Comments on: Winter Survival Lessons

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 19:21:02 +0000

Thanks for great tips. Generally like as much or more on technique, safety, as on gear. Thanks.

By: JimC

JimC — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:19:29 +0000

Just a quick note:

(Based on some of the questions, I’m not sure all your readers are aware of the differences.)

The Spot messenger and sat phones are very different than PLBs. As you mention, Lou, the disadvantage of a PLB is that it only serves as a last ditch, emergency call for help. You can’t let folks at home know that you are okay, and you can’t provide details about your situation. For many, these are severe limitations that mean they don’t carry a PLB.

The advantage of a PLB is that it works when you need it. Period. Signal strength and system redundancies mean that your emergency call gets out and you get found, regardless of canyon walls, tree-cover or cloud-cover. This is simply not (NOT!) the case with the Spot or a sat phone (despite what the advertising may say). Additionally, you can (and should) update your PLB profile with trip specifics (destination, number of participants, known health concerns, etc.) every time you go out so that the rescue crew isn’t walking into a completely unknown situation.

As an aside, particularly since we’re talking about devices that people rely on for safety, Spot has continued having problems with quality control and all of the new Spot messengers are now being returned to the company for refurbishing. Oops.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:05:16 +0000

Did an open bivy once, and it was not great fun, although I would call it a good experience ultimately that helped me learn what small things can make survival a reality.

By: Bryon Powell

Bryon Powell — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:24:42 +0000

Lou,
Bryon Powell from iRunFar.com here. Just wanted to thank you for sharing these winter survival tips. I may not be skiing, but in exploring the snowy wilds of Yosemite NP, these could be lifesavers.

Thanks again!

By: Christian

Christian — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:11:21 +0000

Doing some snow-kiting, I have found that making a small iglo is the way to go in flat areas. It takes me 30 minutes to make one with just the showel. I usually try to combine it with a snow-pit. The key is to keep it small, as it gets exponentially harder the bigger it gets.
Compared to a snow-cave I feel that the iglo is safer regarding suffucation.