if you are not already exhausted and soaked with sweat, stop before you do. tired and wet to little exertion is a good way to get hypothermia. do everything at a slow pace and think things through. a relatively small injury in that environment could make things a lot worse(cut from a knife,or a saw).
Lets hear your STUCK OVERNIGHT stories
- Thread starter PCDOC
- Start date
B
BackCountryBob
Well-known member
Powderhound. As a Scoutmaster of Troop 548 in Lakewood we did alot of winter camping in temps -10/-20*. First order of business was to find firewood, second to dig a shelter.
The nite we were out it was snowing so no moon. We did have a flash light so putting up the lean too wasn't too difficult. Even though the tree was within 10' of the lean too and fire it was still difficult to saw branches since we used the top of the tree first then made our way to the heavier branches.
Joe's sled was parked up wind and facing down hill so we used the head light to help. My BRP avy shovel had the saw in the handle and I drilled a 3/4" drain hole in the shovel. We heated the shovel over the fire and then put snow on the shovel---the hot shovel melted the snow for drinking water poured into Joe's cup---a tea bag would have been welcomed at that point. I now carry boulion cubes and a new SS cup as I used my cup as a base to get the fire going as the wind was not co-operating.
PS Make sure the tampon has a long string. We had to tie on a longer string to get to the gas.
BCB
The nite we were out it was snowing so no moon. We did have a flash light so putting up the lean too wasn't too difficult. Even though the tree was within 10' of the lean too and fire it was still difficult to saw branches since we used the top of the tree first then made our way to the heavier branches.
Joe's sled was parked up wind and facing down hill so we used the head light to help. My BRP avy shovel had the saw in the handle and I drilled a 3/4" drain hole in the shovel. We heated the shovel over the fire and then put snow on the shovel---the hot shovel melted the snow for drinking water poured into Joe's cup---a tea bag would have been welcomed at that point. I now carry boulion cubes and a new SS cup as I used my cup as a base to get the fire going as the wind was not co-operating.
PS Make sure the tampon has a long string. We had to tie on a longer string to get to the gas.
BCB
If you ride a cat it's not an issue since the fill hole is big enough to damn near get your head in.
GREAT thread!!
1st don't panic, repeat over, over
2nd don't exhert yourself to sweating or fear.
Buy a SPOT, and practice using it and a simple GPS.
The spot should deliver your location 99.9%, but knowing where your at is very important if cell service is possible. This way you can tell 911 where you are.............no looking.........And correct, all phones are required to process a 911 call regardless of service status. Accuraccy of cell phone pinging for location is VERY inacurate in the backcountry for 1 simple reason. Phones that DO not have on-board gps receivers cannot determine where they are. 50% or more of the phones out there do not have gps rx in the phone. Those phones require triangulation to determine location remotely. In the mtns, you are LUCKY if one tower can receive your signal, so if best the responders can only determine what general direction the signal came from.
my .02
ride on!
1st don't panic, repeat over, over
2nd don't exhert yourself to sweating or fear.
Buy a SPOT, and practice using it and a simple GPS.
The spot should deliver your location 99.9%, but knowing where your at is very important if cell service is possible. This way you can tell 911 where you are.............no looking.........And correct, all phones are required to process a 911 call regardless of service status. Accuraccy of cell phone pinging for location is VERY inacurate in the backcountry for 1 simple reason. Phones that DO not have on-board gps receivers cannot determine where they are. 50% or more of the phones out there do not have gps rx in the phone. Those phones require triangulation to determine location remotely. In the mtns, you are LUCKY if one tower can receive your signal, so if best the responders can only determine what general direction the signal came from.
my .02
ride on!
I carry all sorts of shtuff for survival including tampons AND ROAD FLARES. Unless it's completely submerged, wood doesn't get wet enough to not ignite with an 1800 degree flare. About the tampons, I carry the small OB ones because they can also be shoved up a nostril to stop a gusher nose bleed if you smash your face on the bars. It's the same thing they use in a lot of emergency rooms if they don't cotterize it. Also works between the lip and gum if you put your teeth through your lip. I also carry a couple of maxi pads. They work very well if you get a nasty cut. If you are going to carry a space blanket, forget about those cheesy silver cellophane ones and get a real one. The one I have is heavy like a canvas tarp and is silver on one side and orange on the other and it folds up perfectly in my pack. I also carry 100' of parachute cord, a folding knife and saw, a leatherman, a small first aid kit, a small blue tarp, a flashlight, steel wool, a 9V battery (to use with the steel wool to start fires if needed), and the hand and foot warmers. Seems like a lot of stuff but it's not as heavy as you think and it all fits in my avy backpack with room to spare. I used to carry a lot more stuff but realized it was overkill. Besides, my pack was approaching 70 pounds and was not doing my shoulders and back any good. I still have that pack geared up and on standby for when or if I get called out for a search and rescue mission, though.
The road flares work awesome. I carry a metal camp cup so that I can heat water if needed. An LED flashlight is great (they use less battery) and a LED headlamp is even better--hands free!
The two most important things to remember are staying calm and don't make the situation worse than it already is.
Stay safe out there!
BigT
The two most important things to remember are staying calm and don't make the situation worse than it already is.
Stay safe out there!
BigT
Went to bed at 2 with a 10 and woke up at 10 with a 2, eh??
Them beer goggles don't just impair your driving..........
Seriously they are also great for large cuts and open wounds!!
one of the things i have used when backpacking and run into an unexpected snow storm is a good water bottle.....heat snow or water until it's about to boil and put in the bottle...put it inside your parka next to yout gut...within a few minutes, even someone who is very cold will be warm....used that to keep wife and i alive in the windriver mountains in wyoming when we got in a blizzard in august, two days later, it was sunny again and we hiked out over 40 miles.....i also carry a small butane torch, about the size of a one d-cell flashlite, dependable and will start anything on fire, many times
7
76FOMOCO
Well-known member
the wind river is the only place i have ever thought about sleeping with a man (froze my AZZ off in JUNE ) just to stay warm!!! My cuz too boot.
ok so when is the first anual camp out .? nothing like finding out before ya really have to , will show you what you want to really have .
every year we get the usuall stuck on the mtn groups .
best award to staying warm that i can remmember was a fellow on a yammaha
stuck by fog and night set in on him. burnt the seat foam dipped in gas . made it throught the night and was warm he said .
little did he know he was 600yds from the cabin .
always thought staying out needed to be experienced but most who have arent keen to repeat it , but if you have what you need it is a ok experience but not one that is really restfull
every year we get the usuall stuck on the mtn groups .
best award to staying warm that i can remmember was a fellow on a yammaha
stuck by fog and night set in on him. burnt the seat foam dipped in gas . made it throught the night and was warm he said .
little did he know he was 600yds from the cabin .
always thought staying out needed to be experienced but most who have arent keen to repeat it , but if you have what you need it is a ok experience but not one that is really restfull
Buddy's engine practically exploded 65miles from home, tried towing him out and the powder was just too deep. Only made it about 7 miles before we were too tired to go on so we built a fire and dug down into the snow. 8 hours of keeping the fire going and snacking on our dried salmon and a sandwich to keep warm, wasn't too bad that night.
Next morning we were on our way, went about 8 miles and then it happened, my engine siezed up! 50 miles from home and all we can do was wait it out until SAR showed up, we know they would. We told a buddy of ours which route we'd take going home, and the SAR crew didn't split up, they followed our tracks until they found us, 115 miles later when they could have done it in 50!
We had all we needed to make it another night if the need be, thank God we didn't have to. But we did finally make it home at about 3:30am. Took 6 hours towing out our sleds the final 50 miles home, lotsa snow and plenty of mishaps. Lessons learned, now my best buddy makes sure he has a newer reliable sled all the time.
Next morning we were on our way, went about 8 miles and then it happened, my engine siezed up! 50 miles from home and all we can do was wait it out until SAR showed up, we know they would. We told a buddy of ours which route we'd take going home, and the SAR crew didn't split up, they followed our tracks until they found us, 115 miles later when they could have done it in 50!
We had all we needed to make it another night if the need be, thank God we didn't have to. But we did finally make it home at about 3:30am. Took 6 hours towing out our sleds the final 50 miles home, lotsa snow and plenty of mishaps. Lessons learned, now my best buddy makes sure he has a newer reliable sled all the time.
I carry 4 or 5 of them in each sled just incase. Is a good idea.
i just take the tampoon container, she keeps me warm all night
S
sledhead699
Member
^^^ funny but good idia
Good to hear so many sledders are well prepared with all the gear. Having the smarts to use the gear is a good idea too. A lot of guys are well versed in getting their sleds unstuck but what about emergency survival training or medical training. You have a GPS but do you know how to use it? Carrying the Avy beacons is great but what do you do with the victim after you dig him out and he's not breathing? He has no pulse? He's vomited? Have you got a well stocked first aid kit with you and know how to use everything in it? Are there fractures and bleeding? How do you stabilize the fracture and control the bleed? Do you have the resources to start a fire and provide shelter right there without moving the victim and where does a person find dry firewood in the middle of winter? Do you have a Spot satellite message sender? Do you have any form of communication at all? Did you leave word with anyone where you were headed and when they should expect your return? If you told someone where you were headed, do they know the right people to contact if there's a problem?
Now that I've scared the Hell out of myself, realizing how unprepared I am I think I'll drop sledding and take up skiing. Ski resorts have Ski Patrol.
Now that I've scared the Hell out of myself, realizing how unprepared I am I think I'll drop sledding and take up skiing. Ski resorts have Ski Patrol.
Similar threads
