Gunner Asch wrote:

On Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:28:55 -0500, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


SteveB wrote:

"Robert Swinney" wrote in message
...
All's well that ends well ! Inspirational story, particularly considering
the condition of the
participants. Thanks for sharing, Steve.

Bob Swinney

Well, me and wifey are sure going through the boxes and rethinking. It
really looked like four of them were going to spend the night in 40 degree
weather with minimal clothing. We did have the presence of mind to take
some food and water, and we did wrap some of the gear in towels to cushion
the shock. Even though, it would have been a long long night.

One of the longest nights in my life was getting caught in a wet sleeping
bag all night in the Rockies. A few nights in ICU don't even come close.

**** happens. Be prepared.


Like cold weather survival training at Ft. Greeley. They gave you a
tent half, a sleeping bag and a folding shovel, along with a day's
c-rations. It was well below -20 with a wind that cut right through your
clothing. We built a fire, but you had to stand within two feet of the
roaring flames to get any heat, while the other side of you froze.

On the other hand..if you put that shelter half upwind and braced with
snow, built your fire 3-5 foot downwind..you could have sheltered
comfortably.


We weren't allowed to take any rope, so we had to use small branches
to hold it up, then bury most of it in snow. The fire was 40 to 60 feet
high, and could go from a roaring fire to cold ashes in less than 10
minutes. We weren't allowed to take an ax or hatchet, so the only way to
gather firewood was to break it off the frozen pine trees. If you drop
kicked it just right, you could snap a six inch trunk of a small pine
tree. A really clean break, where the tree was frozen to the core. The
record low temperature was -69 degrees, BTW. the winds could literally
blow you off a path, and if you were unlucky, they wouldn't find you
till spring. That is, if the wild animals didn't find your frozen corpse
first. Its one thing to be able to plan what you're taking to be
prepared for the severe weather, and another to have them unlock the
door to your room in the barracks and shove you on the back of a duce &
a half with what little you're allowed to use. They wanted to see how
you reacted to the cold, hunger and isolation. In some cases people had
to be hauled out and taken to the hospital, because they weren't
physically ready to cope. Southern boys had it the worst. I was from
Ohio, so I was used to cold winters.


Gunner, who was raised in the UP of Michigan and who used to snow camp
out of a back pack regularly in mid winter..including -60f


--
The movie 'Deliverance' isn't a documentary!