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Teaching Presentation Winter Survival Techniques Jason Kim Feb2005
Teaching Presentation Winter Survival Techniques Jason Kim Feb2005
Emergency Snowshoes
(to get to safety without exhaustion in knee deep snows)
Tie one branch to each foot at the front end of the branch. Thread the string through something on the front of your boot. Leave enough room for swivel during walk.
Converting snow to water takes incredible energy. Melt snow over a fire but, add small amount at a time on a seed water to convert snow to slush to water. Collect solar-heated water by making a depressed basin on snow and covering it with black trash bag. Obtain by digging a hole in frozen lakes or streams where there is running water beneath the ice. Purify stream water by boiling, but snow melted water should be safer. DO NOT use water filter or iodine when water temperature is below 60 degree F.
Keeps the firewood from melting into snow. Make metal mesh with steel wire (~10 ft). Stack the fire wood with starter, tinder, and fuel.
Boil water for 3~5 minutes plus additional one minutes per every 1000 feet of elevation.
(ex: at 5000 ft elevation, boil for about 8~10 minutes.)
Igloo - can be constructed if there is enough snow with proper consistency to pack into hard blocks Snow Pit - can be created by digging a trench in the snow down to ground level (if possible). Snow Cave - can be dug into a snow hillside. Snow Mound Shelter (Quinzee) if not enough snow or not enough consistency Winter Tents when prepared with snow tents.
Keep Dry:
Keep Warm: The thicker the walls of your shelter are, the more insulation you'll have.
While waiting for the snow to harden, remain active in order to stay warm, prepare a meal, collect some boughs, get a fire going. Don't just sit around!
Keep Exit Open: You want to block the entrance of your shelter after you enter in order to
keep the shelter warm but don't seal the doorway, leave some cracks and spaces to allow air to circulate. Bring your digging tool inside the shelter with you in case you have to dig your way out in the morning.
Keep Light: If you leave the shelter at night, be sure to leave a light on to guide you back.
Don't light up a gas stove, trioxide or any other chemicals. This can give you a lethal dose of carbon monoxide even with ventilation holes. Candles are the maximum I would use.
Keep Boots: If it's freezing cold, wrap your boots and water bottle in a plastic bag and take
them into your sleeping bag (if you have one). Brush off all particles of snow stuck to your clothes before entering the shelter or they will melt and get you wet.
Brush-off Snows:
Igloo
(for longer term stay with sufficient hard-packed snow)
Location hard packed snow bank on the leeward side of a steep ridge or river bank. Snow drift should be at least 9 ft deep. Avoid newly fallen, powdery, or loose snow. Probe it with sticks.
Emergency Signaling
(Most air searches are done from 200 to 500 feet.)
Needs to be visible from 200~500 feet. Signal in sets of three (calls or signs) to indicate emergency help request. Post flags and make markings to get rescuers attention and lead them to your shelter entrance. (It will be difficult to hear and watch for the rescuers when you are inside your shelter)
The flags are held, arms extended, in various positions representing each of the letters of the alphabet. The pattern resembles a clock face divided into eight positions: up, down, out, high, low, for each of the left and right hands (LH and RH) six letters require the hand to be brought across the body so that both flags are on the same side.
first circle: A, B, C, D, E, F, G; second circle: H, I, K, L, M, N (omitting J); third circle: O, P, Q, R, S; fourth circle: T, U, Y and 'annul'; fifth circle: 'numeric', J (or 'alphabetic'), V; sixth circle: W, X; seventh circle: Z