Re: Hypothermia Survival Stories
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 8:12 pm
Well I've got a bunch of winter snow camping gear and have purposely backpacked into MILD winter storms the worst of which only dropped 11 inches of new snow and was 15F degrees the next morning. I would NEVER choose to backpack into major Sierra winter storms that often dump several feet and last for days.
I've also been a skier 3 decades and often storm ski because that is when fresh powder is best, dry, cold, and loose. Thus that is how I have come to know how dangerous cold plus winds really can be. Ski lifts have a way of occasionally breaking down in storms when winds are strong. Not so much today with modern ski lift technology but decades ago ski lifts were less sophisticated. So a few times have been stuck exposed up on a lift for several minutes multi dozen feet above the snowpack below, with temps below 20F, strong winds howling into every tiny crack in my clothing armor. In such a situation, it very very easy to imagine how quickly our ancestors caught outside in such conditions have died. After two or three minutes a person is really starting to wonder if the lift is ever going to start up again or its going to be one of those scary rescues with several teams with climbing gear pulling up to the lifts and harnessing in each person to the ground. One really wonders if gambling dropping 30 or 40 feet down instead of waiting to be rescued in time is the wiser choice.
When I read of people who plan to gamble backpacking into possible major early winter storms up in ranges like the Sierra, I tend to discourage such notions unless they are experienced mountaineers, prepared with winter gear, who are familiar with what they may be up against.
I've also been a skier 3 decades and often storm ski because that is when fresh powder is best, dry, cold, and loose. Thus that is how I have come to know how dangerous cold plus winds really can be. Ski lifts have a way of occasionally breaking down in storms when winds are strong. Not so much today with modern ski lift technology but decades ago ski lifts were less sophisticated. So a few times have been stuck exposed up on a lift for several minutes multi dozen feet above the snowpack below, with temps below 20F, strong winds howling into every tiny crack in my clothing armor. In such a situation, it very very easy to imagine how quickly our ancestors caught outside in such conditions have died. After two or three minutes a person is really starting to wonder if the lift is ever going to start up again or its going to be one of those scary rescues with several teams with climbing gear pulling up to the lifts and harnessing in each person to the ground. One really wonders if gambling dropping 30 or 40 feet down instead of waiting to be rescued in time is the wiser choice.
When I read of people who plan to gamble backpacking into possible major early winter storms up in ranges like the Sierra, I tend to discourage such notions unless they are experienced mountaineers, prepared with winter gear, who are familiar with what they may be up against.