Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
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When in doubt, backtrack.
Surprisingly few folks who get lost in the wilderness try
to backtrack. Downhill skiers and snowboarders who travel out of bounds inherently
dislike the idea of hiking back up the mountain the same way they came down, but
this course of action would have saved many a life. However, when snows are in-
credibly deep, like they can be in the high mountains, backtracking may not be a vi-
able option.
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Seek shelter:
Tree wells and snow caves can provide shelter from storms and ex-
treme cold. Snow is an excellent insulator, but try to keep yourself from getting wet
both while building your snow shelter and when staying inside the shelter. See illus-
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Build a fire.
Your chances of starting a fire in extreme weather, using primitive meth-
ods, like a fire drill, or flint and steel, are pretty slim, but if you happen to have
matches or a cigarette lighter on hand, by all means build a fire! Look for standing
dead wood, or branches sheltered underneath fallen logs that may be drier than the
rest of the available wood. For kindling, look for branches on trees that have a bunch
of dead brown pine needles. The dead pine needles on these branches will usually
burn even if they are fairly wet. Make sure you knock the snow off any overhead
branches before you start your fire, so they won't dump snow on your fire as it heats
up. You can build a fire directly on top of the snow. Just lay down a bunch of braches
to keep your drier wood separated from direct contact with the snow. See
chapter 7
for more details on building a fire from scratch.
Warning Signs and Treatment for Hypothermia
Hypothermia, and its evil twin, hyperthermia, are both very dangerous, life-threatening condi-
tions. The human body is designed to function in a relatively narrow core body-temperature
range that is within a few degrees of 98.6˚F (37˚C). When the body's core temperature rises a
few degrees above this, hyperthermia (overheating) occurs, and when it drops a few degrees
lower, this condition is described as hypothermia (overcooling). When left uncorrected, either
case can rapidly lead to impaired mental and physical performance followed by death. When
people die in the wilderness due to either overheating (hyperthermia) or overcooling (hypother-
mia), their cause of death is usually referred to as “exposure.”
Recognizing the signs and symptoms of hypothermia is extremely important. Most people
who died of exposure probably had ample time to recognize the situation, and may have been
able to do something about it had they realized what was going on. The following are warning
signs of hypothermia:
