Children refuse to be victims of winter's wrath

Interesting story. Although this family was not properly prepared before venturing out, the 14 year old boy deserves credit for staying calm and using his wits to keep him and his sister alive.


NATHAN VANDERKLIPPE
Globe and Mail Update
February 2, 2009 at 3:53 AM EST
As their father lay unresponsive and without a pulse on the frozen waters of Lake Winnipeg, two children raced through a furious blizzard to find help.

Pounded by winds of more than 80 kilometres an hour, the 14-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl had nothing but a thin blanket, a compass, a flashlight, a cellphone and each other as they attempted to survive one of the fiercest storms in Manitoba's history.

Full news article here.

The ice of a big lake is a particularly hostile place when the wind whips up. There's no place to hide and no resources to help yourself.

It must have been a gut-wrenching choice to leave their father, but that probably saved the kids' lives.

Doug I wuz about to say the same thing, If I'm out alone with my kids and they have the choice to leave (if I'm dead) then so be it.
I teach them to use the cell phone and my son just got his merit badge for orienteering, so I (hope) they would be in great shape.


Mike

And we debated in another recent thread on 4lbs of shelter.

Well, most people who go sledding are pretty warmly dressed. We're not talking T-shirts and sneakers here.

A blizzard on Lake Winnipeg would take a lot more than 4 lbs. of gear to stay in place and stay warm. But I agree extra warm gear would have been of great value, especially once they got off the lake.

One of the seductive dangers of sledding or ATV trips is that a four hour drive in can equal a two day walk out.

Glad it turned out well. I wonder what the running tally is now for lives saved primarily by cell phone since they were invented? Must be tens of thousands at least. Almost makes up for the damn things ringing in church

14-yo is a fine age for chance of survival, as is 11 and on down to 8 or 9, girls as well as boys, PROVIDED someone has told them what to do. IMHO, this is one of the primary duties of a father - kids expect Dad to talk about stuff like that, they like it, they trust it and they remember it. You can't do it all at once, and it wouldn't stick so good that way anyway, but just take them outdoors for fun and along the way, whenever a survival principle point occurs to you, make a one-sentence comment about what to do if something were to go wrong at that point. I'd be willing to bet the deceased father had done this, and that those comments were what the boy was thinking about as he decided what to do at each stage.

As far as girls go, to the extent they are any less capable of survival, I'd say it's entirely Dad's fault for not telling them how. I think they appreciate (and benefit from) such comments just as much as young boys do, even if their responses may not be as encouraging. So, Dads, talk to your girls too.

In the spirit of constructive criticism, I see two points here that could have been emphasized more in prepatory comments. First, the 911 call should have been made sooner ("Don't be afraid to call 911 - that's what they're there for. Just make sure you have a true, bona fide live threatening situation, then call them as soon as possible after that."). Second, the boy should have immediately constructed some kind of shelter in the woods they retired too, in case it had taken many more hours to find them. He might have done this, it doesn't say, but I'm guesing he didn't because reported getting cold. ("If you're ever lost in cold weather, the most important thing is staying warm, and a shelter of some kind is the best way to do that.")

I haven't seen any information as to whether they tried to call 911 earlier.

It's a massive lake, something like 9000 square miles. It's possible there were dead spots in terms of cell coverage.

The decision to leave their dad's corpse on the ice was likely a tough one too.

Touche

all i can say is that story put a lump in my throat.

If you are unsure you have an emergency, you probably have one, call 911. They will ask the questions to determine how bad of an emergency you have. If you are a child (under 18, realistically, under 21 ), NO ONE will criticize your decision to call 911 to get other adults to you to help you out. If you are alone this is especially true. You need an adult now. Call.

On another of the news websites, it was reported that the boy did try calling 911 earlier but there was no cell reception.