"The cold hard facts of freezing to death"

Not sure if this has been on the site before but it is a good read.

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

Good article!

It included the one single word that makes me cringe when I hear it in a survival situation: SHORTCUT.

Thanks!

Sue

Wow, going to have to read that another time when I have more time!

Maybe someone can summarize for me

Interesting read.

I've had MILD hypothermia once (aka a core of around 95 as the article points out), and I know how disoriented I was.

The WEIRD part? It was the week before Memorial Day in the Catskills in NY, in fact, it was on Slide Mountain

Mid May? Hypothermia? YEP, believe it. When we left NYC that morning it was in the 50s, and I said "Ah, what the heck, this heavy long sleave shirt and undershirt will be fine". By the time we got to the base of Slide, it must have been in the low 40s, and it was misting. By the time we got to 3500ft, we were in a snow flurry, but we pushed on. That's when it hit me - bad

Luckly, my buddies SAW what was going on, they grabbed a spare jacket (that didn't fit me), and wrapped it around me, they broke out the stove (and old Seva), and made me a big cup of Hot Coco, and got me to eat. By the time that was done, the front that had come through with the snow had passed, it was BACK into the upper 50s or 60s!

We finished the hike, but my buddies got to see what hypothermia looks like, and I got to experience it. I couldn't think, I could not really talk, I could not stop shaking. Heck, I had a pack with water and a stove too (2 stoves, lots of food water etc between us, but I only had that 2 layers of shirt (the outer a shirt-jack). Who would expect it the week before Memorial Day in the Catskills (Not normally a cold time)

Wow. Just . . . wow.

I had mild hypothermia hiking in July in the mountains of VT a few years back. It was cool, and raining. I started warm enough. The plan was to meet up for lunch (my hiking partner is an easy foot taller than me), then continue on to the shelter for the night. the place where we were going to have lunch was a nice shelter, about 4 miles from where we were-a nice overlook of the towns. Then, after lunch, continue down into the valley, up another mountain, where there was another shelter 3 short miles away from our lunch spot.
Well, it started off rainy-I decided to just hike in shirt & shorts, as putting raingear on I would get wet anyway. I got chilled real fast. I remember sitting down, being cold, and not really thinking that putting something on would be a good idea. I then got up & started hiking BACK the way I came. I ran into hikers I had seen earlier, and they turned me around. I convinced them that I was OK, they went on ahead. This whole time it was STILL drizzling, and about 40. I got to the point that the only thing going through my head was what I wanted to do; get to the shelter, strip, start stove, huddle in sleeping bag, drink soup. This became my mantra. I could no longer feel my hands, and, deep down, I knew I may be in trouble.
I FINALLY got to the shelter-and didnt have any fine motor skills to start my stove. I huddled, in a corner, out of the wind, under my sleeping bag. My partner, who started later than I did by an hour, fortunately came withing 20 minutes or so, got my stove started, and I got warm. That was the scariest moment I ever had-I didnt really have control of the situation at that point, and, although I was on a well marked trail, in a shelter, and potentially people would be by before I got too much worse-I didnt have the wherewithall to make competent decisions.

Executive Summary:

You really, really want to stay warm

An alternate executive summary: "You sweat, you die."
(Quote courtesy Mr. L. Stroud, Esq.)

A few general thoughts:

The first problem in a situation like this is changing gears, mentally. You have now left one planet, rather suddenly, and arrived on another. The rules are radically different, and so is the definition of success. Understand and accept that the game has changed, radically; and adjust your actions and expectations to match. It takes practice and experience to switch gears like that. Momentum is tricky, it can put you on the wrong track.

I have found, on some of these situations, I try to think about what an experienced person that I know and trust would do. Talk it out; sometimes out loud; if it seems weird, who cares?. It is a conversation, kind of, and believe it or not it works. What would someone you respect, someone smarter than you, do? Where would their first priorities be?

The other consideration is acclimatization: this is huge. In my part of the world, we go from +35C to -45C annually. Given a chance, even a few days, the body adapts and adjusts remarkably. To go from one extreme to the other is potentially deadly. It is not about willpower; we are talking about physiological changes that are, I believe, measurable.

Last thought:
I have often heard that a first test for the risk of hypothermia is that you can't touch your thumb to your palm. I have been "fat fingered" many a time, and I think this has merit. It's a first indication that your core is shutting down heat/circulation to your extremities. It is a simple test, and a call to action. Opinions?

I've only had one encounter with hypothermia - last spring. I wanted to get an early start to the kayaking season, so I headed to the put-in on the first 50 degree day in April. The forecast was for sun most of the day, so I took my wetsuit and drytop, but no additional layers. I swam out of my boat after flipping in the first class III rapid. My paddling partners corralled my boat, and I swam to shore with my paddle. The air may have been 50 degrees, but the snowmelt-fed river was still well under 40. I was able to get back into my boat, but was shivering pretty badly. Half an hour later, I flipped and swam in another rapid. At this point, I could barely get the skirt back onto my boat.

I could barely hold on to my paddle, and I could tell I wasn't responding anywhere near as fast as usual. Luckily, my paddling partners convinced me to get off the river. I stopped at the next possible takeout, hiked up to the road, and hitchhiked back to the put-in and my car. My partners made sure I got a ride, and then completed the run.

In hindsight, I was stupid to expect sunny weather, no matter what the forecast said - it rained all day. I was also very underdressed for the conditions. I did choose good paddling partners, who were willing to chase lost gear down for me and convince me to get off the river instead of encouraging me to "tough it out."

Todd: Read it, there isn't any summary.

Sue

I have been at least mildly hypothermic on several occasions, and what impresses me is how insidious and subtle the onset of the condition is. You really need to be on guard and take action before you have traveled too far down the slippery slope.

I have seen still air temps of -40 degree F several times, and on one memorable occasion, I was exposed to -80 degree windchill conditions. But I knew those were severe conditions (Duh!) and I was properly dressed and outfitted (There is no bad weather, there is only bad clothing, says my brother in Minnesota). In some ways, the coldest I have ever been has been in the course of multiple SCUBA dives in 50 degree water; one hypothermic occasion was during a long, hard day in a deep cave in Oaxaca. Again temperatures were in the 50s, with some light rain. My wife knew I was hypothermic because I was refusing food, insisting on waiting for the main course.

I know that if I start to shiver, or even feel that shivering is a good idea, it is time to stop and take measures and rewarm. This is just one reason I like my nice cup of tea, although often you need to do more than that.

You really, really want to stay warm. Avoiding sweat soaked garments is critical. And get out of the wind.