I read this article some time ago, but thought it was worth sharing. The author does a great job of illustrating not only the mechanics of hypothermia, but the mindset that gets people in trouble in the first place.

http://outside.away.com/outside/magazine/0197/9701fefreez.html

"When your Jeep spins lazily off the mountain road and slams backward into a snowbank, you don't worry immediately about the cold. Your first thought is that you've just dented your bumper. Your second is that you've failed to bring a shovel. Your third is that you'll be late for dinner. Friends are expecting you at their cabin around eight for a moonlight ski, a late dinner, a sauna. Nothing can keep you from that."