Just got this e-mailed to me from the in-laws in Colorado. They live right where this happened. Two brothers go hiking and only one comes back.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2937457,00.html

PS - When I first moved to Colorado, it snowed on us once (July 3, 1999) during a trip. I was ill-prepared. But luckily it didn't turn out like this.

--Chris

My first reaction, when I read that one of them was a soldier, was "what the hell are they teaching soldiers these days?" But then it occurred to me that after 12 years in the Canadian army, I still didn't know all that much about survival per se, or even camping/hiking, because the military always supplied us with all our gear. When I got interested in backpacking as a civilian, I realised that I didn't have a clue what I should buy.

Sad - they did exactly the wrong thing, lying there and shivering all night. If they'd got up and run in circles all night, they likely would have stood a much better chance of surviving.

Statements like "we didn't really expect a blizzard" (at 11,000 feet on a glacier they didn't think it was possible to get a blizzard?) make it obvious that they really had no idea what they were doing. Sad.

I also Heard the Other Day, -somewhere in the U.S., -a Guy Ran into Trouble and had to be Rescued, -When Trying to Retrieve his Lost Keys from the Bottom of a Lake.

He Attached Weights to his Body, and Had a Garden Hose Setup for Air. He Fortunately had Another Person Nearby.

In this way, He so Descended 30 Feet to the Bottom of the Lake, to Look For his Lost Keys.

At Least he Put some Thought into the Matter, though Still Not the Wisest Decision, as it Turned Out!

He Ran into Trouble Down There! The Other Person Nearby had to at least Begin the Process of Rescueing him.

Other More Professional Rescuers soon came.

The Rescuee says he's More Embarrassed than anything else!

For he's someone who Trains such Rescuers, -including some of the Very Ones who Rescued him!

Kind of a Well Thot Out, -Not Too Brite Thing to have Done!

The Report did Not go on to mention, whether he Successfully Found his Keys or Not. Kinda Doubt it though. One Runs into Trouble like that, -and I Think Keys Move from being a First Thing on your Mind, -to a Last! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Saunterer[/email]

I have always been accused of not trusting people too much, and so far, what I read, and the closing request about information of the brothers makes me want to wait for more details before I agree that it was an "accident" that one survived while walking out and the other died while waiting it out.

Bountyhunter

Somehow I don't think that standing up and running around in a blizzard would have helped them in any possible way. Perhaps during the lulls, but that would produce sweat, and an even surer death, right? Continuing to make progress 'down' might have been more helpful, but it sounds like they waited even after the storm abated, and were probably quite soaked.

O.K. They were ill prepared and paid a horrific price. So, how many of us jumped into the car this week for a quick run for gasoline or a hamburger? Did you have your urban gear on you? Is the car kit up to date? Or, like me, did you forget the cellphone and flashlight, run out of gas and have to walk back in the dark hoping traffic would notice the light coloured shirt I was wearing <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />?

Well, the story's no longer accessible on-line (at least, I can't find it) so I'm going from memory, but:

They were wearing T-shirts, which I bet were 100% cotton, and I'll bet they were wearing blue jeans as well. They'd have been better off stripping naked.

The older brother was active (at first), gathering materials for and building an improvised shelter; the younger brother seems to have sat down and waited. So he had a head start on the hypothermia (or rather, the hypothermia had a head start on him). This activity vs. inactivity may have been the difference between life and death for them. (Another possible factor was that he was lying on the ground, and his brother was lying on top of him. Intentionally or not, it may have been that the younger brother was providing insulation for the elder.)

After building the shelter, it appears the older brother destroyed its value by "pulling the walls down on top of them". I suspect this would have trapped the water and made their situation worse, not better.

The temperature was only 13 F. This equates to -10 C. It's cold, but not that cold; even with the snow, I believe it would be survivable for someone who was physically active.

At 13 F, they would probably have been encountering snow, not wet snow or rain. I suspect the reason they got wet was because they sat still and let the snow melt on their clothing.

Tom Brown describes in one of his books how his "grandfather" once made him and a companion strip down to their underwear and then walk home through the falling snow. Terrified of being frozen to death, they ran all the way. when they got home, they suddenly realised that they were actually very warm. And Larry Dean Olsen once survived a cold night without a fire by running back and forth in the snow until morning.

Finally, when it did become apparent that the younger one was suffering from moderate hypothermia, the only things that could have been done would have been to build a fire, build a better shelter, or get him up and moving around to generate internal body heat.

But of course, if they had known better, they probably would not have gotten into that situation in the first place.

aardwolfe:

I found more information by using the papers search feature and typing 2 brothers or 2 hiking brothers.

Bountyhunter

The human body is an internal combustion engine. We have a finite amount of energy from food and mechanical action. Conversely, there is a classic tale of Inuit hunters seperated from their sleds on a breakaway iceflow. They knew they were helpless and went to sleep. When they woke, the flow had drifted back into the mains sheet. By conserving energy they were able to hike to the sleds. I think no monday morning quarterbacking could change this tragedy much. In a blizzard I'm crawling into my Wiggy bag with my teddy bear and PRAYING.

I ran accross that story on a scubadiving forum. apparantly the guy attached himself to an anchor and rigged up a hose to breathe. He descended once, found his keys, and came up. Then, for some unknown reason, he decided to do it again but lost the hose.

I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Chris.