Stay warm survival techinques

[Freak]

Two of my buddies spent most of the Night on the mtn two nights ago. It was a cold one and they were found about the time they started to get pretty cold (bout 4 in the am.) One had a flare and they dug down and found a rotted log to burn but they said the green wouldn't burn very well after that. Lets hear some techniques to keeping a good fire and what to do in this situation I know theres a lot of good ones out there and this has made me want to be more prepared. Their sleds were out of gas and they had walked away from them anyways so gas was not an option to help burn green wood.

I have always carried a lighter but now I put a flare in my pack and will probably up that to 3 flares.

 

[woodzy]

magnesium sticks from military mre's

 

[EricW]

I carry one of these in my pack JETBOIL. Weighs less than a pound and will boil snow in a few minutes. It is a great fire starter as it has a push button igniter. I also carry a few of the military fire fuel stick that burn a long time. You can get them at any Army Surplus or camping type store.

I've always wondered just how bad it would be to add pieces of flap or track to a fire if you had to to get it good and hot. I don't know their situation, but I would probably stay with my sled to burn it if I had to and so searchers could follow my tracks. The oil in the tank might be helpful as well.

With the Jetboil I figured drinking hot water (I also pack tea bags, cocoa, and oatmeal packets, all light to carry) every few hours would keep my core temps where they need to be just incase I didn't have a big fire. Lots of snow out there just waiting to be hot water.

Great post. Maybe we should all be spending a night with a trained survivalist out there just to see what to do and learn our own limitations. EW

 

[ArcticBoy]

If you do have extra gas. A pop can with just the top cut off of gas will burn for about 20- 30 minutes when. Also try and mix some oil with it to burn slower. Starting fires under trees may thaw snow from the branches and put out a good size fire. Just a couple other things to add.

 

[spring snow hero]

unless their sleds were in a bad spot......ridge top, avy chute......etc, leaving them was the first mistake.

rotten logs will not burn well, they lack the fuel to actually make much heat, don't waste your time.

in order to build a fire that is going to actually last in snow you have a few options, dig to earth, build a log base to start from, or have a bunch of fuel handy and keep it hot.....the first two are the best choices.....the order will depend on conditons. digging to earth is pretty self explanitory, but keep in mind that air circulation needs to happen, so a line in and out in the prevailing winds direction will be a good move in the long run. to build a platform, cut or break as large diameter logs as possible, limb them and place them as close together as possible. two or three layers is bettter yet, alternate directions as you stack and it will allow air into the bottom. you whole entire goal is to get a coal bed going that can overcome the conditions.

fire requires the following for it to occur:
fuel.....gas, oil, wood, dorito's.......anything thatwill burn.
oxygen.....the more the better
heat...fire does not occur with out heat, flammable liquids don't burn till they reach the flash point, so why would wood.
ignition...this could be the bic lighter in your pack, a flare, a spark stick, a spark plug....you could also get to the auto ignite point of your fuel.

if you take any one of those out the fire can't happen.

so now we have a bed, and the solution to how we get flames, butwe need to address fuel......if it is very cold it is much easier look to the lowest small branches of fir trees. the dead branches will break easy and burn well. there is also some "fur" that will burn well. when you think you have enough.....get 5x more. pitch balls are also great, grab all you can. you must be thinking about how the heat is going to warm all you kindling and how is it going to circulate air...a tipi, or criss cross would be wise. have lots of fuel and start as small as you can with your kindling....remember you are trying to get a coal bed going, and untill you do your fire is in jepordy.

ok lets say you now have a coal bed on a log bed. you need to keep it going as big as it takes to keep a coal bed hot, if you dug to earth it will not need to be nearly as big as if on a log bed.

keep your wood on the opposite side of the fire and try to arrange it to reflect heat back to you. having the same behind you helps too, of course by now you should have a pit or debris hut built.

the golden rule is to keep your coals good and red, if they start to die you better fix it fast.

vasoline and cotton balls works great for fire starter, a tampon in the fuel tank, or oil tank is a great tool too ( you do not have to use it all the first time)

 

[Killerk]

I think about this often, and I continuously add to my supplies.
I still wonder how I would fare in an actual situation though.
I carry 4-5 of the glove warmer packs... If I got real cold I could put a couple in my boots, hands and even body to help stay warm.
I think a tarp is a very good idea also.

 

[spring snow hero]

I think about this often, and I continuously add to my supplies.
I still wonder how I would fare in an actual situation though.
I carry 4-5 of the glove warmer packs... If I got real cold I could put a couple in my boots, hands and even body to help stay warm.
I think a tarp is a very good idea also.

remember that the disposable warmers are areobic, they need air to work well. if they don't breathe they don't heat. and they are no sub for fire. fire does good things for your brain, and your brain knows the warmers only last so long.

on your tarp, go with a reflective space blanket. you can use it to reflect your fire behind you.....a big help.

 

[SSWIM]

Use your shovel as a fan. It works really well. We had to keep a fire going this way one night. Everything was "green".

Sam

 

[Howler]

I also agree that leaving the sled was a mistake,(unless in an unsafe spot). In a worse case scenario, if you REALLY need a fuel that will burn HOT, you can take your extra belt from the sled and widdle the rubber off of it cut it into chunks, or burn it whole, depending on how badly you need the heat. The rubber burns very hot, and for a long time. It will help dry out wet wood, as well as send off one hell of a nice smoke signal during the daytime.

 

[Rotax-Guy]

A couple of buddies got lost one year, they used the tampon in the gas trick, used the seat, hood and other parts off the sleds to make a large fire with branches ect. Search and rescue saw the large fire and got them out! Boss seat $500 + Hood $400 getting out PRICELESS!!

 

[speeddemon]

even if the sled is out of gas there is usualy a lil tiny bit in there ! tae a sock or some seat foam and put in un the tank and suck up what is left ! if no lighter use a sparkplug and pull over the sled to get spark to ignite the fuel ! seat foam burns good and can get a fire started ! make sure u have fire wood /kindling ! look for branches on trees that look dead ! they break off ez and burn well ! tree moss in another good sorce of a fire starter ! last season a guy said u used a tampon to draw out fuel and use as a fire starter !

the tarp thing is a good idea u can dig down in the snow and put down brush / branches and suround urself from the elements with the sleds and the tarp could be used as a roof ! use tree branches from an evergreen tree to keep ur body off the snow ! the snow will pull out ur body heat fast !


dig into the snow and build an igloo type of shelter ! take ur time so u dont sweat ! line it with the brush and branches as well ! a candle in an igloo can keep u warm enough as long as ur dry and off the ground ! ( seen this on bear grill survivor man ) !


always pack xtra cloths and gloves /food /water ! never know when u may be spending the night !


mike

 

[Bubba700]

x2 on the jet boil, pack that with some of the dried food meals, Tried starting a fire with wet fuel using the stove last fall and that thing got it fired up fast! Have a couple of Tampons in there too just in case the gas method needs to be used.

 

[Shane 0024]

fuel for the fire

Also if you are where there is big white fir trees the bark off of them burn real well and create great coal beds. When I was cutting timber and needed a fire to warm up, that was my preferred method.

 

[akwolfman]

If you do not have any type of shelter with you take the cover off the snogo and dig into the snow if you can.
If you are wet use snow to get the water out of your cloths and put grass,sticks or tree branches between you and the wet clothes.

 

[bdoe22]

a little trick that i learned in a survival course is to prepare your "bed" or surface for your fire (ground or large logs like described above.) once everything is prepared....firestarter/kindling......take two fairly good size "sticks" say 18"x 1" thick and place them into a v pattern.......start the fire on top of the V, near where the sticks come to a point... as the fire needs air, you can lift the entire fire by the ends of the sticks, one hand on each side of the "v" and slowly raise and lower the fire to feed it air........it actually works really well and once the fire gets hot you have a great base for containing the coals untill you have it large enough.

 

[theultrarider]

Probably the biggest mistake I see people make all the time when trying to starta fire is not having an adequate supply of of wood to burn and sustian the fire before trying to ignite one in the first place. In a hurry to get it started and wind up burning out all the kindling material that they have before they can go back out and gather some small to mid size stuff to actually keep a fire going. You will keep warm, or get warm while gathering wood. Wait to start the fire until you have what you need to get it burning to the point that you are assured of having a good hot bed of coals going.

 

[xrated]

not sure how accurate, but in a Survival Can(put out my Tacoma Mountain Rescue) I got at REI, the little survival directions said you need about 10 arms loads of wood.

Also we are trying to get an overnight setup in MN. If we pull it off I will post a report of what we found.

I too like drier lint, tampoons, magnesium, etc.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

All good comments..I carry a nylon tarp(8*10) it folds down to about 3*6*8 inches, weighs about 3-4 pds...got caught away from camp on a sheep hunt one time..(late september, snowed all day) buddy had a reflective blanket....was better then nothing but with my tarp we bent some alders over(above treeline) and notted them togeather and used my tarp to make a V with one leg on the ground(on top of the bent over alders to keep us off the ground),the other coming up the back over us as the roof...built a small fire out front and used more brush to close in the ends of the V...packed rocks and snow on the other side of the fire to reflect heat back at us(used his thermo blanket thingy to cover the snow to reflect heat and keep the snow from melting so fast).. we ended up being darn comfy in 10 degree weather with no heavy gear.....biggest thing is stop..think and dont panic...man has lived in this stuff for along time...also if you walk from your sled (I wouldnt unless I knew that no help was coming and it was all on me to get out)bring your avy shovel(hopefully one with an aluminum shovel and a saw in the handle) you can easily dig down to earth both for fire pit as well as your shelter plus the snow walls help hold heat in and shelter you from wind..and the saw is your wood supply tool....also use the shovel to melt water..you will stay much warmer if you are well hydrated....

 

[sledhed84]

everything everyone has posted is really great advice. it has given me tons more ideas for supplies. thank you everyone that posted

 

[Pit Crew]

If the snow is deep trying to feed a fire by wading through 3+ feet of snow can wear you out and sweat you up leaving you wet and without a fire. a snow cave with a low entrance, elevated bed and some candles is your best bet. include a small vent. If it is snowing a tarp shelter can kill you if it collapses during the night and pins you under (close to a meter in 8 hours is not unheard of around here at elevation).

If wood is easy to get then go with fire.