I just had a former student send me an excellent article and pictures from a Survival Situation that occurred on the Long Weekend. It was excellent improvisation and she did very well in a tight spot. Also note that she was thinking ahead about how to survive the second night. Take a look at the second picture of her beside the fire and please note the height of the cliff down to Wall Lake.

Article Link

Note to Readers: The article is posted exactly as I received it. I added the titles, quotes, and placed in the pictures and links to give readers some extra information about the area and situation.

Indeed it is good to see education paying off. This is a beautiful example of the great importance of kindling a fire when faced with a night out.

Even better would have been an alcohol or canister stove in the pack. There would have been considerably less drama.

Great job with the training. There is little doubt that she credits it for their survival.

I agree relighting a fire in those conditions who have been hard and keeping it small but going was excellent work. Both for survival and morale which is a factor that should not be forgotten.

Gripping account. Thanks for posting it.

Their resourcefulness, preparedness, calm and strategic thinking are very impressive.

Am going to take another inventory of my fire-making gear.

It's great to hear that kind of story- the one where the training pays off and saves two lives. And it's surprising how quickly a day hike or other brief outing can turn into a survival situation.

Thanks for posting this, it is great to have a personal report on exactly why we carry the gear and skills we do.

Spare socks and an extra set of poly long underwear might have helped a bit too.(top and bottom set)
I am sorry to say that her chattering teeth indicate hypothermia and she likely would not have survived another night.

Events like this almost always inspire discussions of exactly what kind of gear they should have brought along - in addition to what they already had in their packs. Remember, there is always a delicate balance between having a light pack and the proper gear. Proper gear for a night out in the snow is full size tent, sleeping bags and cooking gear - a bit too cumbersome for your average day pack.

They had some bare minimum nescessities and made VERY good use of them. Kudos for that - and for their training and attitude.


That being said, there is always room for improvements, and I am looking forward to read the suggestions of this forum of what those improvements could be.


Myself, I am reminded of exactly why I carry almost 1.5 pounds of bivy bag around: From the PSK sharing center thread I've found more lightweight bivy bags alternatives, but for trips outside the beaten path where I may encounter exactly the kind of conditions that pair suffered I always bring that bivy bag. If need be, there is room for two good friends - I can actually fit my whole family in there. Cramped, but that's just warmer... I have been lumping that thing around for the last 16 years... Old habbits die hard, I guess.

Well said. I've addressed this many times over the years in many venues. If you knew you were going to get into a gunfight at McD's tomorrow, the wise man would just stay home! And if he had to go he'd have a rifle and body armour!

Monday morning quarterbacking aside, you have make a realistic assessment of the risks to decide what to take. The biggest weakness in the human cognitive process has to be dealing with extraordinarily unlikely events that, if they do occur, carry catastrophic consequences. Y2k, 2012, Presidential elections- many people assume that the vanishly small chance that these changes will result in catastrophe warrant going to BATTLE STATIONS. Of course, people very used to dangerous events err on the other side. Who from Kansas, Minnesota or Wisconsin, if visiting the coast, would consider a Hurricane Party to be a good idea? There, repeating a state of high alert with no "true" danger creates a dangerous complacency.




Absolutely true! Just the fact that you're an ETS member probably means you've "wargamed" this scenario repeatedly after reading this post. Man, I'd have carried X,Y, &Z! Well, more gear would have been helpful and maybe they just got lucky. But they wouldn't have had time to get lucky if they hadn't kept their wits and known what to do.

A character in a favorite film of mine said, "Luck will often save a man, if his courage holds." I firmly believe that's true.