WARNING!!!
NOTE OF THE CO-AUTHOR: THE FOLLOWING IS NOT IN ITS FINAL STAGE
MUCH MORE WORK REMAINS TO BE DONE INCLUDING PUTTING IT IN HYPER
TEXT, HOWEVER I BELEIVE THAT IT CAN BRING A WHOLE LOT OF GOOD
INFORMATION AS IT IS, SO BARE (BRRR) WITH ME I WILL UPLOAD THE
FINAL PRODUCT AS SOON AS I CAN. THANKS, IF YOU HAVE ANY TIPS
WHICH I HAVE NOT INCLUDED PLEASE DROP THEM IN MY E-MAIL BOX!
at: richard@io.org
I apologize if at some places I repeat myself but it is better
to repeat by mistakes or miss-steacks then forget to write it.
THE FOLLOWING PAGES CONCERN COLD CLIMATES AND HOW TO PROTECT
YOURSELF AT BEST AND WHAT TO DO OR NOT TO DO.
COLD AND FIRST-AID:
FREEZING AND FROSTBITE:
If part of the body is seriously frozen should it be thawed
gradually or as quickly as possible? Medical doctors disagree on
this, although at this writing opinion is shifting more & more
towards speed.
Those favouring rapid thawing, as by soaking a foot in water as
hot as ordinary could be borne comfortably, they believe that
DANGER from gangrene becomes more of a possibility the longer the
circulation is shut off.
They are also of the opinion that the greater length of time the
part of the body is allowed to remain gravely frozen, the deeper
the freezing may extend.
Those authorities favouring gradual thawing, by heat not much if
any greater than normal body temperature opines that there is
less hazard of permanent damages to severely frozen tissues if
only moderate heat is applied gently, this is the only treatment
necessary of course in mild cases.
If frostbite is suspected, don't attempt to keep moving if one of
the party is suffering from frostbite.
WARNING:
Very cold air brought too rapidly into the lungs will CHILL your
WHOLE BODY! & under extreme conditions may even damage the lung
tissue & cause Internal Haemorrhage.
Once you have been thoroughly chilled (without any injury
whatever) it takes "several hours" of warmth & rest to return
your body to normal, regardless of superficial feelings of
comfort.
When recovering from an emergency cold situation, don't venture
out into an extreme cold too soon.
NEVER Use either alcohol or tobacco at Any altitude under
conditions when the DANGER of frostbite is present or after it
has occurred. They both lower body heat, by reducing vein flow.)
If you ever have been frostbitten, great care MUST BE taken to
protect the once-injured area from further damage.
If you are frostbitten or otherwise injured in the field, keep
calm.
AVOIDING FROSTBITE:
1) Wrinkle face to stop stiff patches forming, pulling muscles
in every direction. Exercise hands.
2) Watch yourself and others for patches of waxy reddening or
blackened skin, especially faces, ears, hands.
3) AVOID tight clothing which will reduce circulation.
4) Dress inside warmth of sleeping bag if you have one.
5) NEVER go out without adequate clothing, however briefly.
AVOID getting clothing wet, through sweat or water. Dry it
as soon as possible if this happens.
6) Knock snow off before entering shelter or leave outer
clothing at entrance. Snow will melt in warmth giving you
more clothing to dry.
7) Wear gloves and keep them dry.
NEVER touch metal bare-hand.
8) AVOID spilling petrol on bare flesh. In sub-zero temperature
it will freeze almost at once and does even more damage than
water because of its lower melting point.
9) Be especially careful if you have been working hard and are
fatigued. If you are sick! Rest!
BREATH OUT DEEPLY 6 EXHALATIONS REDUCES STRESS! & COLD TOO!
Panic or fear will result in perspiration, which will in turn
evaporate causing further chilling that will intensify the crisis
& aggravate the injury itself. (Vicious circle)
REMEMBER: IF FROSTBITE, NEVER NEVER- NEVER- RUB!
Don't try to rewarm frostbite on trail, best to make camp.
SNOW GLARE:
Protect the eyes with goggles or a strip of cloth or bark with
narrow slits cut for eyes. The intensity of the sun's rays,
reflected by snow, can cause snow blindness. Blacken beneath the
eyes with charcoal to reduce glare further.
SNOW BLINDNESS:
This painful and watery inflammation of the eyes results from
overexposure to certain light rays particularly when these are so
diffused by water particles frozen or otherwise that they seem to
strike the eyeball from every direction. Sand can also cause it.
TREATMENT:
Consist to AVOID ALL sunlight as possible. Eyes MUST BE bandaged
in case of severe irritation, since the closed eyelids don't
afford sufficient protection.
This is true even in a tent as those who have collected a sunburn
through a canvas could tell. Some find that cold compress of weak
tea leaves soothing. This is where the antiseptic, anaesthetic
eye ointment suggested for the f-aid kit really becomes
appreciated.
SUNBURN:
In Arctic, the sun can burn your skin just as much by sunny day
than when it is cloudy. It is a constant DANGER. To rub
yourselves with fat helps to prevent sunburn.
A strong beard protects your face from sun rays. If you suffer
from sunburn apply animal fat & stay in the shadow
BLEEDING:
Under the cold effect, the blood becomes more fluid & coagulates
more slowly, so a lost of blood that is too abundant is very
DANGEROUS.
One MUST know how to tighten a bandage just enough to stop any
haemorrhage & to loosen it when it slows down.
If possible keep the body warm. When the haemorrhage persists
elevate the wounded member and with the help of compress apply a
direct pressure on the wound. In case of serious haemorrhage of
an arm or leg, apply a garrotte.
This MUST BE maintained in place even while risking frostbite &
lost of a member. When it's impossible to replace lost blood it
is better to loose a limb than loose your life.
HYGIENE = ESSENTIAL:
In Arctic as any other regions, hygiene stays ESSENTIAL. Try to
stay clean. If it is not possible to take a bath, wash at least
your hands, under arm's pit, crotch and the feet. Every night
before sleeping, remove your shoes, & dry your feet and massage
them.
Don't keep wet sock on during the night. Suspend your shoes near
the fire & your socks, or fill them with dry moss or dry grass
and place them inside your shirt, they will dry up with your body
heat
When you go for a shit, don't be afraid to expose your ass at the
cold for a short instant, and bury your excrements far from you
and away from any water sources.
ARCTIC HEALTH:
Frostbite, hypothermia and snow blindness are the main hazards
while efforts to keep warm and exclude draughts can lead to lack
of oxygen and carbon monoxide poisoning.
It is easy to withdraw from reality, **layered in clothing and
with the head wrapped in a hood. Thinking can become sluggish and
obvious things are overlooked. Keep "switching on".
Keep active-but AVOID fatigue and conserve energy for USEFUL
tasks. Sleep as much as possible- the cold will wake you before
you freeze unless you are completely exhausted and cannot
regenerate the heat you lose to air.
Don't let the cold demoralize you. Think up ways to improve the
shelter, how to make a better pair of gloves, for instance.
Exercise fingers & toes to improve circulation.
Don't put off defecation -- constipation is often brought on the
way. Do try to time it conveniently before leaving your shelter
so that you can take waste out with you.
SLEEPING NOTE:
It is said that the sleeping hours before midnight count for
double time. It is absolutely exact. Not because those hours have
any magical properties but because those who go to bed late add
to the normal fatigue, this is what doctors call over fatigue.
FIRST AID AND SURVIVAL KIT:
Rubber elastic of different size to attach numerous things &
bags, tent, & for wound stopping haemorrhage slow pressure
garrotte.
LOST BY A NOSE:
Now that you know that you lose 1/3 of your body heat by the head
you MUST also know that you LOOSE 50% of your head heat by the
nose. Oooppps!
So cover your nose and you will really feel the difference. Just
having anything like a mitten or a piece of paper or cardboard or
plastic in front of your nose will cut off the wind and keep your
warmth under the most severe cold and conditions. Believe you me
I know since I suffer from hypothermia easily.
This also applies to heat, if you cover up your nose you will
feel the heat in much less fashion thus less sweating and better
survival.
SURVIVAL IN COLD CLIMATES:
As in any other survival conditions, once one realizes, though
only subconsciously that circumstances are such that he cannot
afford to have an accident!!!
The probabilities shift markedly against any mishap befalling him
and nowhere are this more apparent than under the drastic laws of
the wild.
REMEMBER: ONCE OUR FEET ARE WARMED UP! WE FEEL WARMER ALL OVER!
NOTHING IS WARMER THAN 2 PAIRS OF SOCKS! (Wool is best of all.)
REMEMBER again, in order to AVOID freezing, one MUST cover his
head, even cover your forehead.
YOU LOOSE 1/3 HEAT BY HEAD UNCOVERED. SO COVER YOUR ASS & HEAD!
THE ONLY REASONABLE RULE IN REMOTE REGIONS ANYWHERE IS: NOT TO
TAKE UNNECESSARY CHANCES.
Weighing ALWAYS the possible loss against the potential gain, and
going about life with as wide a safety margin as practical.
Nothing is so much feared as fear but as HD Thoreau adds: A live
dog is preferable to a dead lion. A walking stick is your best
companion under all climate.
C.O.L.D. The key to keeping WARM!:
Keep it C- lean- Dirt & grease block air spaces
AVOID O- ver heating - Ventilate
Wear it L- oose - Allow air to circulate
Keep it D- ry - Outside & inside.
COLD TIP CHEAP PLASTIC OR NYLON:
Beside wearing a hat that keeps 1/3 of your heat and wearing
newspaper sole for your shoes, you might want to consider these
other tricks.
Should you have only a shirt or T-shirt and a light or cheap
jacket or sweater, by wearing a cheap nylon, plastic, polyester
coat under your coat or jacket as a wind breaker & air insulator.
Giving you this way as much as 70- to 90% more heat and wind or
cold protection. Wear this in mind!
COLD TIP #1: 2 WOOL OR ONE?
Wearing 2 woolen socks or 2 sweaters is warmer than only 1
because of the isolation air pocket and electrical magnetic field
created by the wool. Ex: 2 light wool sweater of 4 oz would be
warmer even "warm-her" than a 12 oz. sweater!.
COLD FEET NO MORE: ??? **
Finish, no more, just simply put newspaper folded 4 times in your
shoes to absorb the humidity that causes cold feet.
Just MAKE SURE you change this new sole once a day, if really in
a damp area or in and out of cold and hot place ex: taxi,
delivery etc. you should change them twice a day.
COLD HAND NO MORE:
Finally after years of searching, since I get cold hands easy, I
found the obvious answer, oven mitten. Yes, the big one we
usually buy in food store, my reasoning was that if they were
that good for hot maybe they would be good too for cold and it
was true, now all I have to add into them is a small loose pair
of glove.
COLD BODY:
Most of this can be cut down a lot if the head is covered.
WE LOOSE 1/3 OF OUR HEAT THROUGH THE HEAD.
The new Mummy type of full face head cover down filled is the
best one around it covers your nose etc. leaving only 2 big holes
for the eyes.
BREATHING TO FIGHT COLD!:
6 DEEP EXHALATIONS WILL SUSTAIN AND INCREASE YOUR RESISTANCE BY
50% AT LEAST WHEN YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT AGAINST A WINTER WIND!
HOW TO BREATH PROPERLY:*
It sounds strange but we have to learn to breathe properly.
MEANING THAT ONE MUST EXHALE COMPLETELY! IF ONE WANTS TO USE ITS
MAXIMUM STRENGTH.
A breathing control is aimed towards our ways to Exhale and Not
about inhaling.
ONE REBUILDS HIS STRENGTH MUCH BETTER BY EXHALING PROPERLY THAN
BY TRYING TO FORCE HIS AIR INTAKE.
50 % MORE OUTPUT IF:
IF YOU DO ANY HARD WORK, OR WALK FAST OR YOU ARE DIGGING?
YOUR OUTPUT WILL INCREASE BY 50%, IF YOU APPLY YOURSELF BY
SLOWLY, EXHALING; BY PUSHING ALL THE AIR OUT OF YOUR LUNGS.
Opera singers, swimmers and runners know this trick. For example
if you get into a cold shower, you have the tendency to breathe
faster and to tense your muscles that only aggravate your
torture.
If on the other hand you try to exhale slowly and regularly you
will be much surprised to notice the Little effect that this cold
water has upon you.
This is because a Slow Exhalation helps your body to adapt itself
to this change of cold water..
STRESS CONTROL and BREATHING:
An attentive control on your respiration and especially of your
timing contributes to your stress control in any moments of
tension, stress or #contrainte#. Most of us breathe only half
way.
We breathe incorrectly since we do not have much choice but where
we make the mistake is we do not exhale properly, meaning that we
do not do it deeply enough. Thus we often sigh which is a sign
warning us of a Need for a Deep Exhalation.
A sigh is a natural mean used by our body to exhale completely
once we have neglected to do so under stress. A sigh is a natural
mean used by our body to exhale completely once we have neglected
to do so under Stress.
Just REMEMBER in your past when there was a deep stress and after
that moment was over you felt the deer need for a full
exhalation.
So one MUST learn to sigh methodically. Any blockage brought to
your breathing system provokes deep pains! So any amelioration
will be beneficial to your body and mind.
The more one exhale air the more one is able to inhale. So the
increasing of your capacity is the goal of any respiratory
discipline.
To take a conscious hold of your exhalation is the # 1 factor.
What we MUST strive for is to make it a habit.
BREATHING BEFORE ANY TASK!: EXHALE DEEPLY BEFORE!!!
UNDERTAKING ANY TASK:
You will thus facilitate the climbing of a long stair. Exercise
yourself to breathe in during 2 steps and to exhale during the
next 2 steps. 2 IN 2 OUT DEEPLY.
BUT YOU MUST EXHALE COMPLETELY BEFORE! CLIMBING THE FIRST STEP!
STRESS CONTROL: (harsh & boorringg)
In any Harsh or Boring circumstances where Stress puts a grip on
you, Exhale Slowly ; thus you will Recharge your Nervous System.
BREATHING CONTROL EXERCISES:
To help you along in this new technique, try reading out loud is
a good exercise. Take an article and read on one breath as much
as you can without effort.
Do this a dozen time the first day. Count the words and start
over the next day, this way you can measure your improvement.
Another exercise is to count. Sit down comfortably, your back
straight, inhale slowly and regularly counting to 4, pause for 1
second then exhale till you reach 12, the next time inhale till 5
and exhale till 15.
Keep it up this way and measure your progress. Once you have
reached 21 you will notice that the fact of humming a song will
help you enormously in limiting the quantity of air you exhale.
These exercises will bring much good to your overall well being
and will change many of your regular habits.
A conscious breathing also brings a conscious acting or behaving.
You will notice that it is impossible to slump in a coach and
still breathe effectively.
All one has to do is to get his shoulder blades as close together
as possible to feel your lungs getting to work at their best.
After a while these exercises will become second nature for an
overall better well being. It could even help you cutting down
on smoking by reducing the stress overhaul! Just REMEMBER: "
DEEP 6 "
ANOTHER GOOD WAY TO FIGHT COLD:
The triangulation points to Fight cold. A mitten with an inside
normal work glove put over your nose and mouth is good protection
even through a 35 mph. wind which at 0 is = minus 47.
ONE LOOSES 1/3 OF BODY HEAT THROUGH THE HEAD SO COVER YOUR HEAD.
BUT YOU ALSO LOOSES NEAR 50% OF THAT HEAT BY THE NOSE! SO COVER
THAT NOSE AND BE WARM!
TO DRINK OR NOT: YES!
Drink whenever you are thirsty. No matter the quantity of water
you may have, small or big. Rationing will not help.
The great DANGER is that the average man does not drink enough
water. His thirst is often slaked before the water budget is
balanced again.
This observation was made by American doctors in the last few
years at various bases in the Arctic and Antarctic.
The soldiers stationed there had no thirst because of the cold
climate and therefore drank little, as a result their bodies
suffered from progressive dehydration. The fact was discovered
because men often complain of CONTINUAL TIREDNESS.
Since then they have been URGED to drink a certain amount of
water every meal, and they soon felt much better.
SOME MORE COLD TIPS:
AVOID CHILLING:
During regular stops for rest, get in a sheltered spot, pair off
and sit back to back on packs with a ground sheet around each
pair. This back to back method furnishes a good deal of warmth.
AVOID WETNESS:
If feet are wet from perspiration or melting snow, socks, insoles
MUST BE changed IMMEDIATELY. This can be done even in severe
weather if exposure to wind is avoided.
If frostbite is suspected see *f/aid. Don't attempt to keep
moving if one of the party is suffering from frostbite.
COLD & CLOTHING:
Severe cold and harsh winds can freeze unprotected flesh in
minutes. Protect the whole body, hands and feet.
Wear a hood. It should have a drawstring so that it can partly
cover the face. Fur trimming will prevent moisture in the breath
freezing on the face and injuring the skin.
Outer garments should be windproof, with a close enough weave to
prevent snow compacting, but porous enough to allow water vapours
to escape! But NOT WATERPROOF!
They would create condensation inside. Under layers should trap
air to provide heat insulation. Skins make ideal outer clothing.
Openings allow heat to escape, movement can drive air out through
them. If clothing has no draw strings, tie something around
sleeves above cuffs, tuck trousers into socks or boots.
If you begin to sweat loosen some closures (collars, cuffs). If
still too warm remove a layer. Do so when doing jobs like
chopping wood or shelter building.
Only a plane crash or forced landing is likely to leave someone
in a polar region unequipped. Try to improvise suitable clothing
before leaving the plane.
WEAR WOOL: (Not warewoolf)
It does not absorb water & is warm even when damp. Space between
the knit traps body heat. It is best for inner garments.
Cotton acts like a wick, absorbing moisture. When wet it can lose
heat 240 times faster than when dry.
FEET:
Mukluks, boots of waterproof canvas with a rubber sole that comes
up to the caulk and with a drawstring to adjust fitting are
IDEAL.
Ideally they should have an insulated liner. Insulate feet with 3
pairs of socks, graded in size to fit over each other and not
wrinkle.
BEST WINTER BOOTS & SOLES:
Mukluk with felt boots inside & 2 pair of wool socks. As sole you
can use newspaper if you have them they are excellent to draw
moisture that is the main cause for cold feet.
Hay can & was also used as insulant MAKE SURE you change it
often, for once it becomes damp then it looses its insulating
qualities.
If necessary, improvise foot covering with several layers of
fabric. Canvas seat covers can make improvised boots.
Trench-foot can develop when the feet are immersed in water for
long periods, as in the boggy tundra during the summer months.
HAY AS INSULATORS FOR SHOES #2:
Eskimos have used hay for a long time as a mean to isolate their
boots during winter months, and many a white man has had frozen
feet for not knowing this simple trick.
Also you MUST REMEMBER to change that hay every day if you want
to keep the insulating power.
HOW TO DRY BOOTS FAST:
SUMMER & WINTER FAST and SAFE:
Using moss in your boots will act as sponge. Also hot sands from
your fire camp, but use either a can or gloves to AVOID getting
burned.
Once your sand is cooled off then start the process once more the
total time needed is about 1 hour.
For the winter, you can use the sand trick again if you have kept
some sand in a bag for that purpose or fill your boots with snow
and press it down real tight.
Snow will act as sponge, then empty your boots and leave them
close to the fire but NEVER too close.
As for wet clothes, throw them on a rope and once it has become
stiff you beat the hell out of it to help it dry off.
CLOTHING TIPS:
REMEMBER that 3 light shirts are warmer than one thick one.
And you can also adapt yourself better to change in weather
conditions with 3 shirts than with one thick one.
Jeans maybe cool in town but of little use in survival being too
tight if anything the woolen pants are far better & far warmer
EVEN WET.
The more the cotton is wet the less it isolates against cold.
Don't forget to keep warm hand and feet and the overall body that
a hat is your best companion since you lose 1/3 heat by the head.
DRESS & UNDRESS:
Since cold or heat makes you use a lot of energy, as soon as you
feel you are getting chilled or transpire then take off or add
some clothing. Don't wait till the situation is intolerable.
CARIBOU SKIN SUIT:
The caribou skin and fur are the best survival suit to find far
above the modern tech. items, where zippers get jammed. So if you
have the chance to find one then go for it but REMEMBER how to
keep it in good shape?
Which is to leave in the cold without any moisture or snow on it
that would dampen and ruin the suit, so don't bring it into a
warm house, keep it cool.
FURS:
The more perishable furs are under survival conditions best used
for warmth when sandwiched within protective coverings.
One way that Northern Indians accomplish this today is by
covering a piece of burlap or other material with skins of the
varying hare, overlapping them like shingles and sewing them in
place. The layer is usually later covered with a second section
of fabric to form a blanket.
Another method: also still employed beneath the Northern Lights,
is commenced by cutting and swing the skins together in long
ribbons.
These strips are sometimes loosely woven as is, while on other
occasions they are first given body by being wound flatly around
and around a leather thong that the maker may know as #babiche#
or shaganappie.
In either event, the final slackly interlaced robe is commonly
basted between 2 outer coverings, on the weather side a husky
section of water repellent canvas perhaps & on the other a thin
woollen blanket.
MORE COLD TIPS:
1) Dress intelligently to maintain general body warmth. In cold
icy, windy weather, don't forget to protect your face, head, neck
adequately.
Enormous amount of body heat can be loss through these often
neglected parts of the body, despite ample protection everywhere
else.
You lose in fact 35% of heat through your head if uncovered. This
is a well know fact by all Eskimos & scientists who have studied
this fact and backed it up. So cover up & keep warm.
2) Eat plenty of the right sort of appetizing food to produce
maximum output of body heat.
Diet in cold weather at low altitude should tend heavily toward
fat, with carbohydrate next & protein least important. As
altitude increase above 10,000 feet, carbohydrates are most
important & protein least.
Experiment with fats. If members or the party digest them readily
they are excellent but don't count on everyone liking them at
high altitude. (With cold, FAT IS BEAUTIFUL!)
3) Don't climb under too extreme weather conditions,
particularly at high altitudes on exposed terrain. Don't get too
early a start in cold weather. WHY SHOULD YOU!
Use the configuration of the mountain to help you find maximum
shelter & maximum warmth from the sun. In short use your head???
Use it more & more as you climb higher.
4) AVOID ALL TIGHT SNUG-FITTING CLOTHING.
Particularly on the hands & feet. Socks & boots should fit
snugly, with NO points of tightness. In putting on socks & boots
carefully eliminate all wrinkles in socks. Don't use old matted
insoles.
5) AVOID PERSPIRATION under conditions of extreme cold. Wear
clothing that ventilates adequately. If you still perspire,
remove some of your clothing or slow down.
Keep hand and feet dry. Even with vapour barrier boots, you MUST
NOT permit to get your socks too wet.
All types of boots MUST BE treated with great care "during period
of inactivity" after exercise has resulted in damp socks or
insoles."
6) Wear mittens instead of gloves in extreme cold except for
specialised work such as photography or surveying. In such cases
wear a mitten on one hand & a glove temporarily on the other, if
possible.
If bare finger is required use silk or rayon gloves or cover
with adhesives all metal parts frequently touched.
7) ALWAYS BE CAREFUL while loading cameras, taking pictures or
handling stoves & fuel.
REMEMBER that the freezing point of gasoline is -70F & its rapid
evaporation as well as its extreme chill makes it Very DANGEROUS.
NEVER touch metal objects with bare hands in extreme cold--or
even in moderate cold when your hands are moist.
8) Mitten-shells & gloves to be worn in extreme cold should
ALWAYS be made of soft, flexible dry-tanned deer-skin, caribou,
moose, elk, or WOOL, not horse-hide that dries out very stiff
after wetting. Removable mittens inserts or glove-linings should
be made of soft wool.
NEVER use oiled or greased leather gloves or boots or clothing in
cold weather operations.
Under many conditions it is VERY WISE to tie your mittens
together on a string hanged around your neck or to tie them to
the ends of your parka sleeves. = NO LOST!
9) ALWAYS carry Extra socks, mittens & insoles in your pack.
10) Keep socks clean at least those you wear close to the skin.
The use of light, clean, smooth socks next to the skin, followed
by 1 or 2 heavier outer pairs is a VERY good practice.
11) Keep toenails and fingernails trimmed to reasonable length.
12) Don't wash your hands, face or feet too thoroughly or too
frequently when living under rough weather conditions, tough
weather beaten face & hands, kept reasonably clean, resist
frostbite most effectively.
13) Constant use of wet socks in any type of boots will soften
your skin feet & make the skin more tender, greatly lower
resistance to cold & simultaneously increase the DANGER of other
foot injury such as blistering.
14) Wind & high altitude should ALWAYS be approached with Great
Respect. Either of them makes otherwise moderate conditions more
DANGEROUS.
You have to take in consideration wind-chill factor. Both
together do produce dramatic results when combined with cold Ex:
32F with wind 10 miles = near 5F. The more wind = more DANGER.
15) Don't exercise too strenuously in extreme cold. Particularly
at high altitude where exertion result in panting or very deep
breathing
WARNING:
Very cold air brought too rapidly into the lungs will CHILL your
WHOLE BODY! & under extreme conditions may even damage the lung
tissue & cause Internal Haemorrhage.
16) Once you have been thoroughly chilled (without any injury
whatever) it takes "several hours" of warmth & rest to return
your body to normal, regardless of superficial feelings of
comfort.
When recovering from an emergency cold situation, don't venture
out into an extreme cold too soon.
17) Don't smoke or use alcohol even in moderation in high
altitude.
NEVER Use either alcohol or tobacco at Any altitude under
conditions when the DANGER of frostbite is present or After it
has occurred --(they both lower body heat, by reducing vein
flow).
18) If you ever have been frostbitten, great care MUST BE taken
to protect the once-injured area from further damage.
19) Much outdoor work in really cold weather cannot possibly be
performed in warmth & comfort. Learn carefully how cold you can
get while still working safely. Then NEVER exceed the limit.
20) If you are frostbitten or otherwise injured in the field,
Keep Calm.
BREATH OUT DEEPLY 6 EXHALATIONS REDUCES STRESS! AND COLD TOO!
Panic or fear will result in perspiration, which will in turn
evaporate causing further chilling that will intensify the crisis
& aggravate the injury itself. (Vicious circle)
21) ALWAYS keep your tetanus boosters up to date. They may give
you added protection in the event of frostbite or any other
injury in the field.
22) IF FROSTBITE, NEVER NEVER- NEVER- RUB!
23) The buddy system of constantly watching the faces of your
partners is the best way to check up for frostbite before it's
too late. When in doubt check it before it's too late.
24) Don't try to rewarm frostbite on trail, best to make camp.
25) Dress your feet for the temperature where they are, not
where your head is.
Because there is often a Very great difference of temperature
beneath deep snow & that one on surface. Ex. +3C. on surface &
-14C. ONLY 1 foot below the surface.
See your thermometer to check it up. For once use your feet not
your head???
COLD HANDS: HAND WARMER 2001:
Foam used to isolate houses, the hard type, take a chunk hand
size to feel comfortable when your hand is closed and stick this
hand warmer inside your coat pocket.
They will keep your hand warm as anything on the market, or
insert them inside your mittens, they are light and take little
space yet surprisingly keeping really your hands REAL WARM.
If you sit on them (2 handfuls) you will break ground point thus
you don't feel the cold and it keep your ass REAL WARM, too. Of
course a bigger piece would be wiser and more comfy but the hands
first have to be warmed up.
HAND /BODY WARMER #2:
A few years ago came out a new hand warmer that is usually found
in any good hardware stores in Canada or US and probably in many
other countries too. Cheap to buy and most efficient for all the
body as well.
This survival hand warmer is kept in velvet casing of an oval
shape. Inside this casing is a lining made of asbestos. In it
there is a long grey charcoal which one lights up with a match or
lighter.
Let the charcoal burn for a minute or two then insert it in the
casing and close it. (Bring 2 of them along)
Very soon you will begin to feel the heat. In fact it gets so hot
that as a caution you should never leave the casing directly on
your body, it will burn you. Those charcoals will last around 7
hours giving you really strong heat..
A pack of those charcoals should be brought along, they are light
but easy to break off, so BE CAREFUL and wrap them well or find a
plastic container that would house them well.
Should your need of heat be over with, all you have to do is to
wet the tip of the charcoal to shut it off. If you need it later
just relight it as usual.
One word of advice about the casing, you will notice that each
end has a tiny hole through which air circulates, MAKE SURE that
these holes are not plugged, otherwise the smouldering charcoal
will die off quickly.
All you have to do is to use any metallic object to dig the hole
deeper. This usually only happens once with brand new hand
warmer.
UPON FALLING THROUGH ICE:
One tool to have within easy reach during ice travel is a sheath
knife, particularly when other safeguards such as a pole is
lacking and on particularly DANGEROUS stretches, you too may want
to hold this ready in a hand.
Then if you do go through, you'll have the immediate chance to
drive the point into solid ice and with its aid to roll
yourselves out and away from DANGER.*
Another method in cold weather of then obtaining traction is; as
quick as thought to reach out to the fullest extent of your arms
and to bring down wet sleeves and gloves against firm ice, where
if temperature is low enough, they will almost instantly freeze.
If weather conditions are more temperate, you may have to break
away thin ice with your hands so as to reach a surface strong
enough to hold your full weight.
It is usually possible in the meantime to support yourself by
resting a hand or arm flatly on fragile ice.
Then if there seems to be no better way, get as much as of your
arms as you can over the edge, bring your body as nearly
horizontal as it is possible with the helps perhaps of a swimming
motion with the feet and get a hold over and roll toward safety.
SNOW AS A BLOTTER:
Upon breaking through ice into water & quickly scrambling out
again, as occurs not infrequently during travel in the whitened
wilderness, it is usually advantageous to roll at once in
preferably soft and fluffy snow.
If the clothing is somewhat water repellent, the snow will blot
up much of the moisture before it can reach the body. Any
remaining dampness will in very cold weather freeze almost
IMMEDIATELY.
One advantage of this will be that the resulting sheath of ice
will act as a windbreak.
Among the disadvantages will be the weight thus added. Another
will be that this ice, depending on its thickness can turn the
garments into something not too gently resembling an armour.
Most hazardous will be the clothing's loosing part or most of its
ability to keep the body warm.
If a boot becomes immersed in overflow as it is a common error,
you often can step into a snow bank quickly enough that
sufficient water will be absorbed to prevent any from penetrating
to the foot.
WHAT TO DO AFTER SUB-ZERO DRENCHING:
We usually proceed on ice as we do when travelling anywhere in
the wilderness; with the assumption, in other word that ice may
give away beneath us at any moment.
The result is that if we do get wet, this does not usually extend
beyond the outer clothing except perhaps where moisture may run
down into the footwear.
You MUST then at least change your stockings if you can.
Otherwise you squeeze these as dry as possible, pour and wipe
away perhaps with dry moss any water that is inside the boots.
Warm the feet if necessary against some other portion of the body
dress & continue as normally.
Suppose you become thoroughly drenched? Then roll as quickly as
you can in the most absorbent snow close at hand.
But lets suppose that even this action is not sufficient. If
extra clothing is available & if the weather is not too cold, you
may be able to get the wet garments off before they freeze.
Some of them clothes, especially if you have friend to help, you
can squeeze them reasonably dry & put them back on. If alone in
extreme cold, then it will be SAFER to build a fire if possible.
Note: This may sound crazy, but if the temperature is minus 10F
and lower one can roll naked in the snow as if in hot sands.
This cold weather kills dampness, and one can survive and warm up
better than staying in wet clothes. Above minus 10F it is to
(warm-cold). Once warmed-up get the fire going fast.
If you are going to build a fire, attend to this IMMEDIATELY
before your hands become too numb.
Once the fire is blazing and with plenty of fuel at hand, take
your time, dry out thoroughly the quickest and most comfortably
way to do this may be with the clothes on. Or if you prefer to
rig a wind breaker employing the drying garments themselves.
Both ways were tried, but the most agreeable is if you happen to
have a light eiderdown in you pack to put on while getting your
other garments dried up.
It is a slow and prolonged job for one alone to dry an outfit by
an open campfire when temperatures are much below zero.
The DANGER to BEWARE is to damage necessary gear by attempting to
complete the chore too rapidly.
If you ever fall in icy water you MUST remedy to it in all
possible means, you dispose of 30 minutes before total cooling of
your body organism, it is lethal.
Clothes that wet by water or perspiration provoke enormous lost
of heat, so when you sweat, loosen your clothes to allow the
sweat to come off.
If your clothes become wet and harden under the cold beat them
with a stick.
REMEMBER to protect all extremities of your body, hand, feet,
head, ears and nose lets escape 1/3 of your heat.
WHAT TO DO IN SEVERE WEATHER:
You will be well advised during EXTREMELY severe weather to get
into a shelter or a sort & to lie down beside a good fire. If you
have a blanket or warm sleeping bag it will be prudent to do the
same even if you have no means to do a fire.
Individual travelling in motor vehicle should do the same but if
the motor is still able to run to warm you up.
Don't forget to ventilate the car otherwise you risk monoxide
carbon POISONing which tasteless, colourless, odourless.
Don't leave your shelter or car because of starvation fear, after
all a day or 2 without food will not kill any of us. Note: The
most common cause of accidental death in the North is not
freezing but FIRE!
Anyone not sure of the best procedure in any emergency will
probably do better to let common sense be his determinant rather
than follow blindly some unreasonable procedure about which he
may have heard.
SNOW SLIDE AVALANCHES:
That anyone caught in a snow slide has a good chance to walk away
from it is certain, especially if he can keep on top of the
swirling & billowing avalanche.
One way to do this is by a swimming motion. The backstroke is
particularly efficacious if it can be managed, has saved numerous
lives in such emergencies.
As the snow starts to cover you up, place your hands above your
head, this way you will be able to manoeuvre and swim.
AVALANCHES MOST FREQUENT WHEN:
Snow slides are most frequent in early Spring, when snow thaws or
after a heavy snow storm.
When travelling in a region that is likely to have them, don't
stay in the valley. Stay away from the foot of the slope but if
you MUST cross that flank, do it at the highest possible point.
Upon climbing a slope; do it vertically.
All slopes with an angle of 20 degree and more present a snow
slide DANGER. So after a snowstorm AVOID ALL #versant# that are
steeped.
SNOW RIDGES:
Snow pushed by wind will form projection ledge that topples the
mountain peak or crests adding to the DANGERS of mountain
regions. Those projections will not carry your weight & can cause
snow slide.
It is possible to detect them while against the wind but not
otherwise, so follow the ridge but walk as far or as low as
possible from that cornice.
MIRE or QUICKSAND:
Small streams fed by thawing water sometimes form muddy sand
bank, so before adventuring upon wet sand, probe it.
One occasionally finds DANGEROUS quagmires where mud decaying
with vegetation or both are mixed with water in proportions not
solid enough to support our weight.
The gravity is assisted by anywise struggling, If you try to pull
one of two imprisoned legs loose while taking all the resulting
pressure on the other legs loose, the action will of course force
this leg deeper.
At the worst when you get very far into the mire your body will
probably be lighter than the semisolid it displaces, & you will
stop sinking.
You will not go deeper, that is unless your worm and twist &
shout your way down, trying ineffectually to get away.
The thing to do, therefore is to present as much body area to the
surface of the mire as may be necessary and to do this with the
utmost promptness.
A horse is caught quickly for example because of the smallness
of its feet, where a moose of similar weight will walk across the
same quagmire without difficulty because the way its hoofs are
spread apart to present a larger surface.
The human foot is also a comparatively small area pressed
downward by a correspondingly heavy weight. If when you feel the
instability you can get to solid land by running, that will be
the end of the matter.
If you can not do this, fall to your knees, for you will
generally be able to make it that way.
If you are still sinking, look around quickly to see if there is
not some branches or bush you can grab. Or you may have a pack or
a coat to help support your weight.
If not, flatten out on your stomach with your limbs as far apart
as possible & crawl. You may have to do this anyway.
One finds quagmires in all sorts of country. Areas where water
remains on the surface and particularly where water has so lain
may be treacherous.
We should watch out for tides, flats, swamps, marshes, old water
holes that tremble beneath a topping of dried mud, & certainly
for muskegs.
QUICKSAND PART 2:
Similar to quagmire, being sand that is suspended in water. It
may drop you a whole lot more quickly but methods of extracting
are the same.
However you don't have much time, and you are in more potential
DANGER unless you keep your head.???
Unless there is help nearby or there is some support to grasp you
may be able to throw yourselves IMMEDIATELY full length or either
crawl or swim free.
You may have to duck under water to free your feet, digging
around with the hands & perhaps quickly sacrificing footwear.
You will want to AVOID as much as possible any sudden and abrupt
motions that would only shove you deeper.
Rest but do not ever give up, for quicksand & quagmires do occupy
a hole no larger around than a sofa or a large chair.
Another inch or two of progress may very well bring your fingers
either to solidness or to where you can loop over a bush a belt
or perhaps a rope made of clothing
If you can reach where vegetation is growing, you will almost
certainly find support to allow you to get loose from this weird
sinking sofa.
LAND CONSIDERATION:
In the Arctic the summer temperature can exceed 18C except on
iceberg and frozen seas. In winter it can reach -55C and Max. 0C.
The subarctic zone is much more difficult than the Arctic.
Summers are very short up to 32C but the winters are colder than
all northern atmosphere from -50 to -60C. in North America &
colder in Siberia. (Vodka is used as antifreeze!) (You should see
my wipers work hic!)
When the temperature is less cold but with great winds, the body
organism cools much faster than at lower temp with no wind.
In those extreme temperature zones the chances of survival are
still much better than anyone believes. A proper attitude and
some elementary precautions are necessary survival factors. The
natives who are supposed to be less civilized than us have still
survived for thousands of years.
Learn to work in concert with nature rather than against it. To
protect against the cold ALWAYS stays a constant and immediate
problem thus one MUST make fire and built shelter.** see*#?***
FIRE PREPARATION:
Before you leave your shack MAKE SURE that you prepare a new fire
ready to go. Preparing carefully a perfect pile of burning
material so that only one match would be needed to light the
fire.
This is a good thing when you come back but one day this
precaution may save your life depending on one match and a fire
ready to be kindle.
ALWAYS MAKE SURE IT IS READY TO GO IN A BANG.
IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!
INDIAN KEROSENE:
It's found in the dead pitch-filled evergreen branches.
HOW TO MAKE A TORCH:
The temptation to stay in good country as long as it last is
inevitable and in the Northwest woods where white birch trees are
plentiful, a birch bark torch will often bring you safe and sound
back to camp.
Strip a piece of birch bark a foot wide and about 3 feet long
from the tree. Fold this in 3 folds lengthwise making a three
-fold strip about 4 inches by 3 feet.
Split one end of a 3 foot pole for carrying. The split of the
pole engaging the bark strip about 8 inches from one end and
keeping it from unfolding. Light the short 8 inches end.
If you want more light turn the lighted end downward and the fire
will burn up on the bark.
If it burns too fast turn the burning end upward. As the bark is
consumed pull more of it through the split in the stick handle.
Such a strip will last 15 to 20 minutes and will light all the
ground, trees and bushes within about 20 feet. When the bark is
about half consumed look for another tree to start over again.
SHARP TOOLS:
Keep points & edges of such tools strapped whenever feasible
within sufficiently heavy sheath that are adequately secured as
by copper rivets.
Don't take chances. Also loads of accidents come from tools that
are not sharpen properly or enough, an axe can deflect on wood &
still cut you badly.
ARCTIC DOGS:
You may be lucky to have dogs that you will use to drag your
toboggan etc. Just MAKE SURE that they know You are the boss.
These dogs are not house pets.
Hit them with your boots and yell at them so that they know that
you are the master and the meanest son of a bitch around. If you
don't intervene when they fight one another, they will kill one
another.
After a long time without a good run and you are now ready to go,
let them run crazy since they will not obey otherwise any crazy
idea like let stop for a rest.
Their firsts go is like a mad run then they settle into a
powerful run. Don't push your chance by trying to make them stop
not before a good while.
SHELTER:
During regular stops for rest, get in a sheltered spot, pair off
and sit back to back on packs with a ground sheet around each
pair. This back to back method furnishes a good deal of warmth.
YOU CANNOT STAY IN THE OPEN TO REST. GET OUT OF THE WIND!
Look for natural shelter you can improve on, but AVOID the Lee*
side of cliffs where snow could drift and bury your shelter, or
sites where avalanche or rock fall is likely.
AVOID snow laden trees the weight could bring down frozen
branches unless the lower boughs are supported on the snow. Then
there may be a space beneath the branch that will provide a ready
made shelter.
WARNING REMEMBER:
Don't block every hole to keep out draughts. You MUST HAVE
ventilation especially if burning a fire inside your shelter.
Otherwise you may asphyxiate.
SURPRISED BY A STORM? SHELTER:
If you are in the wild North and a storm hits you and that you
have a tent but you also happen to be near a snow bank, forget
your tent since the nylon is not as good to isolate you from the
cold as the snow.
Better to use your tent over the hole of your snow dug out MAKING
SURE that you fix it in the snow as well.
In the snow bank that often accumulates up to 9 feet deep you
will first remove the top snow layer where you want to dig your
hole using either a shovel or your snow shoes to do this.
Then you will dig a tunnel going toward the deepest part of the
bank about 3 feet deep at which end you make it about 3 feet wide
and 3 feet high and 6 to 7 feet long.
You will reinforce the entrance using block of snow and don't
forget to make a ventilation hole otherwise you will suffocate.
To do this hole use any branch.
Once the hole is dug out and the opening has been secured and
cover over by your tent then you can crawl in and go to sleep.
The storm may rage easily for 2 to 3 days.
SNOW IGLOO:
A pile of snow shovelled with snow shoes about 5 X 12 feet that
you stamp on it and let it sit for 1/2 hour at least.
Then you can gently start digging in your igloo, using a small
stick at times to know you don't dig up to much & make it
collapse.
This tunnel is done on both sides then once you meet you can
enlarge it to the right or left then block one end. It will be
quite warm for 5 persons with one candle up to + 5 Celsius when
outside is - 12.
NORTHERN SURVIVAL SHELTER TIPS:
You learn how to build a shelter from soft deep snow, by tramping
the snow evenly with snowshoes & allow it to freeze overnight
before cutting into blocks.
I have seen another method, using your snow shoes as a shovel,
you make a snow bank about 4 feet high, then you dig under a
tunnel and form an igloo, by removing the excess of snow.*
WINTER & SUMMER CAMPING ADD NOTES:
HOW TO INSTALL YOURSELF AT BEST WINTER WISE!:
1) Choose a nice place with a lot of burning wood nearby. Use
evergreen to put at the bottom under your tent and to cut wind
around it.
MAKE SURE you are sheltered from the wind. If you have to carry a
heavy load then use a toboggan to help along.
2) Once you have chosen the spot tramp down a wide surface by
going around in circle with your snowshoes at least 6 times and 4
more times around where you will pitch your tent. The area you
will tramp should be about 4 times the tent size.
3) Built your fire near your tent but MAKE SURE that the smoke
goes away from it.
To build a fire in the snow, first built a bottom using some big
pieces of logs. Some rotten wood that brakes easily when you hit
it makes a good underlay.
Make it about 2 to 3 feet in diameter using 5 to 6 pieces about 2
to 3 feet long should do nicely.
Now built your fire upon this layer and make it big enough right
away since a small fire is not practical in winter.
Going down by melting its surrounding & requiring constant
refuelling and gives little heat unless you are very close.
4) As for the bottom layer of evergreen under your tent make it
at least 4 to 6 inches thick and a little wider than your tent
area.
And MAKE SURE you have an evergreen kind of floor mat in front of
your tent door so as to be able to wipe out the snow excess from
entering the tent when you walk in.
5) Your pickets will be replaced by branches 2 to 3 feet long &
well dogged in the snow to prevent trouble if a storm shows up.
6) Inside your tent a good evergreen mattress will isolate you
MAKE SURE it is thick enough at least 4 inches.
NYLON SLEEPING BAG = DANGER IN WINTER:
They are deadly DANGEROUS for Winter use since they keep the
condensation in the bag and the 3 or 4th day they become ice
block, MAKE SURE you don't use them for winter unless in house.
DAMP SLEEP BAG TO DRY:
A damp sleeping bag can be dried in winter without a fire. Let it
freeze stiff outside the tent, then knock off the frost and ice
crystals with a stick.
WINTER SURVIVAL TIPS:
From Eskimos we learn much although they don't have universities
and books what follows comes from long time experiences.
HOME MADE SEALS SLEIGHS:
If you have captured some seals then use their skins cut in long
wide strips that you will use to enrol around salmons that has
been laid in lengthwise inside your skins.
Note that the skins strips have been water soaked before rolling
the salmons into them.
Next you put these bundles outside and wait till the cold freezes
them solid. Now using straps of some kind to assemble the skins
in a sleigh form to carry yourself and luggage and it will last
as long as the cold temperature stays down.
Now don't forget the dog food if you intend to use them to drag
your sleigh.
At the end of your trip, just dismantle the sleigh, give the
used skins to the dog and eat the salmons. A sleigh is about 12
to 18 feet long.
Should you be so lucky to find an Eskimo sleigh with its steel
skates which are about 6 to 8 inches high you will notice that
the steel does not slide on the snow since it sticks to the steel
in patches.
As a remedy the Eskimo takes the mud that he has gathered from
the bottom of summer lakes and makes it boil over an oil lamp.
He then spreads it all boiling hot on the skates # en une couche
uniforme# that freezes IMMEDIATELY. Then he fills his mouth with
water that he vaporizes on a square piece of bear fur.
The water freezes IMMEDIATELY but without waiting he passes over
the sleigh skates as a quick polish of a kind.
He repeats this last procedure a few times and once it's done,
you can move the sleigh by just pushing it with your fingers.
SWEDISH SAW VIA WINTER: *
One of the most USEFUL item found in winter camping is the
Swedish saw which will do twice the work with 1/2 of the effort.
Saving energy is ESSENTIAL in survival. It will cut readily
regardless of the frost in the wood.
WINTER SURVIVAL LESSON:
Here is the true story of 2 boys and how they made friend with
the cold winter. An old Indian had given them the challenge
saying that they had treated the cold wind as an enemy instead of
a friend.
He told them to undress then gave them each a pair of shorts cut
above the knees and allowed them to keep their shoes but no shirt
and to stay bare chest.
He opened the cabin door and told them to go home following the
snow trail as usual, a 15km stretch long.
They left the warm cabin for the snow trail. At first the beauty
of the scenery kept them literally warm but soon the cold wind
caught up to them when they least expected it.
Then they started to shiver and there was still a long way to go
while the snow was getting thicker and covering the deer trails
that they were used to follow.
Before half of the trip, they were freezing, shivering against
their will and their resistance to cold seemed to lower at each
step.
It seemed like ice water was flowing into their veins and their
teeth start to clatter like a Morse code session.
Yet there was still 13 km before they could reach the Indian's
home. The cold wind was forever telling them to lay down and rest
a while.
They thought of talking to one another but found that no sounds
were coming out of their mouth. It seemed impossible to keep on
walking.
Their shoes kept in sinking in the snow giving them the
impression that each step was turning itself into an ice block
from which only the next step was getting them free.
If they had panicked they would surely had died. But they kept on
thinking what the old man had told them!
The nature can not harm you if you compose, blend, integrate
yourself to it & to stop fighting against the cold
As soon as they stop fighting against the cold the result was
immediate and it was like hearing the wind laugh instead of
biting them. They suddenly felt a marvellous heat overpowering
them.
They pressed on even faster eager to tell this marvel to the old
Indian and as they were getting close to his home they were
running and picking up huge handful of snow that they were
throwing to one another.
Once inside the house the heat of it* seemed too much, the old
Indian gave them their clothes back & since then they NEVER felt
the cold wind.
POLAR TIPS:
Like most wilderness travellers we carry a map and remain
conscious of your location. We view the land around as an area,
for the moment as our area. An Inuk travels differently. He
naturally adopts a linear approach, rather than an aerial one.
To him it is a linear world. Dr. Robert Rundstrom a geographer
who has studied Inuit spatial concepts, ventured an explanation.
"Given the nature of the Barren Grounds terrain, linear
conceptualization of the terrain may be the easiest way to bring
a sense of order to an otherwise chaotic landscape, an order
which allows human beings to think and act as successful part of
that landscape."
The Inuit are right, of course. If you could rise up above the
Barrens and look down, you would see a landscape full of
lines-rivers, eskers, and caribou paths-all running with some
regularity in a pattern across the tundra.
To get this linear view, aerial thinkers have to detach
themselves from the landscape. Inuit instinctively adopt this
perspective at ground level with themselves in it. It is a key to
their survival.
It follows that a hunter would not seek his prey by going back
and forth over an area, but rather by travelling along a line,
searching for another line-tracks-that will lead him to his
object.
Similarly if lost the linear thinker would logically travel in a
straight line until he intersects evidence of another, more
familiar line.
In a linear world it is inevitable that the will in time be
rewarded. V. Stefansson the renown arctic explorer describes the
arctic sky as the Inuit life had showed him to see it.
When clouds of a uniform colour hang low there is reflected in
them a map of the earth below them. Snow-free land and open water
are shown in black on the clouds; the pure white sea ice appears
in white.
And land covered with now soiled by blown sand and tiny pieces of
plant matter are reflected darker than the sea but lighter than
snowless land. This sky map is of a great use to sledge
travellers ALWAYS.
As for the wind, it blows nearly all the time. As the prevailing
wind sweeps across the frozen, flat expanse of sea or tundra, it
carves out a pattern in the ice-crusted snow
The sastrugi, small ridges of hard snow running parallel to the
prevailing wind, are more reliable than a compass needle for the
traveller seeking direction.
In severe weather, maintaining the relative alignment of the
sastrugi to the line of travel is one of the few resources left
to a hunter unable to see more than a few metres in front of him.
No landmarks off the route ever are apparently of any
consequence.
The Inuit maps are route oriented, drawn to illustrate our trail
rather than all his geographical knowledge of an area.
This is not to suggest inaccuracy. Mapping in the Inuit way
serves its purpose effectively in so far as it provides
information USEFUL for navigation & many early explorers accounts
attest to that. Their scale variations may also stem from the
inconsistent nature of the terrain.
Some areas take longer to traverse than others, and this greater
time and energy may be reflected in a larger representation of
space on a map image.
Traditionally for Inuit, travel was not measured in miles or
kilometres. A journey was described as so many sleeps & it hasn't
changed a great deal.
To the Inuit traveller, time is a fundamental dimension of
distance; for example, what is two days travel in winter may take
a week in summer.
Distance is also an amalgam of many other variables; weather,
snow conditions, hunting success, terrain, etc.
This complexity is depicted in the maps and might be mistaken for
inconsistency. In fact it is reality.
Reality in mapping one learns from Inuit is more than a geometric
interpretation of the land, that reality in their world, embraces
both space and time.
ICE CREAM WOOD STICK:
They can be used for many things; fire tinder, wood shaving
picker, cleaner, liner, float, light to carry, as a lure for fish
tongue depressor.
Scrape dirt away wound etc., sterile, as finger or toe splint,
small in size to carry in pocket. And in S/KIT* to use as chop
stick, spreading lips of wound, skin tweezers, to empty fish.
Etc.
POLAR CLIMATE:
Polar regions are regarded as those at latitudes higher than 60
degrees, 30 minutes North and South but cold skills maybe needed
at very high altitudes everywhere.
Near the Equator in the Andes for example, the snow line is not
reached until an altitude of about 5,000 meters (18,000 ft) but
the nearer the poles the lower the snow line will be.
At the southern tip of South America there is permanent snow at
only a few hundred metres (1,000ft). Arctic conditions penetrate
deep into the northern territories of Alaska Canada, Greenland,
Iceland, Scandinavia & Russia.
TUNDRA: *
South of the Polar Cap, the ground remains permanently frozen &
vegetation is stunted. Snow melts in summer but roots cannot
penetrate the hard earth. High altitudes give same conditions.
NORTHERN CONIFEROUS FOREST: *
Between the arctic tundra and the main temperate lands is a
forest zone up to 1300 km. deep. In Russia where it is know as
Taiga, the forest penetrates up to 1650km. North of the Arctic
Circle along some Siberian rivers.
But in Hudson Bay area of Canada the tree line moves and equal
distance south of the Circle. Winters are long and severe, the
ground frozen much of the time, summers short.
For only 3-5 months of the year is the ground thawed sufficiently
for water to reach the roots of the trees & plants that
especially flourish along the great rivers, that flow to the
Arctic Ocean.
There is a wealth of game; elk, bear lynx, sable, squirrel, as
well as smaller creatures and many birds.
In summer where the snow melt cannot drain, it creates swamp.
Fallen trees and dense growths of sphagnum moss make the going
difficult. Mosquitoes can be a nuisance but they don't carry
malaria. (Vinegar is known to repel mosquitoes.)
Movement is easier in winter, if you have warm clothing. Travel
along the rivers, where fishing is good, making a raft from the
abundant deadfalls.
TEMPERATE CLIMATES:
The temperate zone of the Northern hemisphere, and the similar
climates of the Southern hemisphere, probably offers the most
equitable circumstances for survival without special skills or
knowledge.
They will be the areas best known to many readers of this book.
These territories are also those most heavily urbanized and the
survival ordeal is not likely to be very extended.
A fit and healthy person equipped with basic skills, would not be
so cut off that they would not reach help within a few day's
treks. Heavy winter conditions may call for polar skills.
POLAR REGIONS:
Antarctica is covered with a sheet of ice. In the arctic the Pole
is capped by deep ice floating on the sea and all the land north
of the timber line is frozen.
There are only 2 seasons- along winter a short summer- the day
varying from complete darkness in midwinter to 24 hours daylight
at midsummer.
Arctic summer temperature can rise to 18C (65F) except on
glaciers and frozen seas, but fall in winter to as low as -56C
(-81F) & are NEVER above freezing point.
In the northern forests summer temperatures can reach 37C (100F)
but altitude pushes winter temperatures even lower than in the
Arctic.
In Eastern Siberia -69C (-94F) has been recorded at Verkhotansk!
Temperatures in the Antarctic are even lower than in Arctic.
Antarctic winds of 177km (110mph) have been recorded and in the
Arctic autumn, winter winds reach hurricane force and can whip
snow 30m (100ft) into the air giving the impression of blizzard
even when it is not snowing.
Accompanied by low temperatures, winds have a marked chilling
effect- much greater than the thermometer indicates.
WIND CHILL FACTORS:
For instance a 32km per hour (20mph) wind will bring a
temperature of -14C (5F) down to -34C (-30F) and one at 64kmph
(40mph) would make it -42C or (-34F) with even greater drops at
lower temperatures. Speeds over 64kmph (40mph) don't appear to
make a greater difference
BUGS:
Mosquito, black fly deer-fly and midges can all be a nuisance in
the arctic summer, so mud your face and hands. Their larvae live
in water. AVOID making shelter near it.
REMEDY:
Keep sleeves down collar up wear a net over the head and burn
green wood and leaves on your fire-smoke keeps them at bay, cedar
leaves rubbed on you too. When it turns colder, these nuisances
are least active and they disappear at night.
In Alaska, North-western and North-eastern Canada, Greenland,
Iceland, Scandinavia, Novaya Zemlya, Sptizbergen and on other
islands there are mountains where ice cliffs, glaciers, crevasses
and avalanches are hazards. Near the Arctic coastline frequent
fog from May to August, sometimes carried far inland.
INCREASES NAVIGATION PROBLEMS: NAVIGATION?:
COMPASSES ARE UNRELIABLE NEAR THE POLES:
The constellations are better direction finders and nights light
enough to travel by. By day use the shadow tip method.
Travelling on sea ice do NOT use icebergs or distant landmarks to
fix direction. Floes are constantly moving. Relative position may
and often will change.
Watch for ice breaking up and if forced to cross from floe to
floe, leap from and to a spot at least 60cm (2ft) from the edge.
Survivors have been rescued from floes drifting south but sooner
or later ice floating into warmer oceans will melt, though that
chance maybe worth be taking.
NAVIGATION AVOID ICEBERGS:
They have most of their mass below the water. As this melts they
can turn over without warning particularly with your added
weight.
AVOID SAILING CLOSE TO ICE-CLIFFS:
Glaciers may "calve" huge mass of ice, often thousands of tons
that break off into the sea Without Warning. Quite beautiful but
DANGEROUS as hell!
Bird observations can aid navigation. Immigrating wildfowl fly to
land in the thaw. Most seabirds fly out to sea during the day and
return at night.
FIRE:
ESSENTIAL for polar survival. Fuel oil from wreckage can provide
heat.
Drain oil from sump and reservoir on to the ground as soon as
possible - as it cools it will congeal and become impossible to
drain. High octane fuel does not freeze so quickly-leave it in
the tanks.
In the Antarctic on the Arctic, seal and bird fat are the only
other fuel sources. On coasts drift wood can sometimes can be
collected- Greenlanders used to build homes from timbers that
drifted across the Arctic from Siberian rivers.
In the Tundra low, spreading, Willow can be found. Birch scrub
and Juniper also grow beyond the forest.
Birch bark makes excellent kindling the wood is oily. Feather a
branch & it will burn even when wet.
Casiope * is another low, spreading heather like plant that
Eskimos use for fuel.
Evergreen with tiny leaves and white bell shaped flowers and only
10-30cm (4-12in.) high. It contains so much resin that it too
burns when wet.
COLD & CAR:
When very cold, car can become ice box. A tree or snow shelter is
better then car.
CAR IN COLD CLIMATES:
Low temperatures not only make driving conditions difficult. They
can make starting and maintenance difficult & hazardous.
STARTING:
ALWAYS try to park on a gradient so that you can use a bump start
to back up the starter.
Once you get the engine going keep it running-but check that the
hand-brake is firmly on and NEVER leave children or animals in an
unattended vehicle with the engine running
DEMISTING:
Don't try to drive looking through a small clear patch on a misty
screen. Onion or raw potato rubbed on the inside of the screen
will stop it misting up.* Would this also work for your eyeglass?
To check it up*.
Cover the outside of windscreen and windows with newspaper to
prevent frost building up on them. If damp, however paper will
stick.
CODDLE THE ENGINE:
Wrapping a blanket around the engine may help to stop it from
freezing up- but REMEMBER to remove it before you start the
engine.
Cover lower part of the radiator with cardboard or wood so that
it does not freeze as you go along. If very cold leave covered.
Otherwise remove to prevent overheating.
COVER METAL:
Don't touch any metal with bare hands. Your fingers could freeze
to it and tear off skin. Where handling metal components with
gloves is awkward, wrap fingers with adhesive tape. Treat
radiator cap and dip stick in this way to ease your daily checks.
DIESEL ENGINES:
Diesel contains water and freezes solid at low temperatures.
ALWAYS COVER front of engine but check for overheating.
ALWAYS wrap engine at night or when left standing. Some lorry
drivers light small fires under frozen tanks. Only you can judge
if the risk is worth taking.
CUT OFF IN SNOW:
If you are trap in a blizzard STAY IN CAR. If you are on a
regular traffic route you will probably soon be rescued. Going
for help could be too risky. Run the engine for heat if you have
fuel.
Cover the engine so that as little heat as possible is lost
directly but MAKE SURE that the exhaust is clear.
Take no risk of exhaust coming into the car. If you feel drowsy
stop the engine and open a window.
DO NOT GO TO SLEEP WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING.
Switch off the heater as soon as you have taken the chill off the
interior. Start it again when the temperature drops. If there is
no fuel to run the engine wrap up in any spare clothing, rugs,
etc. and keep moving inside the car.
FOOD IN THE COLD WEATHER:
Eat plenty of the right sort of appetizing food to produce
maximum output of body heat.
Diet in cold weather at low altitude should tend heavily toward
fat, with carbohydrate next & protein least important. As
altitude increase above 10,000 feet, carbohydrates are most
important & protein least.
Experiment with fats. If members or the party digests them
readily they are excellent but don't count on everyone liking
them at high altitude.
Don't leave your shelter or car because of starvation fear, after
all a day or 2 without food will not kill any of us. Note: The
most common cause of accidental death in the North is not
freezing but FIRE!
FOOD IN COLD CLIMATE:
Although the water is cold and almost ALWAYS covered with ice, it
has enough lobsters fish, seals, walruses, whales, & even some
species of sharks.
On the coasts there are many water birds, reindeer, musk oxen and
Polar bears and in the Arctic summer, even up to 80C. North
Latitude you can find bees and wasps, flies, butterflies,
grasshoppers, insects living in trees and several species of
worms.
It is amazing that very few servicemen marooned in the Arctic
during the war had the idea of going hunting looking out for
animals or setting traps for them.
There are many other examples of people starving to death in the
Arctic because they didn't do any of the sensible things that
might have led to their being rescued.
Scarcely any of them thought of even producing distress signals
such as a smoking fire etc.
Some died near their plane having waited for nothing, not even
tried to reach safety, NEVER venturing more than 150 yards from
their plane.
VENOMOUS PLANTS OF NORTH: *
Most polar plants are COMESTIBLEs but the *#cigue aquatic*# p179b
is the only known toxic plant.
Also good to AVOID mushrooms and #bouton dor#. The *#cigue
aquatic# is one of the most venomous plant known.
It ALWAYS grows in damp soil and recognises by the following
characteristics; a #un bulbe creux et cloisonner*# by and empty
stalk, its roots are #fuseller# & odour that is strong &
unpleasant.
Most abundant in swamps near the Southern beach and around muddy,
swampy lakes inside the valleys, however this plants NEVER grows
on hills slope nor on dry land. Except for the # St Christopher
herb# that is also venomous.
ALL BERRIES OF POLAR REGIONS ARE COMESTIBLES.
POISONOUS PLANTS: DANGER!:
The majority of Arctic plants ARE EDIBLE but AVOID Water Hemlock*
the most POISONOUS. AVOID the fruit of the Baneberry*. AVOID
small Arctic Buttercups*.
Other temperate POISONOUS species found far north include: Lupin,
Monkshood, Larkspur, Vetch or Locoweed, False Hellebore & Death
Camas.**
Best AVOID Fungi too. MAKE SURE you can distinguish lichens from
them.
There are NO Arctic plants that are known to produce contact
POISONING.
WATER IN NORTH:
REMEMBER: That It Takes 50% More Heat To Melt Snow Than To Melt
Ice.
Even though in principle you can eat snow without DANGER but
AVOID heavy polluted areas of towns if possible.
FOLLOW THOSE RULES:
1) Let the snow thaw sufficiently to form a ball or a long
stick.
Don't eat snow in its natural state, it would dehydrate you more
than it would quench your thirst.
2) Don't swallow crushed ice, it could wound your lips and
tongue.
3) If you are hot or cold or tired, eating snow has the effect
of cooling your organism.
4) During summer, we usually find numerous lakes, swamps or
rivers and streams in Arctic.
5) On iceberg and bays there is ALWAYS depressions filled with
fresh water.
Boil all water no matter where you find it, or treat it
chemically.
COLD DOES NOT KILL GERMS:
It Only puts them to sleep ready to go back with heat into
activity with warmth!
DO NOT EAT CRUSHED ICE:
It can injure your mouth & lips and also cause further
dehydration. Thaw snow sufficiently to mould into a ball before
attempting to suck it.
REMEMBER:
If already cold and tired eating snow will further chill your
body.
WATER:
Even in the cold you need over a litre (2pt) daily to replace
losses. In summer water is plentiful in Tundra lakes and streams.
Pond water my look brown & taste brackish but vegetation growing
in it keeps it fresh. If in doubt boil for 10 minutes. In winter
melt ice & snow.
WATER CATCHING TRICKS:
All surface capable of absorbing sun rays is good enough to melt
ice or snow, a flat stone, a tarp, a signal panel.
NORTHERN FOOD ADD ON:*
Food in Arctic is more or less rare according to place and
seasons. On littoral, the ices leave little place to animals or
plants to survive.
But fishing and hunting can be done, enough to make you survive.
However NEVER roast your meat because this cooking method
eliminate the fat that is essential for survival in those
climates.
NORTHERN FISH:*
In Arctic there is few toxic fish. The #sculpin#* gives toxic
eggs. The *#moule noire# gives a POISON as deadly as strychnine.
THE SHARK FLESH OF THE ARCTIC IS NOT COMESTIBLE, SO DON'T EAT IT.
Salmon is delicious and abundant in rivers and streams but as it
moves further from the sea water its flesh becomes less
nutritious.
Farther north, at the limit of the Arctic sea and on the littoral
the Atlantic and Pacific ocean are full of sea fruits.
*#L'Omble, trout, white fish and la Lingue*# are most abundant in
lakes and #etangs# as well as the littoral of North America and
Asia. Many great rivers contain salmon and sturgeons.*
The #*escargots des rivers et "Y", "V" bires? *# abound in lakes
and water ways of Northern pine forest. All the waters of the
littoral are full and filled with marine life. To fish you can
use a harpoon, a net or hook or hit them with a stone or stick.
The Cod is lured with just a piece of cloth, a bone or s metallic
shiny piece, the cod is also fished through ice when you dig a
hole.
It is easier to fish them with a net or to hit them with a stick
when you snare them at the mouth of a stream.
FROZEN RAW FISH:*
Frozen fish, raw gives an internal heat of longer lasting time
than cooked fish and it is very delicious. Eskimos fish & clean
them, then lay them on ice to freeze over, then once frozen they
eat them as such.
FOOD FOOD FOOD ANTARCTIC:
Lichens and mosses growing on dark heat absorbing rocks on some
northern coasts, are the only plants. Seas are rich in plankton
and krill that supports fishes, whales, seals and many seabirds.
Most birds emigrate in autumn, but flightless Penguins stay. They
make Good eating. Most of the year they take to the water at the
first sign of DANGER but, when incubating eggs sit tight on their
burrows or scrapes.
ARCTIC & FOOD:
Ice provides no habitat for plants or ground animals, even polar
bears are likely only where they can find prey and they are
difficult and DANGEROUS to hunt. Seabirds, fishes and seals where
there is water are the potential foods.
FOXES:
The Arctic fox turns white in winter - sometimes follow bears on
to sea ice to scavenge their kills. Northern wildlife is
migratory and availability depends on season.
TUNDRA AND FOREST:
Plants and animals can be found in winter and summer and the
northern forests offer even more wildlife. Tundra plant species
are the same in Russia and Alaska.
All are small compared to warmer climate plants; ground spreading
Willow, Birch and Berry plants with high vitamin content. Lichens
and mosses, found widely form a valuable food source especially
Reindeer moss.
ANIMALS FOR FOOD:
Bark and greenery stripped from trees is evidence of feeding
animals. Caribou (Reindeer) are common from Alaska to west
Greenland and found across northern Scandinavia and Siberia.
Shaggy-musk-ox roam in northern Greenland and in the islands of
the Canadian archipelago, Elk (Moose) are found-where there is a
mixture of forest and open ground.
Wolves are common in northern Canada, Alaska, Siberia but rare
and protected in most European countries.
Foxes, living in the tundra in summer and open woodland in winter
are an indication of other smaller prey- mountain hares,
squirrels & other small rodents that burrow beneath the snow to
find seeds.
Lemmings make runaways beneath the snow. Beaver, mink, wolverines
and weasels can all be found in the Arctic.
Bears roam the barren lands of the North as well as the forests.
They can be DANGEROUS. Give them a wide berth.
The best chances for survival are along coasts where the sea
provides a dependable source of food. Seals are found on costs
pack ice and in the open water.
WALRUSES:
May look cumbersome but are also very DANGEROUS. Leave them alone
unless you are armed.
HUNTING AND TRAPPING:
Tracks are clear in snow and easy to follow-but leave a trail of
fluttering flags of bright material from wreckage to find your
way back to your shelter.
Make them high enough not to be covered by a fresh snowfall.
Caribou can be very curious and may sometimes be lured by waving
a cloth & moving on all fours. Imitating a four-legged animal may
also bring wolves closer, thinking you might be a prey.
Ground squirrels and marmots may run into you if you are between
them & their holes. Some prey animals can be attracted by the
sound made by kissing the back of your hand.
It is like the noise made by a wounded mouse or bird. Make it
from a concealed position and downwind. Be patient and keep
trying.
Stalking animals is difficult in the exposed Arctic. If you have
a projectile weapon, gun, bow, catapult-which can be fired from
ground level, lie in ambush behind a screen of snow.
To be more mobile make a screen of cloth that can stand in front
of you and slowly move forward.
In winter, Owls, Ravens & Ptarmigans-the birds available in the
North-are usually "tame" and can be approached slowly without
sudden movements.
Many polar birds have a 2-3 weeks summer moult that makes them
flightless- they can be run down.
EGGS ARE AMONG THE SAFEST FOODS & ARE EDIBLE AT ANY STAGE OF
EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT.
SEALS:
A main source of food on polar ice, some seals remain there right
through the winter.
The Antarctic Weddel seal, most southerly of mammals can dive for
15 minutes before coming up to breathe from pockets of air
beneath the ice or at small holes that it keeps open by nibbling
around the edges. Most seals MUST breathe more frequently.
Few are so formidable as the Elephant seal, which can rear up to
twice a man's height in attack or defence.
Seals are most vulnerable on the ice floes with their young pups
produced between March and June in the Arctic according to
species.
Newborn seals cannot swim and are easy to catch, thousands are
massacred by hunters and in culls each year by simply walking
among them on the ice and clubbing them.
Out of the breeding season, breathing holes in the ice are the
best place to catch seals; recognise them by their cone shape,
narrower on the upper surface.
In thicker ice they will be surrounded by flipper and tooth marks
where the seal has been keeping the hole open.
You have to be patient and yet ever ready for the visits to the
holes are brief. Club the animal then enlarge the hole to recover
the carcass.
Seals provide food, clothing, moccasins and blubber for fires.
Adult males have a strong odour early in the year, but it does
not affect their meat.
Eat all except the liver, which at some times of the year has
DANGEROUS concentrations of Vitamin A. Cook seal meat to AVOID
Trichinosis.
POLAR BEARS:
Confined to high Arctic -- in Europe only residents on
Spitzbergen-they have a keen sense of smell and tireless hunters
on sea ice and in the sea.
Feeding mainly on seals with some fish they swim well and can
stay submerged for 2 minutes. Rarely found on land- though in
summer they may feed on berries and lemmings.
Like many cold climates animals they are larger than their warmer
climate relatives. Most are curious and will come to you-but
treat these powerful animals with respect & caution.
WARNING VIA FOOD:
ALWAYS cook meat. Muscles ALWAYS carry Trichinosis worm. NEVER
eat Polar Bear liver that can have lethal concentrations of
vitamin A.
PREPARING MEAT:
Bleed, gut, and skin while the carcass is still warm. Roll hides
before they freeze. Cut meat into usable portions and allow to
freeze.
Do not keep reheating meat. Once cooked eat leftovers cold.
(That's why you cut it up) Leave fat on all animals except seals.
FAT IS ESSENTIAL IN COLD AREAS, but if you eat a lot MAKE SURE
you take plenty fluids.
Except in extreme cold when it will freeze remove seal fat and
render it down before it can turn rancid and spoil meat. It can
also be USEFUL for your fire.
When food is scarce animals will steal it. So cache it carefully.
If there are signs of would be thieves look out for them. They
could be your next meal.
Rodents especially squirrels and rabbits and hares, can carry
Tularaemia, which can be caught from ticks or handling infected
animals. Wear gloves when skinning. Boiled flesh is safe.
HUNTING TIPS IN THE COLD CLIMATE:
RABBIT WINTER SNARE:
One of the best secret that we can give you is to cut down a
small green birch and to wait for the next day.
You will then notice how the rabbits came at night to eat the
head & the small branches of the birch, this is now the best
place to tend your snares easily catching 20 rabbits out of 30
snares.
HUNTING TIPS:
To AVOID freezing your butts off while waiting long hours for the
game to show up either ducks or deer etc. Here are 2 tricks.
First is to get yourself one of those isolation foams that can be
found in all cities construction sites & just sit on it, you will
notice how warm it keeps you & small piece under your feet will
also cut the dampness off.
Second method is to take a small tin or wood barrel into which
you have drilled a dozen of where you are going to sit and place
a lighted oil lamp under the barrel, keeps you nice, comfy and
warms buns.
IGLOO BIRD TRAP:
The Eskimos use this trick often to capture small birds. After
having enlarged the air draft hole in the igloo's top, they lay a
few pieces of meat around the edge of that hole then they wait.
When the noises from the birds wing warn them about the incoming
bird they quickly pull their arm through the hole and grab the
bird by the legs.
ADDED HUNT TIPS FROM THE COLD:
GUNS PROTECTION:
REMEMBER to leave your gun outside your house in the entrance
where it will stay cold, for to bring it in the house with its
frequent switching of cold and hot will provoke condensation thus
ice which will in turn form ice capable to block the mechanism of
your gun.
SECOND SHACK FOR HUNTING ETC.:
Many a hunter has a second shack for hunting which extends their
hunting ground quite a bit. This shack about 9 miles from the
first one also has an important function that is to relieve the
cabin fever.
This is an important factor since this fever or mood not only
makes you feel your loneliness but worst is that you can even
bear yourself.
This is why the second shack becomes USEFUL when the first shack
becomes filthy and in disorder it is an alarm signal that time
has come to move one to the next shack.
MORE HUNTING TIPS FROM THE COLD:
Once you have killed your game for instance a bear MAKE SURE you
go around first to examine the tracks of your bear just to MAKE
SURE that it was alone.
You don't want to get caught by the second one coming along.
Usually at the beginning of the night they are alone but then
again why take chances.
Then you can come back to your game and circle it at about 10
feet distance to MAKE SURE that it is really dead.
Then the final but needed precaution is to touch the eye of the
bear with your gun barrel, should he move then you just pull the
trigger to finish the job. Bingo!
DON'T touch the bear first before you do it with your gun barrel
in case it is only wounded.
Use your gun barrel as precaution MAKING SURE you are ready to
shoot again. This precaution may save your life.
TRAVEL OR NOT TO TRAVEL? :
Before travelling or not do this test.
EXHAUSTION * TESTING GAUGE:
When one is excited by the challenge of covering ground,
exhaustion often creeps on unrecognized.
This can be so much more serious a problem in severe weather that
particularly when it is cold and stormy.
One will be generally well advised in strange country under
survival conditions to pick up a camping spot early enough to be
able to prepare for as comfy a night as possible.
For what interest it may hold, here is the way some trappers
gauge their strength:
The trapper reaches one of his cabins on his line. He is not
conscious of feeling particularly tired. Can he proceed to the
next cabin???
He stands and looks up at the heavens. If the shy seems to keep
receding before his eyes, he takes it as a sure sign that he is
too near the limit of his strength to risk going farther. So he
turns in where he is.
TRAVEL OR NOT TRAVEL???: "Ask Gulliver or Gilligan?"
It is understandable of course, that people marooned in the
Arctic rarely go far from their camp that is usually their plane.
Not having learned the best way to survive in the Arctic, they
feel SAFEST there, but it does not do them much good, unless
before their landing they have managed to send out distress
signal, giving their approximate position.
The prospect of being found by chance in the thinly populated
Arctic areas is small indeed, except with the passengers of an
airliner who can count on a big search operation starting
IMMEDIATELY the plane is missed.
The people with most chance of survival are those who try to get
back to civilization under their own steam or at least explore
the immediate surroundings where they have crashed. (Gilligan?)
It is interesting to learn that according to the survival experts
at Stead that Winter is a good deal EASIER than Summer for making
headway in the Arctic.
Apparently the ice covering of frozen lakes and rivers and the
ground being hard as stone, enable you to get on faster without
big detours.
Whereas one party for instance after a crash landing in North
Canada during the summer, took all of 6 hours to cross a piece of
marshland 1/2 mile wide and 5 days to circumvent a bog.
SWISS STICK METHOD:
(How to cross a swamp without getting lost)
Had some known the Swiss stick method they would have saved
themselves a lot of time & efforts. Here it is.
You cut, break or pick up a long pole or small tree with branches
off about 20 to 25 feet long, use it as a horizontal guide to
cross the bog. (We assume you have no compass!)
By pulling and pushing you will cross it in a straight way with
may be 20 to 50 feet off your original target.*
WHITE OUT IN THE NORTH:
There are many stories of men in a whiteout in Alaska or
Greenland who have seen their companions jump down a "small
slope" that was really an abyss several hundred feet deep. Their
rashness cost them their lives.
Several Survival Schools recommended to WAIT calmly for the end
of a whiteout and ONLY MOVE on when things around them have
resumed their shape & structure. In a whiteout you lose all
senses of below, above and distances.
VISIBILITY:
Visibility is sometimes so deceptively restricted in DANGEROUS
terrain that it is foolhardy to keep going, if to continue IS
NECESSARY without taking special precautions.
A low hanging cloud sudden sleet & the way snow and dust
occasionally smoke up in stinging particles before an
eye-watering that can make travel almost blind.
Depending on where you are, you can break off evergreen tips &
keep one or 2 thrown ALWAYS well ahead of you to mark an
apparently safe passage.
This procedure we may well increase by cutting a long dry stick
light enough to wield easily and by poking about on all sides to
minimize the possibility of stepping off into undetected
emptiness.
TRAVEL OR NOT TRAVEL PART 2?:
One of the first decision of a downed air crew and passengers
that has to be made is whether to remain near the downed craft.
Or to travel as far as necessary to find a good safe dry location
for a camp, to find a location where you are apt to be spotted or
to find a settlement.
A study of survival incidents both in the RCAF & USAF indicate
that travel is not recommended & if you travel you MUST HAVE
strength to do so.
5 BASICS REQUIREMENTS:
If any of the 5 basic requirements can not be fulfilled to your
specific situations then: DON'T TRAVEL.
1) Know where you are & where you are going, if you don't know
where you are, you can rarely plan a route to safety. STAY PUT.
2) Have a means of setting and maintaining direction. If you
have a hand compass and know how to use it, you should be able to
maintain a planned course.
Yet we know that in the North the compass goes crazy very often.
If you are unable to maintain such a course; REMAIN WHERE YOU
ARE.
3) Most people are inclined to over-estimate their physical
abilities.
Be very careful when trying to estimate your physical strength
and if in doubt, STAY PUT!
4) Clothes make the man. This is particularly true in survival
when the proper clothing can mean the difference between
life & death.
MAKE CERTAIN you are adequately clothed to give protection from
the elements & insects. Adequate shoes & Heavy socks are MOST
ESSENTIAL. (Wool is top best)
Unless your clothing is sufficient to protect you against
conditions to face, STAY PUT!
5) Food, fuel, shelter and signals MUST BE considered in
relation to the type of the country and the season.
If these are available in the area in which you are and you are
unable to carry these with you, its BETTER to STAY PUT and WAIT.
6) I will add this, even if you MUST stay put, try to check
your area in a 3 miles radius but BE CAREFUL not to loose
yourself. Use the method explain in Signal and orientation file*.
BUSH TRAVEL IN SUMMER:
Relatively easy in summer if the following rules are done.
1) Before beginning any trip, climb a high hill or a large tree
to orient yourselves with the surrounding area and possibly
discover human habitation.
2) Game trails provide an easy path through bush country. These
trails follow the ridges & rivers flats & are connected by a
network of trails. The DANGER of following these trails
extensively may cause you to wander from your intended way.
3) Streams may be followed to large rivers or lakes along the
shores of whichyou are most likely to find habitation.
Generally it's better to follow the drainage pattern rather than
to cross it. Unless the waterways in the area are well known to
survivors, raft building is not recommended.
4) Ridges offer drier more insect free travel that bottom land.
There will be usually less underbrush and as a result it will be
easier to see and to be seen.
5) Large river crossing should only be attempted when
absolutely necessary.
If the water is deep, remove all clothing and place it in a
bundle. Replace your boots without socks. Boots give a much
better footing and prevent injury to your feet during the
crossing.
If forced to swim in fast flowing rivers, start up-stream from
your proposed landing place and let the currant drift you down to
it.
When finding a fast shallow stream use a pole to help you
maintain a footing.
6) Decide whether to cross or to go around each lake, if it is
decided to cross, use a raft or floatation gear. Swimming in cold
waters can be deadly.
7) Deadfalls can prove DANGEROUS because of the ever present
DANGER of slipping, resulting injury.
7b) DON'T EVER WALK ON DEAD WOOD, WALK OVER OR UNDER. They are
slippery S.O.B.
8) Swamps sap the strength of a person because of difficult
walking conditions, go around such area.
9) Mountain areas have their own particular problems. Watch for
overhead threats such as shale and rolling boulders.
In early Spring, cross mountains streams in Early Morning to
AVOID the greatest volume of water that occurs when the sun
starts melting the snows.
BUSH TRAVEL IN WINTER:
In winter game trails especially if heavily used, will save
walking through deep snow, but you MUST AVOID being led off your
general direction
Streams and rivers will provide your best method of travel being
the highway of the Canadian North.
There are however DANGERs in winter river travel that MUST BE
CAREFULly watched for and AVOIDed. In certain places along the
river, weak ice will be found & it's best to know in advance
where to look for it.
1) Stay away from rocks and other protuberances, since ice is
slower to form in those localities and will have been
retarded by eddies.
2) Walk on inside of curves, since on the outside of curves the
current has an eroding effect on the underside of the ice face.
3) Take to the bank or walk on the opposite side of the river
at the junction of 2 rivers. The current from both rivers holds
up the formation of ice through turbulence.
4) Stay on clear ice when possible since a deep layer of snow
will insulate /retard freezing.
5) Carry a pole for testing ice and for uses in supporting your
weight if you break through thin ice.
6) Be ready to get rid of your pack should you fall through
ice.
7) Before walking on ice, MAKE SURE you have well attach on you
a waterproof kit to start a quick fire.
8) It can happen that water seeps under the snow and if your
feet get wet they can freeze very quickly.
9) ICE WALKING:
AVOID dark coloured ice, dark = DANGER, Soft thin ice: walk on
white ice = SAFEST and strongest.
COLD TRAVELLING ADDED NOTES:
1) Don't travel during blizzard.
2) Be prudent on thin ice, in order to equally distribute your
weight, crawl rather than walk.
3) Cross a waterway when the water level is at its lowest.
Under the thawing effect the depth of a river can vary from 2 to
2 1/2 meters in 24 hours.
This can happen at any time during the day, according to the
distance that separates you from the glacier, or the weather or
the terrain.
The water level variation MUST BE taken in consideration upon
choosing your camp along a river.
4) In Arctic it is difficult to correctly estimate distances.
Because of very clear atmosphere, those ones often seem to
be shorter than they are in reality.
5) Don't travel in white out because the lack of contrast will
prevent you from judging the terrain's nature properly.
6) ALWAYS cross a snow bridge at right angle from the object it
crosses. Probe well the strongest point with your pole or ice
axe. Distribute your weight by wearing snowshoes or skis or by
crawling.
7) Stop while its still daylight in order to give you enough
time to construct a shelter and make camp.
8) Use frozen or not rivers as highways. One easily travels on
frozen rivers that are free of soft snow.
RIDGES:
They may give easier walking conditions as they do not usually
have the same amount of snow as the valleys.
Mountain areas in winter can be particularly treacherous with the
possibilities of snow slides, uncertain footing and sudden
storms.
Snow slides will occur from natural causes, but care should be
taken to AVOID causing them through carelessness.
Deadfall is even more DANGEROUS in winter than in summer, since a
lot of them will be covered with snow, making walking conditions
Very Treacherous.
BARREN LAND TRAVEL:
Snow shoes and skis are not essential on hard snow in barren land
travel. On the Arctic Islands and barren east of the 142nd
meridian walking conditions are normally good in winter.
In some localities frequent gales are encountered. There is
little protection except that provided by scattered high banks
and willow thickets around lakes and along stream beds.
Game is very scarce and fires can not be maintained for long on
the fuel obtainable in the winter.
The survivors can not afford to follow the streams which because
of their winding nature double and quadruple the distance to be
covered.
The COMPASS is NOT RELIABLE & land marks are few and far between.
One man will have difficulty steering a straight course by
himself. Two can do a little better but 3 are required to
navigate when visibility is low.
It is recommended that any extended travel over barren land or
sea ice be done by a party of at least 3 persons.
The spring break-up, summer & the fall freeze present far greater
travel difficulties than does the winter season. Equipment MUST
BE carried on the back. The masses of soggy vegetation on the
tundra cause the traveller to slip and slide.
Lake system MUST BE either crossed or circumnavigated. Care MUST
BE taken in crossing sandbars and mud flats formed at the mouth &
junction of rivers & lakes.
Quicksand or bottomless muck may trap you. If a life raft is
available it is preferable to float down the river rather than
attempt to travel across country. The months of July & August are
about the best months to cross country travel.
Because of the prevalence of fish in all streams or lakes, a fish
net is one of the best pieces of equipment the traveller can
carry. A rifle may provide game for a number of meals.
SEA ICE TRAVEL:*
Food in the form of seal, fox & polar bear is more readily
obtained on winter sea ice than on barren land.
The problem of navigation is identical with those of the barren
land with one very great exception.
The polar ice pack is in constant motion due to the currants and
winds. Therefore determination of direction may be difficult.
Also one rarely travels in a straight line in order to AVOID the
rough ice.
Landmarks in the form of high pressure ridges and hummocks are
usable only for a short distance, since they may be located on
other floes & are constantly changing location.
Add to this the fact that the magnetic compass is very unreliable
in high latitudes and the necessity for constant direction checks
on the sun and stars becomes obvious.
The ice in the very high latitudes is comparatively solid in
winter. As the sun returns the ice recedes and there is open
water along the entire Arctic coast.
Along the North coast, ice lies off shore & is often driven
ashore by strong north or west winds.
Riding one of these flows is definitely a last & DANGEROUS
procedure, since there is no guarantee that the wind will
continue until the flow reaches ground.
The summer ice is covered with lakes and water soaked snow, which
gradually drains off through holes and cracks in the ice mass.
There is practically no dry surface anywhere. Fog abounds and
misting rain fells frequently. Survivors should leave the ice and
get to land if at all possible.
ICEBERGS:
All icebergs frozen in ice are likely to have open water in their
vicinity. Icebergs driven by the wind and currants have been
known to crash through ice several feet in thickness.
Towering icebergs in open water are ALWAYS DANGEROUS as the area
below the surface melts faster than that above causing it to
topple over and the adjoining area is no place for man nor beast.
The resulting tidal waves throw the surrounding small ice pieces
in all directions. Seek only low toppled icebergs for shelter at
sea.
ICE WALKING:
AVOID DARK WHICH IS SOFT AND THIN. WHITE= SAFE.
GENERAL TRAVELLING RULES: ADDED NOTES:
1) Take your time, save your strength, if tired, rest & make
camp.
2) Bring the necessary equipment, but only the necessary (no
VCR)?. Don't overburden yourself.
Keep equipment in good condition, take well care not to loose it,
and put your food safely from wild animals ALWAYS on the prowl.
3) Be ALWAYS on the ready to make signals to passing planes
4) If you can AVOID it don't travel alone, & when possible mark
along your trail and leave messages.
5) Unless there is a member gravely wounded, the group MUST NOT
divide itself. All survivors MUST stick together. United we
stand! Divided we strand!
6) To walk in straight line, choose 2 points easily
recognizable in line with your direction, walk while keeping
those 2 points in line.
From time to time look back and thus will be able to correct your
path from you starting point.
7) Trace your path on a map if any is available.
8) To help in your moving, make improvised snowshoes, rafts,
sleighs.
9) Keep a log book about your travelling.
10) Take care of your feet.
10b) Use your walking stick.
11) Each day plan your course and travel according to your plan
take frequent rest, don't make too long a stretch and MAKE SURE
that you have ample time to make a good and comfy camp each
night. It is a necessity to sleep well & to rest often to
survive. SAVE ENERGY!
IN SUMMER:
The principal obstacles to walk on foot are the dense vegetation,
the rough terrain, insects, soft soil, swamps, quagmires, lakes &
great rivers
To AVOID water flood problems you MUST cross waterways early in
morning before the sun rise and the melting gets on.
The best method consists in following the ridges and game trails
and to check constantly the direction you are taking.
IN WINTER:
The principal DANGERs for travelling are soft and deep snow,
frozen rivers, bad weather and rarity of natural food.
Don't move when blizzard is on, nor when EXTREMELY cold. Dig a
hole lay down and rest to save strength.
Upon walking on frozen rivers check for thin ice, air pockets use
a cold chisel or a pole to verify the thickness of the ice.
If you are many to walk on DANGEROUS ice, walk in file and tie
yourselves together, about 10 feet apart. Check for frostbite on
you & your partners VERY OFTEN.
IN MOUNTAINS:
You MUST choose a road that brings you to:
1) A less DANGEROUS place, a more sheltered region or area.
2) Toward sea coast
3) Toward a great river.
4) Habituated area.
While following a trail, coming down a river or following the
coast one usually ends up finding a food cache, shack or village.
In the Alaska and Canada the big rivers are the main ways of
communication in summer as winter.
Follow the natural slopes of the land rather than crossing them
especially in summer.
AVOID as much as possible to climb, go around it takes a lot less
energy to go around a hill or mountain then to climb it. Be lazy
in survival is best, yet extra careful. Take the SAFEST road not
necessarily the shortest.
MESSAGES:
You MUST leave a message at the crash site and every resting or
camping site thereafter and where you change or alter your route
the note written with a pen or charcoal MUST give the following:
1) Date you left the starting point.
2) Your destination and the road you intend to follow.
3) Evaluation of travelling time.
4) The number of persons.
5) Their physical condition.
6) Other information via food or other needs. MAKE SURE the
messages are easy to see and reach. Use markers.
CROSSING DENSE VEGETATION TIPS:
In order to AVOID scrapes, scratches and cuts etc. & in order to
keep your direction and for better overall feeling, use your eyes
carefully, don't worry about nearby shrubs or trees; but be on
the look out for the immediate surrounding.
Don't just look but penetrate the forest with your eyes. Stop and
bend down from time to time to get and under view of the forest.
Be attentive & vigilant, move slowly and constantly in dense
forest but stop frequently & locate yourself.
NOISE: Travel Very far in forest but you can lower that noise by
cutting the shrubs etc. in up & down movement.
In order to protect yourselves from snakes or ants have a walking
stick to help you moving around & scattering vegetation hindering
your walk.
When climbing a hill or mountain slope, don't grab the shrubs or
climbing plants with bare hands, there could be cutting thorns.
Most animals will follow the hunting trails that are mostly used
by others, those trails intercut themselves but they often will
bring you to water or bush clearings.
By checking your direction you will see if those trails lead you
to your wanted daily goal.
Should you happen to find an electrical or phone line follow it
because it leads to safety. But BE CAREFUL when you approach a
relay station since guards usually keep it. (Boom! Gotcha Rambo!)
MOVING IN MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS:*
This walking requires a lot of energy as much as possible AVOID
that kind of road or travelling. In mountain regions follow the
valleys and elevations.
In order to save strength and time, walk while keeping your body
weight directly above your feet and keep your heels well flat on
the ground, this comes easily when your steps are short and you
walk slowly. **see note sas on slope walk!
REMEMBER:
That temperatures in the mountains can sink abruptly by 36
Fahrenheit, so be prudent.
CENTRE OF GRAVITY:*
When you are descending a cut bank or any down-grade a Basic
safety principle all recognise but often overlook in the
exhilaration of a descent is to control our centre of gravity so
that if we fall it will be backwards in a sliding position.
Such a precaution we come more and more to realize is of the
utmost importance during solitary travel over new paths, where
loose shale has not before been by man disturbed & where
decomposing logs have not been tried.
The identical principle holds even when we are travelling among
obstructions on a flat, for it is a sometimes too costly
convenience to let the body drop or swing forward so as to rest a
hand momentarily on a projection and vault ahead.
The untested support to which we will then be committed may roll,
slide or give away entirely.
Even though this may happen only one time in 10,000 the odds are
still to far out of proportions to warrant taking such a gamble.
FIGURE TO FALL PRINCIPLE:
A reasonably precautionary attitude back of beyond is to expect
to fall at any moment, for so realizing the possibility we will
more likely to be prepared for it:
1) By avoidance of an area.
2) By extreme care when to bypass is not practical.
3) And most commonly by continually gauging beforehand where
and in what manner, if we do fall, we will be able to let
ourselves go most safely.
DEADFALL:
They project a special hazard and one that is greatly multiplied
when the ground is at all wet.
Dew can make a fallen log so slippery that the feet will fly out
from beneath one so unexpectedly that any control is at once
gone. Frost imposes grave DANGER. Especially tricky is dead bark
that all of sudden turns on the trunk itself.
It would be pointless to indicate that all such perils may be
AVOIDed by keeping off fallen timber.
For we often find that a down tree is by far the most reasonable
way over a ravine or flooded creek. We occasionally come upon
vast stretches of old burn where the only across is on top of a
maze of deadfall.
What we may logically choose to do, therefore is to test such a
footing as carefully as possible and to proceed with maximum
caution.
Taking secure hand holds whenever they are offered, while
limiting & when possible excluding any tightrope walking and
leaping.
CLIMBING:
At time you MUST climb or go down a steep slope or cliff. So
before you start, study carefully your path to assure yourself as
to where you will grab or lay our feet.
Check carefully each time you grab or step onto something that it
will be solid enough to take your weight, do the following
recommendations;
1) Unless you are obliged, don't lean on shaky or moving rocks.
2) Use your legs to push and your hand to keep balance, Try to
maintain a 3 points contact. Move only 1 foot or hand at a time.
3) At all times, do in such a way that you can move in one
direction or the other without DANGER.
4) Go down the slope facing it down as long as possible thus
you can see better your path and discover the best holds.
5) In steep cliff, use only the # descente en rappel# when you
have no other choice.
6) Upon walking in those mountainous regions or upon ice or
snow try to find or improvise a solid cable as well as a piolet
ice axe without those it will be difficult if not impossible
succeed climbing down or up. As ice axe use a solid metallic rod
and test the ground ahead.
MOVING UPON SNOW FIELDS OR GLACIERS:
The faster way to go down a snow slope is to slide down feet
first while using an ice axe or a solid stick about 5 feet long
which will hold you or slow your coming down.
The ice axe or stick will also serve to test the foreground so as
to AVOID the deadly and treacherous #crevice (rifts.)#
The #crevices# generally cross a glacier at right angle from the
direction of its flowing, it is usually possible to go around
them, since they rarely spread all along the width of glacier.
If snow covers over its surface, you MUST BE Extra Careful and
each member of the party MUST BE tied together by a cable, should
anyone happen to fall into a #crevice (rifts#).
As much as possible AVOID those regions, go around if you can. It
is easier to cross a slope when digging in your heels while
crossing in diagonal.
BEWARE also of snow slides especially during spring thaw or after
a heavy snow storm. (See above snow slide) * Check your centre of
gravity & stick to your walking stick.
WARNING: WARNING: WARNING!
ICE COLD WATER IS A KILLER:
Falling into icy water knocks the breath out of you. The body
curls up with loss of muscular control and violent shivering.
Exposed parts freeze in about 4 minutes. Consciousness clouds in
7 minutes and death follows in 15-20 minutes.
RESIST! Take violent action hitting the water. Move fast for
land. Then roll in snow to absorb water. Get to shelter and into
dry kit IMMEDIATELY.
HOW TO SURVIVE IN COLD WATER!:
The following studies come from the Victoria University which
goals were to study the effects on human bodies immersed in cold
water in maritime regions as one would find after being ship
wrecked in those regions.
Any prolongation even if minimal will sometimes make the
difference between life and death for the survivor.
All boat lovers & persons exposed to accidental immersion in cold
water MUST BE aware of those factors that will influence the
speed of the body cooling off and its eventual death due to
hypothermia.
This knowledge will hopefully lead to AVOID accidents and better
your survival chances.
WHAT IS HYPOTHERMIA? & WHY IS IT DEADLY?:
Hypothermia is a pronounced lowering or drop of the internal body
temperature.
In cold water the skin and its external tissues get cold very
quickly but it takes from 10 to 15 minutes for the internal
organs such as the heart, the brain and others to start getting
cold.
The body first starts to react by intense chills in an effort to
counteract the lowering of the temperature and to help warm up
the victim.
The victim can loose consciousness when his internal temperature
fall from his normal 37.5 (99F) to about 32C. (89.6F). Death
usually follows by heart failure when this temperature goes below
30C or 86F.
HOW LONG CAN SOMEONE SURVIVE IN COLD WATER?:
The following chart gives you an idea for the survival time of an
average adult who is immersed in cold water under different
temperatures.
The following data come from experiments done on men and women
immersed in cold sea water, without movements and wearing light
clothing and an ordinary life-jacket.
The curve indicates for instance the predictable survival
duration time being around 2 1/2 to 3 hours in water at 10C or
50F.
This duration is longer in the case of persons being fat and
shorter for the thinner or frail persons.
Even if women generally have a little more fat than men, they
however have a more delicate body thus tend to cool off a bit
more quickly than men.
This is also for the same reason that we find children loosing
body heat more rapidly than adults.
MUST ONE SWIM IN ORDER TO KEEP ITS BODY HEAT?:
NO! Even if the body creates around 3 times more heat while
swimming slowly and constantly as in the case of side strokes in
cold water than while being immobile.
All this heat and more are lost because of the more intense blood
circulation towards the extremities of the body.
Results have revealed that an average person swimming with a
life-jacket looses 35% more heat than by staying immobile.
WHAT DISTANCE CAN ONE REACH BY SWIMMING?:
It may happen however that land being close by, would justify the
attempt.
Experiments done on average persons wearing light clothing and a
life-jacket in sea water at 10C (50F) have indicated that they
can swim up to 0.85 mile before being paralysed by hypothermia.
However it is hard to estimate distances especially in survival
condition in cold and choppy water but the land MUST BE within a
mile for you to take the risk of swimming to its relative safety.
The distance reached will vary accordingly to the swimmer's
ability, its type of clothing & water temperature.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU DON'T HAVE A LIFE-JACKET OR ANY OTHER MEANS TO
SUPPORT YOURSELF: *
STAND UP SWIMMING:*
Continuous movements of the legs and arms will permit the victim
to hold its head off the water.
Experiments indicate however that a person found in this type of
situation cools off faster by a ratio of 34% compared to another
person who is wearing a life-jacket and staying immobile.
#SURESCONS*#:
In this method a person maintains himself afloat while relaxing
or trying to do so and with his lungs filled with air. Every 10
or 15 seconds he will stop to lift his head off the water to
breathe.
In moderate temperature even non-swimmers can AVOID drowning for
many hours by using this method.
In many Canadian provinces the average temperature in lakes goes
down between 17 & 20C (62.5-68F) on surface during summer months.
At this relatively moderate temperature the *#surescon# remains a
worthwhile technic.
Unfortunately experiments in cold sea water at 10C (50F) reveal
that the body heat lost is 82% faster than if the body is
immobile with a life-jacket.
This is partly & especially due to the fact that the head is
immersed for long period. The head being the body part that loose
its heat the fastest.
According to those experiments the *#surescon# in cold water seem
to bring death by hypothermia more quickly than if someone had a
life-jacket.
WHICH BODY PART LOOSE HEAT MORE QUICKLY?:
For those victims standing immobile in water, beside the head
experiments with infra-red photos have shown that the lateral
parts of the thorax that have little fat are the principal points
by which one looses its body heat.
The groin region is also subjected to great heat lost because of
the big blood vessel situated in that region. Thus in any attempt
to preserve heat lost, these specific regions MUST HAVE priority.
WHAT SHOULD ONE DO TO LENGTHEN HIS SURVIVAL TIME:
Here are 2 technic to help you along saving some body heat.
1) FOETUS POSITION *
This technic consists in holding one's arms closely to its chest
side thus covering his warm upper region. The thighs are also
squeeze together and brought upward the groin.
This position has shown itself really efficient by increasing
nearly to 1/2 the projected average survival time.
2) CAUCUS POSITION *
It is natural that many persons tightly squeeze together have
more chance of preserving common heat.
Experiments have shown that in such a case while squeeze together
and protecting the sides of the chest their survival time was
lengthen by half compared to the Foetus position.
DOES THERMAL PROTECTION VARY ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT LIFE-JACKET:
1) Mediocre thermal protection: The life-jacket filled with
Kapok as well as those filled with unicellular foam offer very
little protection against cold water.
2) Satisfactory protection: 50 to 75% longer survival time if
the life-jackets have foam padding that can be adjusted tightly
to your chest or the type of vest that has a layer of light
insulated foam between 2 other thickness inside and outside of
the tissues.
3) Good thermal protection: There is 2 types that have been
made to offer maximum protection offering up to 400% or 4 time
the usual expected survival time. One of this model is a
"sweatsuit" whe | | |
