Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
folks live to tell the tale, and some of them don't. Hopefully you will never need to spend unex-
pectedly long hours outside in extreme weather, but in case you do, here are a few tips:
Stay dry. If at all possible, keep your clothing dry, including hat, gloves, and boots. It
takes a huge amount of energy to dry clothing using just body heat, and wet clothes
will not insulate nearly as well as dry clothing. If you must lie down to sleep, break
fresh green pine boughs off evergreen trees to make a somewhat insulated “bough
bed” that will help you stay drier and warmer than lying directly on the snow.
Check for numb hands and feet. The extremities of your body will tend to cool and
freeze first, so keep a watchful eye on your hands and feet. At the first signs of
numbness, you should stop what you are doing and get the blood circulating again, or
you will risk frostbite and potentially permanent damage due to freezing your flesh.
For the feet, brace your arms against something, stand on one leg, and vigorously
swing the other leg back and forth, like a ringing bell in a bell tower. The centrifugal
force of the swinging motion will usually restore blood circulation and warm your
toes, unless they are already truly frozen and not just cold. If they burn and hurt, that
is OK, and the painful condition should only last a few minutes, unless the feet had
actually suffered frostbite. The easiest technique for restoring feeling and circulation
to the hands is similar to the previous technique for the feet. Swing your arms in
wide rapid circles to help drive blood into the fingertips. Alternately, take your
gloves or mittens off and stick your bare hands under your jacket and into your
armpits until your hands are warm.
Check each other for signs of hypothermia and frostbite. A few years back a father
and son skied out of bounds into the Granite Chief Wilderness and survived several
nights outside until they were rescued. The father kept the son moving most of each
night to keep his feet and hands from freezing, and to help prevent him from suc-
cumbing to hypothermia. This winter, a female snowboarder descended out of
bounds into the Granite Chief Wilderness. She perished from exposure while trying
to hike her way out of the wilderness, not realizing that in the direction she chose, it
is about a fifty-mile snow-covered backcountry trek to reach the nearest all-season
road. If you have no companion to help you check for frostbite and/or hypothermia,
you must be vigilant and do this for yourself. Frostbite on the skin shows up as a
bright white patch of skin, usually surrounded by pinkish colored flesh. It is caused
by freezing of the flesh, and actual frost crystals start forming on the skin's surface.
See below for more details on both frostbite and hypothermia.
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