#205831 - 08/10/10 01:53 PM
Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
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Enthusiast
Registered: 09/13/07
Posts: 378
Loc: SE PA
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On MSNBC.COM a story on a pilot and 4 passengers stranded on an Alaskan glacier since Sunday. A relief crew managed to reach them with supplies but they are waiting on the weather to clear to get them out. The plane was equipped with a locator beacon which alerted the authorities. A hard landing made the plane unflyable. According to the article the passengers did not have warm clothing or survival supplies. Doesn't say what the pilot had in the plane. I took interest in this story since I'm headed up to SE Alaska tomorrow to vist DD2. I'm taking my PLB, Ham HT, marine VHF, and my GPS plus all the usaual EDC stuff. Not taking any chances...
_________________________
In a crisis one does not rise to one's level of expectations but rather falls to one's level of training.
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#205834 - 08/10/10 02:08 PM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: BorkBorkBork]
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Enthusiast
Registered: 09/13/07
Posts: 378
Loc: SE PA
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DD2 has access to one, but I'm planning on spending most of my time in line-of-sight range with civilization. The PLB will handle any out of range emergencies. Mostly it's a question of staying dry, the area has had one day of sun in the last 65 days.
It will be almost 40 degrees cooler there than the east coast of the US where I live.
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#205846 - 08/10/10 07:12 PM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: Andy]
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Enthusiast
Registered: 05/17/04
Posts: 215
Loc: N.Cal.
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If you are flying in using a charter service the first thing I would do is check what equipment the plane is required to carry by law in Alaska. When we used one I still carried my normal (as passenger) survival gear along with seasonal clothes, ie. if I was on the ground hiking. Fire starting equ. Compass Folding knife with a saw blade. A few band-aids. Water bottle.
Doug's AMK Kit with a folding knife/saw, AMK bivi bag, a few contractor trash bags, and water bottle with a metal cup would cover the bases nicely. I did not worry about the comm gear as there was no chance of deviating from our planned course and we had a time line. You have a handie talkie so the comm is covered.
IMO unless you are planning a drop camp, if it can't fit in a std. shoulder Man Bag then you are packing to much, you need it small enough to "keep with you on your body"
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#205850 - 08/10/10 08:30 PM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: frediver]
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"Be Prepared"
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 06/26/04
Posts: 2210
Loc: NE Wisconsin
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I think the PLB would do better than a satellite phone. Aren't Alaska planes required to carry axes? It seems that I read that somewhere. I like Peter Kummerfeldt's motto, which is something like "prepare to survive - not just to arrive". If you look through his site: http://www.outdoorsafe.com/index.htm... you'll see that he tends toward simple small kits that can be carried all the time that focus on surviving a few nights outdoors until help arrives. Its not all about the gear, its as much about making sure that the help DOES arrive. Bring the PLB. Let a trusted friend know your travel plan. Set up a communication plan so they know if something went wrong as soon as possible. Have sufficient gear to survive long enough to be rescued. Have gear to make yourself visible - to be rescued.
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#205851 - 08/10/10 08:37 PM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: KenK]
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"Be Prepared"
Pooh-Bah
Registered: 06/26/04
Posts: 2210
Loc: NE Wisconsin
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BTW, is there really much value in a compass if you have a PLB and help will come to you? It seems Alaska is so big and rugged that traveling on foot to rescue yourself would seem almost impossible.
If self-rescue is a possibility, then I'd suggest carrying a map of the area, a GPS (and know how to use it with your map!!), and a compass.
I would also think some form of minimal shelter would be vital - even some large bright plastic bags.
Would a metal cup to dig and melt snow be useful too? Of course, there probably isn't much of a fuel source on a glacier, but then again, Alaska isn't all glaciers.
Maybe also a bandanna to sop up water, swat flies, and act as a sunshield?
Edited by KenK (08/10/10 08:37 PM)
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#205853 - 08/10/10 09:40 PM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: KenK]
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Enthusiast
Registered: 09/13/07
Posts: 378
Loc: SE PA
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Thanks, all good thoughts. We'll be flying on Alaska Air, though we might take a sigthseeing trip on a float plane. DD2's friend runs a research vessel for ADFG (Alaska fish and game) so we might try to hook a ride around Prince William Sound. Weather is high of 55 degrees,low 50, rain every day.
I carry all the things you mention in my Maxpedition Gearslinger on the plane, under the seat in front of me. I'm going to try using a multipocket vest on this trip and will transfer gear to that once we get there.
I printed topo maps of the area and also loaded them into my Magellan GPS though I don't think we'll be straying too far into the boonies.
For those of you who read the Wall Street Journal in today's edition (10 August), first page, below the fold is a story on a Frenchman's efforts to preserve the spoken language of the native Eyak people. The town mentioned, Cordova, is where we're headed.
Pictures next week. Hopefully no out of focus, off center, close-up picutres of a bear...
_________________________
In a crisis one does not rise to one's level of expectations but rather falls to one's level of training.
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#205860 - 08/10/10 11:26 PM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: KenK]
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Veteran
Registered: 12/14/09
Posts: 1419
Loc: Nothern Ontario
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I think the PLB would do better than a satellite phone.
Aren't Alaska planes required to carry axes? It seems that I read that somewhere.
From Doug Ritter's website: Alaska state law (AS 02.35.110. Emergency Rations and Equipment) was modified a while back to reduce the equipment required to be carried. The current regulations require that no airman may make a flight inside the state with an aircraft unless emergency equipment is carried as follows: Alaskan and Canadian Survival Kit Regulations
_________________________
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.
John Lubbock
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#205863 - 08/11/10 12:28 AM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: Andy]
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Geezer
Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
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Another article said the owner of the plane had just cleaned it out: "Erbey said her husband had recently cleaned out the airplane and not yet put back the emergency kit when the group decided to take it up for a quick trip. The visitors were wearing light jackets but not enough for an extended stay on a glacier, she said." They've had an HH-60 helicopter and a C-130 Hercules circling (for refueling the chopper). It took the four soldiers 21 hours to travel the four miles to the crash. A slightly more expensive version of the usual, "Oh, we aren't taking anything but a bottle of water with us -- we'll only be gone for a couple of hours". Well, if it's 90F in Texas, I guess it's warm enough not to take extra clothing in Alaska. Sue
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#205875 - 08/11/10 11:54 AM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: Susan]
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Addict
Registered: 01/13/09
Posts: 574
Loc: UK
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In one of Ray Mears programs he covers how a people died after their plane came down in the Antartic. I didn't understand how anyone could freeze with gallons of aviation fuel to burn. What was I missing? QJS
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#205876 - 08/11/10 12:57 PM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: KenK]
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Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3837
Loc: USA
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BTW, is there really much value in a compass if you have a PLB and help will come to you? It seems Alaska is so big and rugged that traveling on foot to rescue yourself would seem almost impossible. If you need to leave line of sight of your camp in order to look for resources, a compass might make it a lot easier to get back to camp. Considering how small and light a button compass is, I'd say it's worthwhile.
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#205879 - 08/11/10 02:32 PM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: chaosmagnet]
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Old Hand
Registered: 04/16/03
Posts: 1076
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If you need to leave line of sight of your camp in order to look for resources, a compass might make it a lot easier to get back to camp. That's a very good point. When considering compasses too many people only think about walking all the way out.
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#205881 - 08/11/10 04:02 PM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: quick_joey_small]
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Geezer
Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
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"I didn't understand how anyone could freeze with gallons of aviation fuel to burn. What was I missing?"
If the fuel tank was intact, you have to have something to burn it in, and you have to have some way to ignite it. And if the wind is blowing, without some kind of enclosure, you would lose all benefit of the heat, anyway. Unless you set yourself on fire, which is usually counterproductive.
In this glacier case, the plane was reported as intact but not flyable, so I'm sure they're taking shelter inside the plane, and burning something inside may be an iffy situation.
Sue
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#205941 - 08/12/10 04:32 AM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: Susan]
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Member
Registered: 02/22/08
Posts: 103
Loc: SE Alaska
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#205970 - 08/12/10 02:55 PM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: DannyL]
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Finally, I am a
Member
Registered: 04/08/08
Posts: 119
Loc: Utah
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Another case of "we're only taking a quick trip". Seems like that's when things go wrong and that's when people are least prepared. And people give me a hard time about carrying my backpack EVERYWHERE I go. *SIGH*
_________________________
“Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival.” W. Edwards Deming
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#205982 - 08/12/10 04:50 PM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: Still_Alive]
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Member
Registered: 02/22/08
Posts: 103
Loc: SE Alaska
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Tourists are notorious for not having anything on themselves except for credit cards and maybe a bottle of water.
But I'm still a little shocked the pilot wasn't a "little bit" better prepared. I wish they would pass a rule for the tour groups that state "before boarding you will have on you at least.....(fill in your own list here)".
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#206003 - 08/12/10 07:29 PM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: Blast]
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Member
Registered: 02/22/08
Posts: 103
Loc: SE Alaska
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Blast....please forward your lyrics to the Juneau Empire as a letter to the editor. I'm serious. I'm so ROFLMAO but you are so right about it.
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#206030 - 08/13/10 01:24 AM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: DannyL]
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Geezer
Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
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#206114 - 08/14/10 01:43 AM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: quick_joey_small]
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Enthusiast
Registered: 01/06/08
Posts: 319
Loc: Canada
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What was I missing?
What many people are missing is the skills and ability to work in the cold and in high winds. I have read about a number of people who have either failed to survive or suffered instead of surviving well because they simply did not have either the knowledge or practical experience to survive.
"The time to learn to light a fire is not just after the plane crashes"
_________________________
Bruce Zawalsky Chief Instructor Boreal Wilderness Institute boreal.net
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#206128 - 08/14/10 04:54 AM
Re: Stranded on a glacier in Alaska
[Re: Blast]
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Old Hand
Registered: 02/11/10
Posts: 778
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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"Houston,We've got a Live wire,over in the Spring Area!Blast,That hit's the Nail on the Head!It's really Good to see Your Genius,Back at Work! Brost!
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