Lessons Learned: Never Want To Be This Cold Again

Stuart Bell was just going to spend an hour snowshoeing in Colorado, but things didn't go as planned. It was a very cold night...Stuart tells his tale and then analyzes what went wrong and what he might have done different. I then also takes a look at the survival experience and offers up some of his own advice.

http://www.equipped.org/032015survive.htm

Thanks to Stuart for sharing his experience that others may benefit from the lessons learned.

PLB's etc are all very well but you still have to survive the night, so:
1) Carry a proper sleeping bag and a mat. They don't weigh a lot and will go a long way towards keeping you warm.
2) Carry proper firelighter's. That means Esbit or simular. Minimum of 4 - 6. I have used sterno and firepastes. Not impressed with them. They don't burn hot enough or long enough.
3) Calories and lots of them. Hot chocolate, Soups, Bars of chocolate, Coffee or tea according to your tastes. Sugar. I also carry instant noodles. Not the worlds greatest food but quick easy and a great moral lifter.
4) Matches. NATO lifeboat prefered. Drop one of them on a firelighter and you will have fire.
5) A shelter. Heatsheets are good for this. Getting out of the weather is priority number one.

As Doug's analysis states, carrying a backup map and compass is good. I have found that it is better to periodically check your location on that map and verify direction with the compass. If you don't know your location on the map, the map may not be very useful when you realize you are lost. If he had used a map from the beginning and sighted the azimuths to prominent landmarks, the GPS problem would have been evident right away.

It would be very easy to carry enough backup clothing without going over a couple of pounds. I always (summer or winter) carry a set of Smartwool long underwear. Even relative temperature changes can cause hypothermia, it does not need to be below freezing. The most miserable night I ever spent was in a tropical environment in the mountains. The low areas were near sea level, but the mountains were over 4,000 feet. It was wet and around 45 degrees F.

In winter I carry a set of Montbel outer garments. They weigh ounces, top and bottom combined, and pack small. I have tested them in sub 20 degree F weather with nothing under them but shorts and t-shirt underneath and they were very warm.

I also carry a waterproof/windproof layer that is very light and packs very small. If I had all three of those layers on, I would sweat to death if it was not below freezing. All of these clothing layers weigh about 2.5 pounds combined, and would fit in a medium lumbar pack.

A Sea to Summit sil-nylon tarp poncho is also in my bag. Light, small and easy to build a shelter with.

I am also a fan of the Blast Match. It can start a fire on paper, leaves and dry grass without tinder. But as Doug said, redundancy in fire starting is not just good, it is necessary. My favorite is the UCO or REI stormproof matches.

Thanks for posting the article on this incident. It's always nice to have a living subject to debrief who knows he screwed up and wants to do things better next time. He seems to have the right mindset. Everything that needs to be said is in the report -- errors in judgment, gear problems, et al. There will be differences of opinion on specific knives to carry and fire-making kits; whether what you carry is good or bad depends on whether or not it works for you.

The big error I saw was the last minute change of plans without letting anyone know the plans changed. He knew enough to call his wife and let her know he was hiking Buchanan Pass, but then didn't tell her he'd changed to Brainard Lake, which was apparently a new place for him. Lack of a cell signal is a reason, not an excuse. At the time it probably seemed like no big deal, but he knew better.

Getting lost -- How often does a survival situation commence with someone getting lost? (That's a rhetorical Q.) GPS/Map/Compass always in unfamiliar locales. The line in the article that troubled me most was: Wow. The GPS had a known (by him) critical bug and he used it anyway. A GPS that will take you in the wrong direction is not a device to rely on when you need it. I have a couple of the older gen Garmin receivers and they've never done that. I still use a Garmin Geko 301 occasionally, good GPS within its limits, simple and all the GPS you need if you also have a map. You've got to know the limits of your gear.

Nice Article Doug, thanks for posting.

1) I think the biggest real error was using the GPS for Navigation, instead of Position finding on a Topographical Map which is does very well. If he had used and carried a Topo Map & been able to use his compass thing would have gone much better for him as he would have noticed at his first Nav Check that he was being led astray by the GPS Navigation Feature.

2) Make a Plan and Follow it or Tell someone you are changing your plan.

3) Always have an Escape Route i.e. a Bearing you can follow on your compass to get out. That means you need to plan and look at your route before you head into the wilderness and understand what bear you need to follow if you get lost.

4) Practice with every bit of gear you carry into the wilderness!

This sound like a real good advice. Use GPS to find yourself on the map and then use compass for navigation.

If I might add to that?
Modern smart phones have a GPS built in and there are plenty of good free apps available. Very useful for obtaining a position and for cross checking your Garmin. Make sure it's in a format that you can easily relate to your map.

Also: ALLWAYS carry a waterproof notebook and two pencils. Everytime you check your position NOTE THE DETAILS. Position, time, bearing.
Two compasses. Its remarkable how many people panic and get lost because they think their compass is wrong. Gaving a spare allows you to compare one to the other.

I am a stark, raving traditionalist, I suppose, but I still prefer to employ a paper map,typically a topo of 1:24000 scale or so, supplemented by a GPS. Navigating by terrain features, i will very rarely pull out my compass, usually in conditions of reduced visibility. The nice thing about maps is that they do not require batteries.

I don't expect my cellphone to work; if it does, that is a questionable bonus. I go to wild places as a change from the urban rat race, not to tweet about the neat experiences I am having.

This tale is very reminiscent of a trip I took many decades ago, also on snowshoes in deep snow, involving an unplanned winter bivouac. The key to my survival was a small gas stove, tucked into my pocket at the last minute, which allowed me to melt snow and brew tea intermittently during a long,cold night. I was surprised at how much energy I had in the morning, although I dozed only fitfully.

Although I routinely carry a stove, multiple means of building a wood fire are always with me, as well as a bivvy sack and at the very least, a shell parka. I will always carry a knife, but I have always been able to gather enough firewood with my bare hands to keep a fire going as long as necessary. If I build anything, it should include a reflector of some sort; otherwise one part of your body is roasting while the other is freezing.

The emphasis on batoning and "processing" timber products always puzzles me. If conditions or the forecast is stormy, a stove and fuel is placed in the pack, absolutely. Once I have started a fire, I have always been able to dry wood and keep it going - at least in western coniferous forests.

The great thing about this account is the after action analysis; this guy will survive, doing much better the next time.

Noted: You are going out alone on a Winter afternoon in the mountains. (10,000ft)

Given this set of circumstances, you should plan to spend the night - Carrying appropriate gear and food.

Imagine how the narrative changes if he had said - Well I was lost so I put on my big parka, sat down on a piece of foam and made dinner on my stove...and waited it out.

With due respect, I am not sure the real problem was carrying insufficient gear. The hiker went out for a short (one hour!) snowshoeing trip, which does not generally require a lot of equipment. But he made a major error in trusting his GPS while neglecting the basic land navigation skills and gut feeling (again, happens to the best of us).

Bruce already made a good analysis of the situation and also proposed a viable solution IMHO. Regardless of your equipment (GPS, compass etc.) it's always a good idea to pay close attention to the terrain features and double check your direction wherever you go.

Had the hiker realized his error in time he should've been able to backtrack to his car. Given that there was heavy snow cover (apparently deep enough to require snowshoes) it should've been possible to follow the tracks all the way back. After all, the distances involved were very short, just a couple of miles.

Granted, extra gear, warm clothing and a small stove would've been nice as additional insurance, but with sound land navigation skills the situation would've been avoided altogether.

The primary error is almost always in judgment and making bad decisions. The victim was very frank about his bad decisions. But people make bad decisions a lot, and sometimes things happen that are out of your control, and you need the basic equipment to keep yourself alive. He stated that he did not want to carry a "40 pound backpack" and most of our posts have been about how much lighter and smaller than that you can get and still provide good protection. Carrying insufficient gear was not the "real problem", but he could improve the gear he carries and be safer and more survivable. That is the intent of these posts.

It is not an either/or proposition. You need to have good training, pay attention and make good decisions. But you also need to be "equipped to survive", especially at such altitudes and in winter.

Sure, much agreed. I just cannot help but wonder sometimes how living the modern civilized lifestyle has made us so much more reliant, even dependent on gear that not long ago simply did not exist or wasn't needed.

I often talked with my grandmother about how things were back in the old days when she was just a kid growing up on a farm. It was a tough life, most males were involved in logging and everyone was expected to do their share of work.

Usually that would mean going up the hills on foot along any convenient trail or track, maybe a couple of hours or so starting very early in the morning, taking nothing more than their tools (axes, billhooks, two-man saws) to travel light. No water - they would find it in the woods because they knew where to look. Even though surface water is not easy to come by over there and springs often run dry in summer.

They would work all morning, then the girls would bring them lunch (on foot again). They would take a little rest and keep working until the evening when it was time to get back. Horses and wagons were brought along only when transporting the logs down into the valley. Most other days they were needed elsewhere around the farm.

It was all a pretty casual everyday thing. But in reality, it meant trekking up some fairly nasty, steep hills through dense woodland where it's very easy to get lost. In addition, it happens to be pretty tough bear country plus lots of snakes. Much of the work was done in the colder months, so a little snow on the ground didn't really bother anyone.

Even the younger boys had to pull their weight. They would often be sent to work on their own. Once when my grandmother's two cousins in their early teens went out to do the daily routine one of them accidentally cut himself on the foot pretty badly with an axe. His brother helped him get back home, which would be considered a serious survival ordeal these days. When dad found about it, he first gave the poor kid a real scolding before proceeding to bandage his foot. Which I guess goes to show how things worked.

Anyway, I suppose it was tough but it went on pretty much day in, day out and nobody seemed to think it was that much of a stress. And most of the time, people survived and did their work just fine without backpacks full of goodies, whistles and PLBs. But then, they felt familiar with the environment and had plenty of skills (maybe even common sense) that are often found lacking today.

I often think about that when I go hiking in those woods. Always bringing a backpack, map & compass, plenty of expensive survival gear, goretex and a sound 'tactical' plan to boot.

No doubt back in the early 20th century folks would find that at least a little funny!

As a father and a Scoutmaster, not to mention retired SF soldier, I have focused a lot on teaching skills and reducing dependency on gear and electronics. While those devices are nice to have, and may save your life, it is best to train on developing those skills you describe. Getting ourselves and the kids away from comforts and conveniences is good for all of us. Learning is a process, and skills must be practiced. Watching a movie or reading a book without practice does not cut it. I love learning primitive skills using old (before electricity or internal combustion engines) technology. And I love being in the woods without distractions.

All of that said, I carry those minimal things that I described earlier, just in case. The pioneers and Native Americans would have carried them if they had such things.

Remember that gear and technology do not replace training, practice and good judgment. You only develop skills and good judgment by getting out there, and probably making some mistakes. Just don't let the mistakes kill you.

"If conditions or the forecast is stormy" I for one go find something better to do.

I would agree heartily, if we are talking only about recreational activities. Sometime, as in SAR, that option may not be available.

Some years ago, three of us were assigned a search task that involved climbing upward in deep snow (we used snowshoes) starting about 10 PM and lasting all night. I had packed a complete liquid fuel stove set with adequate fuel, along with bivvy gear. My pack weight was actually lighter than my typical summer rescue load, since much less water was packed.

One of my companions inquired if I had a stove; I said yes. He still carried his stove, remarking that the redundancy and extra weight made sense in this situation. As it turned out, neither was utilized on this particular operation.

Although this was a demanding assignment,I would argue that we were not exposed to any significant risk (contrary to Doug's assertion in his comments on this event). Experience, which facilitates good judgment and decisions, along with appropriate equipment for the task at hand, makes a huge difference and a happy ending - at least for us. Our victim, whose companions made a whole string of very bad decisions, perished.

Why not have both?

I tried winter/snow hiking and camping, but it wasn't for me. I've dealt with snow and ice and an occasional winter-like storm of short duration in shoulder season at altitude, but I've never been whited out, snowed in, etc.

Would a tiny alcohol burner be worthwhile as a survival aid in an unplanned alpine winter bivouac, or is the heat output too low to be of much real help?

How much fuel, either white gas for, e.g., an MSR stove, or denatured alcohol for a Trangia or cat-can stove, do you estimate would be required to minimally heat a small survival shelter for, say, 12-24 hours?

A small alcohol burner is much better than no heat source, for sure. In the case I was recalling, I carried a Primus 71, fueled with white gas, definitely a miniature blast furnace, and which is much better for the minus zero temps we were facing

It wasn't carried as a space heater - its function was to melt the snow and heat the food and water that would have maintained the ability of our bodies to maintain 98.6 inside our clothing layers and inside our sleeping bags. The interior of the shelter, tent, or whatever, falls to the prevailing ambient temperature.

To answer your question specifically, the amount of fuel necessary to heat the interior of any shelter is more that I am willing or able to carry.

Do not try to heat your shelter with a backpacking stove! Running a small stove to heat the inside a tent, snow cave, or other shelters puts you at great risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. If you are trying to warm up the inside of a shelter, you will presumably have sealed the shelter up against drafts. Also, you will probably be tempted to run the stove for a long time, and perhaps run it while you are sleeping. DO NOT DO THIS!

Just one example of what can happen: Maroon Bells campers' carbon monoxide levels way above lethal

Any stove run for heat inside a shelter must have a chimney to vent fumes outside. Some tents have small wood stoves and chimneys, which are fine. But these are not typically something you would want to backpack.

Good point.

Proper ventilation is absolutely essential when using any sort of flame or stove for emergency warmth, whether it's in a car stuck in a snowbank, an emergency shelter, or any other confined space.I have seen what happens when people fail to do this, and it ain't pretty.

Also, tents are seldom even slightly burn resistant, nor are many modern materials used in outdoor clothing and gear. Stoves sometimes leak, flare up or get knocked over, so I never use a stove in or even near my tent. But, on the other hand, I have used candles and fires to warm different shelters, like lean-to's and debris huts. It's a long-established practice.

It helps to really know what you're doing, and not just think you know what you're doing.

A good reason to carry chemical heat packets. Warm and nicely non firestarting

In a survival situation in cold night I wouldn't even think about sleeping for the first night at all. Rather having a good snack and feeding the fire all night, maybe half-asleep, but conscious.

For the shelter warmth, if it's not sealed 100% I don't see a problem burning a stove, candle or even fire inside.

"For the shelter warmth, if it's not sealed 100% I don't see a problem burning a stove, candle or even fire inside."

Respectfully, I don't agree. There's a myth that CO is sufficiently heavier than air and will vent out of openings in the tent. In fact, carbon monoxide is slightly lighter than air and diffuses evenly throughout the structure. You're seriously at risk of dangerously increasing the CO to O2 ratio, even in what you think is a vented tent. PLEASE reconsider.

I agree, caution is warranted

This is what a book on wood/coal... cookstoves has to say about ventilation

Here is an interesting reference: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4832a1.htm

They mention 878 to 1513 deaths per year due to CO poisoning (all venues, not just camping) and advise adequate clothing and bedding rather than a heater to stay warm in a shelter.

Probably more of a hazard than bears or lions, or even tiggers, but CO poisoning just doesn't grab the headlines....

You can sleep just fine with an open fire as long as you have a reflecting surface of some sort on the side opposite your blaze. Just be sure there is plenty of ventilation.

Sleeping cold isn't a whole lot of fun,but the good news is that you are sure to get an early start in the morning.

I believe, that burning fire inside a modern tent was tabooed simply because most of them are highly flammable, and that was approved by avid campers because in practice tents fail to keep warm air inside for long. Look at any typical tent, it's simply cannot hold any hot air at all because of abundance of mesh patches. CO2 generated by any fire is very hot, so it will be vented out first through those openings. Camping tents protects from rain, snow, wind, and bugs - that's all.

Personally, I prefer the hammock system for anything above freezing. The secret of warmth at night is your sleeping system (pad + sleeping bag). However, if you want to cook inside the tent (rain or wind outside), or just need to stop uncontrollable shivering - fire your stove inside and don't worry about CO2 (in a 4 season tent, just make sure some of the mesh openings are indeed open). Surely, you should never sleep with any burner on (except for a Catalytic one, dedicated for that), and always make sure there is no chance your burner can be tipped while operating - thats all about fire hazard, not CO2 danger. Also, it is wise to keep any fuel canisters outside after the use, they might leak and poison you.

The easy way to warm up your sleeping bag is to boil enough water, pour it into a plastic bottle, wrap it with some cloth, and hug it after you fully zipped inside the bag, leaving only 1-2 inches opening on the nose level (for breathing fresh air and preventing moisture condensation inside the bag). I'm using the crystallizing salts warmer pad for that, rolled into a tight bundle and placed inside a pair of spare running socks. If shivering is starting (usually in the early morning) - I'm simply bending the activator inside, placing the bundle high between thighs (there are two major arteries there) and having 4-5 hours of cozy warmth. At the breakfast time, I'm boiling that bundle in a cup of water right in the socks to reactivate salts for another night.

Alcohol stoves are quite finicky to operate in a cold weather, they need precise preheating. But they are burning cleaner than gas stoves, producing less CO2. That's why all of the fancy indoors decorative fireplaces are operating on alcohol (liquid or paste) without any chimney or venting requirements attached. For the fuel volume - 1 oz goes for about 5 minutes (in best alcohol burners - 10).

Assuming you know what you're doing and all... I use stoves inside tents, and have no plans to stop doing so. Especially in the winter time.

But said stove isn't use to HEAT the tent. It is used for cooking. Now in a small tent it gets pretty nice warm and cozy when you heat water with a 3kilowatt stove. But that isn't the main purpose of the stove, just a nice side effect.

Stoves inside tents isn't what I call easy going. It requires care and consentration. CO poisining is one danger you MUST take seriosly. That, and don't burn yourself, or your equipment.

For sleeping warm and snug you bring a sleeping bag + clothing, both appropriate for the season. And sleeping pad.

If the weather permits, melting snow can be done outside of the tent, you just dig a pit and put the stove there. This also means you can start melting water _*before*_ you pitch your tent. You need lots of water, and melting snow is slow going.

Now the optimum luxury is of course heating a large tent with a wood stove with chimney. But with our stove you need one pulk for the stove and some firewood... most likely you need at least another sack. And the cotton canvas tent is another pulk... so it's not exactly easy going.

Alex, do you mean CO or CO2?

The little buddy type portable propane heater is designed for use inside structure as a direct heat source. Due to the efficient combustion achieved using the ruby impregnated substrate, CO production is kept to safe levels. Additionally, the depletion of O2 is another issue in a closed space, and the little buddy is designed to deal with that as well. Unfortunately, the heater is an ignition source, so care must be exercised in exposing it to flammable materials/atmosphere.

I've used the little buddy in vehicles overnight and had no issues. It would work in a tent provided the venting was not excessive. At a rating of only 8000 btu, it wouldn't take much to overcome the amount of heat it can produce.

And here is a product recall for one model http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2005/CPSC...uddy-Propane-He . A suitably warm sleeping bag is much less complex,and probaby safer in the long run.

The product recall doesn't involve CO production directly - it has to do with a fire hazard.

Passive is usually an inherently safer operation than active in most systems.

Perhaps, but in keeping warm in a cold environment, it is activity that generates the heat that keeps one warm, both in the literal sense of movement of some sort to generate heat, but also thoughtful mental activity to take measures that conserve the heat so generated - eat a meal (best if it is heavy on fats), adequately insulating clothing properly arranged, avoidance of wind, and all that.

I have fond memories of a night on [/s]Mt McKi[s] Denali when I drew the short straw and the task of shoveling snow off our tent in minus 80F windchill. Just dressing for the task generated heat, to say nothing of wielding a shovel in hurricane force winds. And there was the night long ago, where I spent all my waking hours flexing my toes in order to avoid frostbite - lots of activity there.

I would agree wholeheartedly with your proposition when it comes to most bureaucracies and their operation

Yes, my thought was that having adequate insulation in the form of clothing, shelter, and such is simpler and more reliable than using any sort of external heat source. If you can survive an environment just using what you can generate on your own, you should be better off, ergo safer perhaps.

My meaning for passive in this context being to reduce the need to apply any external active energy generation. Sorry for the confusion.

Good insulation is not the only measure to keep your body warm. You must avoid getting wet from elements and from your own perspiration as well. For example, it is better to sleep in your bag naked, than in even slightly wet clothes. The common sense is telling you that the less holes your shelter insulation have - the warmer it is inside, however, the condensation of water vaporizing from your clothes and your breath may ruin your insulation severely when it starts dripping from your bag/bevvy/tent internal walls in the middle of the cold night. Always leave a small regulated opening to prevent that. The heat loss will be minimal. That stands for your warm clothes as well, Make sure you can vent them (if you cannot just take off a layer), and do it periodically, to avoid sweating while working in cold weather. Dry your clothes/boots outside the shelter (or make a separate one for them if it's wet outside).

The mental part is also important. Human body is okay in a surprisingly wide range of temperatures. So, when it feels "freezing cold" - you are not necessarily on the edge of hypothermia, and in reverse: on the edge of hypothermia people tend to feel warm and cozy. So, a thermometer is mandatory in cold weather to make realistic decisions.

By the way, MIT folks have invented an interesting and simple technique to regulate the perceived cold/warmth using a peltier element affixed to the subject's wrist (like a watch). The element is regulated by the computer program, which produces short pulses of small heat waves (like applying 0.1C every second for a second), making you feel several degrees warmer overall. They have no idea why is that working, but I have. That's simply an acupuncture massage of some sensitive spots on the wrist, which has a warming effect (Speculating: most notably there is a major point, activating lymph nodes, right in the middle; perhaps, activating the lymphatic system we are burning more fuel as well as initiating transfer of that additional heat through the lymphatic network?). I have tried it with typical acupuncture techniques, and it seems to work. So if you feel cold, but the air temp seems Ok, and you are not wet - try massaging your wrists on the inside periodically with warm fingers or the palm of your other hand.

Yes, avoiding perspiration is key. Traditional Inuit clothing is fashioned with a focus on that objective. Far more modern systems aren't really all that much better.