NEW AMERICAN TRUTH: December 2007

Basic Winter Wilderness Survival
Mike Marcon

Do a Google search about “winter wilderness survival” and you will find words, advice and essays from hundreds of aspiring survival “experts” worldwide. As a survival instructor, it always amazes me at the sheer number of “experts” who are regurgitating over and over survival techniques that are so easy to learn and gather today from the internet and television.

I have to ask myself, how many of these experts are really speaking from experience? Would they be as forthcoming with their advice if they actually decided to walk out in the middle of a winter snow storm with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a few survival items in their pockets, and determined to survive on just their wits and what few items they had on their person? I think not. And, that’s because I suspect the vast majority of them have not experienced a true cold weather survival situation.

Successful cold weather survival, whether it’s simply surviving being stranded in a broken down car in 20 degree weather, or being lost in a snow storm because somebody didn’t have a keen weather eye is a matter of practice and experience; not just watching a television show or reading a few articles on the internet.

Extreme low temperature survival is an entirely different beast than any other time of the year owing to one major factor and that is how the body reacts to cold temperatures.

As an older person and as a survival instructor, I hate cold weather. It’s insidious. Why? Because hypothermia, the loss of life sustaining body heat, can begin to take place way before you even realize what’s happening to you - in temperatures wellabove freezing. All that has to happen to enter into the fun world of hypothermia is that the core body temperature hits 97 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s MILD hypothermia. Moderate hypothermia starts at 94 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hypothermia is a much written about and discussed topic. I’d guess that some of the New America Truth readers have had training in hypothermia prevention and treatment. Training and experience with hypothermia are two different animals.

The old saying that “Experience is the best teacher” is what’s important here. A few questions…

First: Have you actually field tested your winter clothing? As an example, I have a favorite winter coat. It’s a leather flight jacket willed to me by my father, an ex-Navy pilot. Basically, it’s a silk lined, leather shell. 90% of the time, once the weather turns cool, I will have it on. Now, here’s the stupid part...

Even though I am the supposed survival “expert,” the flight jacket I love so much is the poorest of cold weather outdoor apparel. It’s thin, transmits cold inward, and does virtually nothing to retain body heat. I am also an experienced medic. I know that shivering is early stage hypothermia. But will I give up the beloved flight jacket in the winter?

Do I stop to think that if my car craps out in the middle of a winter night, and I’m stuck on the side of the road, I’m a candidate for severe hypothermia within minutes with that flight jacket on? Should I have at least one or two Army surplus wool blankets in the trunk? You bet. That’s why they ARE in the trunk with my Bug-Out-Bag, and other “survival” items - because it’s happened to me and experience taught me the lesson. (I might add placing some high calorie food items in your survival gear as well to help you maintain your body heat. I like chocolate bars.)

Second: Have you tested, really tested, you winter gear? Hats, coats, boots, gloves, all of it? Have you read the product reviews about the clothing, your first line of hypothermia defense?

L.L. Bean is fond of showing their C.E.O. shoveling waist deep snow or being strapped to the top of a car in a snowstorm, or being buried with the sled dogs in the snow to show us how well their cold weather clothing works. I don’t want to see that! I want to see what the user’s core body temperature is in -10 degree weather with a wind chill factor of -30 degrees while wearing an L.L. Bean coat.

The object lesson here is no matter what you know or have learned about hypothermia, the best teacher is to have actually put yourself in the situation and tasted the effects of hypothermia. Do it in a controlled way, but do it.

Take the current cold weather gear you now have, put it on and go out back of your home and sit down on the ground on a cold winter night. Look at your watch. Mark the time. When you start to shiver, you entered hypothermia. When your teeth chatter, you’ve entered moderate hypothermia. Look at your watch. How much time has elapsed? 10 minutes? 15 minutes? 30 minutes? One hour? Whatever it is, that’s the amount of time you have to build a fire or dig a snow cave or make a shelter. Why? Because, shortly, you will enter severe hypothermia with the attendant disorientation and confusion followed shortly thereafter by stupor and complete coma followed by death.

Bottom line when it comes to winter survival? Know what hypothermia is, how to prevent it, and how to treat it. Then, test your gear. Test yourself. Before experience does the job for you.

About The Author: Mike Marcon
Mike’s initial survival training came years ago in the military. Since then, he has continually held a passionate interest in survival training. Recently, Mike's survival expertise came to the attention of producers at Fox Television's "America's Most Wanted" and he was asked to act as a consultant for the show's "Safety Center." His first segment about surviving being lost in the wilderness aired on August 25, 2007. Future AMW segments are planned on topics that have to do with both wilderness and urban survival.

He initially began Safe Return in order to help civilian pilots prepare to survive in the event of a wilderness crash landing. As a Commercial Pilot for many years, he knew that survival training is not part of the preparation to become a civilian pilot the same as it is for military pilots. Since then, he has expanded his training to include the “average, everyday person who enjoys outdoor activities.”

He is also a Virginia certified Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate and a Tactical Medic. (A “Tactical Medic” is specially trained to support Special Weapons & Tactics (SWAT) teams.)

He is also a certified Operations Level Instructor for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) incidents.

Mike has spent the better part of his life teaching various subjects ranging from sport parachuting to emergency medical services to survival. Thousands of students have benefited from his instruction.