning.
I think once you got your car running, the snow would melt from your exhaust, but it is smart to clear it.
The map they used was a paper road map that showed the route they attempted as "scenic", not "impassable in winter". Which is tragic. It was also only raining when they started from Roseburg, quickly turning into snowy impassable winter.
They had a few things with them, and obviously they had extra clothes since they were on a long family road vacation. But stocking up on food supplies, particularly high caloric ones in an emergency, is smart. Having extra blankets, hats, etc. in an wintry excursion, is smart.
I would think burning tires for warmth and signaling would be a last act, once you are out of gas. Stomping out in the snow is smarter, they are looking for irregular patterns in a sea of trees. Plus, when visibility is low, smoke doesn't matter too much. Still, it's brilliant. Too bad it didn't work.
From what I understand, the gate was supposed to be locked (and they turned onto a logging road because it wasn't locked), the owner of the Black Bar Lodge tried to call Emergency Services to let them know he'd seen tire tracks, but no one got back to him. He tried to check it on his own, but couldn't get his snowmobile in all the way. The SAR teams who noted the road and open gate called it in and were told the OWNER OF THE BLACK BAR LODGE HAD CLEARED THE ROAD. In otherwords, had checked it out and found it didn't have the Kims. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
So sad. And it wouldn't have helped for him to set up a snow camp, because he was really trying to get help and was not staying put. That poor amazing guy! What a legend. As for going off the main road, I read there were bear tracks, so maybe he was chased? Not sure if that's just part of the myth already growing around his excursion (some said he had snowshoes etc.)
One of the best ways to mark your trail is to snap branches on the lower boughs of trees and drop them. That way searchers can track your progress without doubling back too much, and can scan for abnormally broken branches.
Setting a fire in a snow area is actually pretty hard. They dried out wood under the car to get it to "light". Green wood is very hard to set fire to, and wet frozen wood is nearly impossible. This may be another reason why they had to burn tires.
Post a Comment
<< Home