Surviving the Call of the Wild

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Returning safely from a winter outing requires common sense as well as good gear.

"I often encounter people deep in the woods who ask me: ‘Where does this trail go?’" says Whittington. "It just boggles my mind."

The best way to stay on course is to do your homework first. Study maps of the area. Check the weather and avalanche forecast before leaving. Bring a GPS or compass and maps and know how to use them, especially if you plan to head off trail.

"People get lost by relying on good weather to get somewhere and not knowing where they are when the visibility turns south," says Mike Hattrup, a veteran ski mountaineer and former guide on Mt. Rainier.

"You need to have compass bearings, routes and time calculations planned before you need them," says Hattrup. "When it's blowing 40 mph and snowing and you're cold and tired, it's not the time to take the map out and start plotting bearings."

"Don’t follow the tracks, follow the trail markers" adds Whittington, noting that others often take shortcuts. You might be following the tracks of someone who deviated from the marked trail, and may even be lost.

Hattrup also urges skiers to pay attention to geographic features, and to look backwards often, noting: "Things can look totally different from a new perspective."

If you do find yourself disoriented, retrace your steps. If you can’t find your tracks, use your location tools. If you still can’t identify where you are or how to get back, try calling for help. If you exhaust your options, stay put. Searchers have chased lost hikers for days simply because they kept moving. Like Teri Smith, choose an open location where you can easily be seen.

Tossing and Turning

If darkness falls and you’re forced to spend the night in the snow, the first priority is to get out of the wind, according to Ken Barker of NW Discoveries who teaches classes in winter survival and winter camping.

"Use your hands, snowshoes or skis to dig a hole in the snow to create shelter," says Barker. "You can also use a tree well. Right around the trunk of the tree is a kind of natural snow cave. Or you can make a trench next to a fallen tree or fallen rock."

Improvise using the gear at hand to protect yourself from the elements. For example, a tarp or space blanket can be used to enclose the shelter.

Barker cautions against sitting directly on the snow, which robs the body of heat. Instead, use a sit pad, crouch or improvise by making a pad from tree branches. Wear hat and gloves to keep from losing heat through the extremities. Also, be sure to eat and drink, since dehydration speeds heat loss.

"People want to eat snow," cautions Barker. "But it’s like putting ice in your body, which takes energy to melt. Liquid water is better if you have it."

Following these steps won’t make for a pleasant night on the mountain, admits Barker, but it will keep you alive until morning.

Getting Swept Away

Avalanches pose one of the most lethal threats to winter outdoor enthusiasts. The number of avalanche fatalities has risen sharply in the past 20 years, due directly to increased backcountry recreational activities. Mike Hattrup sees skiers get swept away by their ambitions, resulting in risky choices.

"There’s powder snow and sunshine and they really want to ski, even though there’s signs of obvious avalanche danger," says Hattrup. "Or, it’s the last chance to ski the couloir this year, even though the conditions aren’t that safe."

Laziness is also a factor. "They don’t want to walk an extra couple hours to somewhere safer," says Hattrup, "so they ski down a dangerous slope."

David McClung, author of The Avalanche Handbook, recommends these precautions if you plan to trek into the backcountry:

• Don’t travel alone.
• Maintain a safe distance between group members.
• Always carry a shovel, avalanche transceiver and probe.
• Don’t wear ski safety straps or pole wrist straps in hazard areas. During an avalanche, skis and poles attached to the body can pull a skier down under the snow.
• When skiing steep slopes, stop or rest only at the sides or beyond a possible run-out.
• Discuss emergency procedures with your group in advance.

Two-thirds of avalanche victims die from suffocation, rather than hypothermia or trauma from the slide. Survival depends on avoiding getting buried, or being found within the first 15 minutes. If you are caught in a slide, McClung recommends trying to ski immediately to the side to avoid being caught or buried. Alternately, try to grab a tree or something to arrest yourself. If you are caught up, fight or "swim" to stay at the surface, and call out so others know where you are.

When it comes to avalanches, the best survival strategy is avoidance. Check the avalanche forecast before leaving and steer clear of high-risk areas, and you’ll be able to visit the backcountry — and still come back.

Comments & Feedback

Anonymous  - avalanches |Posted on: 02.06.2008 As an avid backcountry camper, hiker and snowshoer, the article was full of valuable info. However, the avalanche section scared the you-know-what out of me.

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