It always makes me laugh when people talk about survial training and survival experts and the like. Survival training eh?

How bloody hard is it to use a lighter and matches? or a small camp stove?

How hard would it have been for the guy to take a proper sleeping bag? Warmer clothes?

Would it have been that much bother to take a cell phone?

This dosen't require expensive training it requires common sense.

I didn't watch the show regularly, but didn't Les Stroud have a safety net? A back-up team to get him out of trouble if he got in too deep.

Richard Code went into the bush with apparently inadequate gear and his only back-up was to "call police if he wasn't back by Sunday night". A lot can happen between Thursday AM and Sunday night, that was no back-up at all, it was a prearranged call for the recovery.

I must admit that idea crossed my mind too, but I often have gone solo and only left a return date and expected route in case of emergency.

However I really suspect that it was just the best he was able to manage. There are a few things in the media reports that raise questions in my mind about his life and his mental state.
He was not living what I would call the High Life for one thing.

But again, there is nothing strong enough to make any real judgments from.
If it was a self punched ticket to eternity we will never know and I like to leave speculation over such things alone.

The notion that you put rescuers at risk has been and will be the cause of several heated debates, in this forum and elsewhere. I'll summarize my view on this in a few bullet points:

- No one forces anyone to join a S&R team. They do it because a) rescuing people has its own rewards, b) there is a certain satisfaction in training (preparing) and perfecting your outdoor skills to a level where you actually can go out and be an rescue asset in though conditions.

- The S&R leaders are highly skilled professionals that have a thorough understanding of the conditions and risks. They will not allow rescuers (which are a mix of volunteers and professionals) to take hazardous risks.

- The rescuers have a very robust safety net: Communications, proper wilderness gear and as they are part of the S&R efforts they don't have to wait for some 86 year old land lady to call in the cavalry: The cavalry is already there with them. Granted, there are risks, but nothing in life is risk free. No one has a better understanding of those risks, how to minimize them and what chances NOT to take than rescue personnel and their leaders.

This issue becomes pretty heated pretty quickly, so if you or anyone else wishes to discuss this further I suggest doing so in a separate thread.




Very elegantly put - can I borrow that quote for similar circumstances?




Very, very hard in deed - if your fingers are frozen. Even mild hypothermia can make this simple task close to impossible.

And it is not just a question of operating lighters and matches - you have to use them to set fire to something. Setting fire to dry wood is (usually) easy. Setting fire to damp, wet and/or frozen wood can be very, very hard in deed.

Not to mention you actually have to collect that wood. 2 feet of snow sort of complicates the task of collecting fire wood.

According to Mors Kochanski ("Bushcraft" book for Canadian boreal forest) you have to burn the equivalent of a quite decent three each day in -40C (-40F). I don't know how much you need for temperatures close to 0C / 32F, it would depend a lot of how well your camp site and camp fire work together, but it is still a lot of fire wood to collect. And in 2 feet of wet snow that is no easy task.

Never underestimate the difficulty of gathering enough fuel and setting fire to it when you REALLY need it.



That could very well be true - but please respect that we only know what the media tells us. In my experience, a lot of the details that are rehashed in the media will be wrong. Don't be to hasty passing out harsh personal judgment and name calling based on media reports.

I don't think it was his intent, I think he intended to return. But the result of such a long delay in a rescue is no rescue at all. His back-up team was possibly days late.

Elegant eh? If you say so. Gets the point I inteded to make I suppose



No offence, I do not know what neck of the wood you are from or what experiences you may have so I am assumeing nothing, but I got 30 years or so living and surviving in the Canadian North. Lighting a fire is not rocket science,It's easy.

A. Don't let your finger get to that point where they are useless. Build a fire before it gets to that point.

B. Keep your lighter inside your jacket, and wear warm mitts. If you dress properly hypothermia shouldn't be an issue.



I am really glad you cleared that one up for me. I was wondering what I was doing wrong all these years. Hold on a sec..... Just in case you are a sensitive type I will make sure I add these from now on.



2 feet of snow? You can't be Canadian. 2 feet is t-shirt weather. Even so, there is usually tons of wood available above the snow line(depending where you are)


Agreed, the good thing in winter is you can make a huge fire without having to wonder if you are going to set the whole area ablaze. Forest fires are not a concern so once a good fire is going you can add lots of big wood which will burn much longer. A good hot fire will then burn even green wood very well. When I start a fire in Alberta when it's minus 50 deg cel I almost have to strip down to my skivies and stand back about 10 feet. Even then You may scorch your eyebrows. Small fires are for summer. In winter, go big or go home.

I am a big Stroud fan, and I agree with you. He is very cautious, and anyone emulating him would have to know that. If nothing else is gleaned from his show, its that survival is difficult at best. The episode where Stroud was in the desert holed up in an old truck, his life seemed to ebb low, and we were worried about him. On the other hand, Grylls show is closer to 'Fear Factor meets Gladiator' than it is to Survivorman. His antics are so outrageous that I can't imagine anyone trying those stunts in the field.

it has been confirmed that the man died of hypothermia

An autopsy has confirmed that Survivorman enthusiast Richard Code died from hypothermia after taking a survival trip to the Huntsville area with little gear and no food.

Sorry if it seems I took your comment the wrong way Russ, but the thought did cross my mind when I heard the story.
Then the thought that he was just incompetent followed.

It was horrible weather to be out in and he should have had quite a bit more gear than anybody mentioned him having.

The area is not so isolated either, he should have been able to find a place to get in out of the weather too.

I have seen people get into trouble before in this area. Usually we get a few in deer season. People who don't dress for the weather or who get lost.
It does not have to be extremely cold to freeze to death, especially in the rain.

It's easy because you've practiced it from childhood - for 30 years, you claim. If you haven't done that it is not so "easy". Lots of small tricks to learn. Practice, observe, improve. Not rocket science, but it takes practice to be good at it. Particular in though conditions.

Same thing with the hypothermia thing: You know in your backbone what to whatch out for. YOU will (most likely) never allow yourself to get so cold that you're unable to operate matches. And you know how to dress in inclement weather. Lots of small tricks and tips that YOU never give second thought because they've been forged into your backbone since childhood. For someone who hasn't been there, done that they will have to invest a lot of time to learn these things. Not rocket science, just lots of practice.

I am actually amased that you take so easy on the task of getting a fire going in a friggin blizzard. But I guess I haven't lit enough fires...