Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Page 2 of 4 < 1 2 3 4 >
Topic Options
#121931 - 01/30/08 01:09 AM Re: Another unprepared (and lucky) snowboarder [Re: ki7he]
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
"...did I miss something that indicated he was doing something wrong?"

My comments were aimed at a young man who apparently just set off blithely into the wilderness with absolutely no thought that anything bad could happen to him. La-la-la-la-la-la...

They didn't say that he was out of bounds, but that was the impression that I received, when he discovered that there was no one else around, no trails, etc, and he fell 20-30 feet off an embankment. Do they usually have cliffs in snowboarding areas?

He said he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. He certainly didn't seem to know the country at all, either where he was or where he was going.

What happened to his friends? Did they go for help when they couldn't find him? Did they just take off?

So he decides to follow a ravine, with snow up to 4.5 feet deep? Getting wetter and colder all the while?

He said he felt like he was in a big maze. So stop moving, stupid!

No mention of attempting to make a fire, or even of having firemaking materials/equipment with him.

He didn't seem to have any knowledge of how to make or find a shelter. If he hadn't stumbled across an old plane fuselage, what would he have done? Would he have been dead by the time they found him?

He's going to Mammoth in February. Let's see if he makes the news then.

Cynical Sue




Top
#122372 - 02/02/08 04:59 PM Re: Another unprepared (and lucky) snowboarder [Re: ki7he]
Brangdon Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/12/04
Posts: 1204
Loc: Nottingham, UK
Originally Posted By: ki7he
I'd be curious to hear what other people carry while skiing/snowboarding to mitigate an accident like this? I just can't imagine skiing with a full survival pack on. Do others worry about this situation while skiing at a resort?
I carry my basic outdoor gear in pockets and a waist-pack, which includes a whistle, compass, small multi-tool, fire-making, torches, cordage, bar of chocolate, barometer (in watch), large plastic bag, wallet, small first-aid kit, smart-phone. There would also be a piste-map, and in recent years a GPS with local maps (if in Europe).
_________________________
Quality is addictive.

Top
#208737 - 09/30/10 03:25 PM Re: Another unprepared (and lucky) snowboarder [Re: Susan]
joshdi27 Offline
Stranger

Registered: 09/25/10
Posts: 1
They should have cliffs in snowboarding areas. This could help people from involving into an accident. This is a one of the first thing for preparation.
_________________________
seo services

Top
#208741 - 09/30/10 03:49 PM Re: Another unprepared (and lucky) snowboarder [Re: joshdi27]
Phaedrus Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/28/10
Posts: 3148
Loc: Big Sky Country
There's one more argument in favor of a good firesteel over a lighter. Sure, I'd prefer to carry both but if I took a big spill and landed on my gear, the lighter might be smashed but the 'steel won't be.

It's easy to bust on the kid but most people are in "condition white" while at resorts and the like. Hopefully he learned something, and hopefully we learn from his mistakes.
_________________________
“I'd rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” —Richard Feynman

Top
#208747 - 09/30/10 04:32 PM Re: Another unprepared (and lucky) snowboarder [Re: Phaedrus]
dougwalkabout Online   confused
Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3219
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Originally Posted By: Phaedrus
There's one more argument in favor of a good firesteel over a lighter. Sure, I'd prefer to carry both but if I took a big spill and landed on my gear, the lighter might be smashed but the 'steel won't be.


Maybe so. But a fall that would smash a Bic could also jam that steel deep into human flesh. Worth considering.

Top
#208749 - 09/30/10 04:48 PM Re: Another unprepared (and lucky) snowboarder [Re: Susan]
ireckon Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 04/01/10
Posts: 1629
Loc: Northern California
I'm an avid snowboard. Based on the article, he didn't do anything unusual. Even if he took precautions beforehand, what happened to him could happen to anybody who's out there doing diamond or powder runs. Snowboarding and skiing are not 100% safe, not even close, and therein lies the adrenaline rush. If you don't want to take that risk, then stay on the green runs or stay in the lodge where it's safe.

I will criticize his snowboard buddies. Even if they couldn't get to him themselves, they should have known his general location so that a rescue team could get to him within a half hour or so. Sixteen hours rescue time is ridiculous. I want to know who his companions were, so that I don't make the mistake of making them my buddies.

Yes, take your survival gear with you, but good buddies are the most valuable survival "tools" to have out there...by far, no comparison, been there, done that, have the T-shirt.
_________________________
If you're reading this, it's too late.

Top
#208751 - 09/30/10 05:19 PM Re: Another unprepared (and lucky) snowboarder [Re: joshdi27]
MostlyHarmless Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 06/03/09
Posts: 982
Loc: Norway
Originally Posted By: joshdi27
They should have cliffs in snowboarding areas. This could help people from involving into an accident. This is a one of the first thing for preparation.


Hi, welcome to the forum smile

Please explain the "cliff" thing in a little more detail for an experienced skier that also is a really lousy (inexperienced) snowboarder. (Did it once for my bachelor party, with a hangover and a superman cape that left red marks all over the slope ... the trouble with snow boarding is that whenever there is a chance of doing it I think to myself: "Maybe next time- NOW I'd much rather want to do telemark". I guess I'll learn snowboarding when my kids starts doing it).


Edited by MostlyHarmless (09/30/10 05:21 PM)

Top
#208753 - 09/30/10 05:41 PM Re: Another unprepared (and lucky) snowboarder [Re: dougwalkabout]
Phaedrus Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/28/10
Posts: 3148
Loc: Big Sky Country
Originally Posted By: dougwalkabout
Originally Posted By: Phaedrus
There's one more argument in favor of a good firesteel over a lighter. Sure, I'd prefer to carry both but if I took a big spill and landed on my gear, the lighter might be smashed but the 'steel won't be.


Maybe so. But a fall that would smash a Bic could also jam that steel deep into human flesh. Worth considering.


I'll take that chance. The larger the steel the more unlikely that you'd be capable of carrying it perpendicular to your body. When you fall you'll land on the length of it. Maybe you could come up with some weird scenario where the steel would end up the other way but I have a hard time seeing how. Especially if you carried it like it was a pen (eg clipped to a shirt pocket, back pocket like a wallet, etc).

Sometimes a disposable lighter can be broken by just by sitting on it.
_________________________
“I'd rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” —Richard Feynman

Top
#208754 - 09/30/10 05:51 PM Re: Another unprepared (and lucky) snowboarder [Re: Phaedrus]
ireckon Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 04/01/10
Posts: 1629
Loc: Northern California
Originally Posted By: Phaedrus
Originally Posted By: dougwalkabout
Originally Posted By: Phaedrus
There's one more argument in favor of a good firesteel over a lighter. Sure, I'd prefer to carry both but if I took a big spill and landed on my gear, the lighter might be smashed but the 'steel won't be.


Maybe so. But a fall that would smash a Bic could also jam that steel deep into human flesh. Worth considering.


I'll take that chance. The larger the steel the more unlikely that you'd be capable of carrying it perpendicular to your body. When you fall you'll land on the length of it. Maybe you could come up with some weird scenario where the steel would end up the other way but I have a hard time seeing how. Especially if you carried it like it was a pen (eg clipped to a shirt pocket, back pocket like a wallet, etc).

Sometimes a disposable lighter can be broken by just by sitting on it.


I'll add that there are various ways of carrying Firesteel so that stabbing yourself would be practically impossible. An Altoids can would be one method, and you could carry tinder in there as well. Also, the inexpensive (but effective) Coghlan magnesium/flint bars would make stabbing highly unlikely.

If you have to start a fire out there snowboarding, then you probably went through a gnarly crash, off trail, in powder, to get to where you are. My most trusted fire starter is flint (e.g., Firesteel) with magnesium tinder. I believe this method is the most rugged and reliable. My next most trusted is a Peanut Lighter: http://countycomm.com/sslight.htm.

I would not trust a Bic lighter in the situation at issue. Again, the situation here is an unusual, gnarly crash off course.
_________________________
If you're reading this, it's too late.

Top
#208762 - 09/30/10 08:51 PM Re: Another unprepared (and lucky) snowboarder [Re: ireckon]
Teslinhiker Offline
Veteran

Registered: 12/14/09
Posts: 1418
Loc: Nothern Ontario
Thought this topic sounded vaguely familiar...the original post and news article is from 2008 and I recall that this was discussed on a couple of other forums I visit once in awhile...still good topic though.
_________________________
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.

John Lubbock

Top
Page 2 of 4 < 1 2 3 4 >



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, chaosmagnet, cliff 
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online
1 registered (SRMC), 332 Guests and 70 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall, Yadav, BenFoakes
5367 Registered Users
Newest Posts
What did you do today to prepare?
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:21 PM
Zippo Butane Inserts
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:11 PM
Question about a "Backyard Mutitool"
by Ren
03/17/24 01:00 AM
Problem in my WhatsApp configuration
by Chisel
03/09/24 01:55 PM
New Madrid Seismic Zone
by Jeanette_Isabelle
03/04/24 02:44 PM
EDC Reduction
by EchoingLaugh
03/02/24 04:12 PM
Using a Compass Without a Map
by KenK
02/28/24 12:22 AM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.