Now the question is what food?

Pass the Pemmican ball. At 8,000 calories per pound, it'll keep you warm for a while.

Jerry:

Points very well taken. I think you've got a good balance there. Staying found can keep you from needing the extra food in the first place. Signaling can get you rescued so you again don't need the extra food. And, yes, food alone in a cold, exposed environment ain't gonna cut it: You have to have shelter.

Very interesting about the Inuit; I've heard that before that in cold wx you should sit, huddled up into a ball. I hadn't heard that you should sit on your mittens, but it makes sense.

Knowing really basic primitive survival skills saved my life once. My dad and I got caught out for two nights when we went for a winter day hike. The lows were in the 30's to 20's with ice in spots on the ground. It started raining. Hard. We got soaked to the skin. Dad had read some of John Muir's books. In bad wx, Muir used to dance all night to keep from getting hypothermia. Dad and I did jumping jacks -- all night. The moment we stopped, we started shivering. Jumping jacks (or dancing) are pretty low tech, but here I am still in the land of the living. We can sometimes make the mistake of being too gear focused and miss the obvious!