Survival
This page is all about how to survive when you get caught out unprepared in the wilderness.
Shelter
Clothing
Clothing is your first line of defense against the elements. Do not skimp on clothes. Always carry full rain gear, and a little more insulation than you think you need. In this climate, avoid down. In winter, make sure you carry a fiber-fill jacket/parka with a hood. If it is cold enough for a puffy jacket, it is cold enough for a puffy hood. Half your body heat is lost through the head and you will be especially glad to have the hood should you lose your hat. Chemical toe warmers and dry socks make a huge difference for minimal additional weight and bulk.
Space Blankets
If it is winter, or you are suffering from shock or trauma you will need some sort of shelter beyond clothing. The less energy that goes into shelter building the better. Small (to retain warmth) and simple shelters are best.
Space blankets are the simplest cheapest, lightest and most compact option. There are two types of space blankets: the traditional Mylar ones, which are silver on both sides, and the Heatsheet emergency blankets by Adventure Medical Kits, which are constructed of a “special low-density polyethylene.”
Heatsheets (available at MEC) are vastly superior to Mylar blankets for the following reasons:
they are more durable, larger have an orange side (good for visibility if you want to be rescued) have survival instructions printed on it and are less noisy (less crinkly)
Heatsheets are a better shelter choice than garbage bags or painters drop cloths because they provide a variety of uses rather than just one. They are also more compact, lighter, and more durable for their weight. The reflective side can be used for signaling and melting snow. Lay it with the reflective side facing up, and pile snow on it. It can also be used in hot weather to deflect the sun’s rays.
The same company makes emergency Heatsheet bivvy bags out of the same material, but they are slightly heavier and bulkier.
Simple Tarp Shelter
An “A” frame roof is vastly superior to anything else. The quickest and easiest way to do this is to tie a string between two trees (1.5 m off the ground) drape the space blanket over it, and secure the bottoms. This technique is illustrated in the US Army Survival Manual linked at the bottom of this section. Unfortunately this method takes a lot of fussing around and practice to get this to work. The string will sag in the middle, especially as it becomes wet and stretches, and the space blanket will slide down to the centre leaving you expose at either end. A much stronger alternative is to use an arch pole lashed between two trees instead of the cord.
Details on shelter types and their construction are covered in chapter 5 of the US Army Survival Manual: http://rk19-bielefeld-mitte.de/survival/FM/05.htm
Easy Day Pack Modification: Staying off the wet cold ground
The following is an inexpensive and simple modification I urge anyone who skis or winter climbs to consider. I have a top loading 40-liter pack with a plastic frame sheet that fits in a sleeve. The frame sheet has an aluminum stay and a couple of plastic rods in it and weighs 200 g. I pulled it out and replaced it with a 5 mm thick foam sleeping pad folded over three times (now 15 mm thick and 50 g) which fits it in the sleeve. This replacement is not only lighter, but actually makes the pack more comfortable for skiing and climbing because it hugs the back and moves with the body better. Main advantage: it pulls out and unfolds into a 50 cm x 65 cm (20” x 25”) rectangle for sitting or lying on the ground. It is long enough to go from my hips to my shoulders. Other items from the inside the pack can be used for a pillow and the empty pack can go under my legs, or I can put my feet inside it for extra warmth. The foam serves other purposes as well. It makes for superb waterproof tinder. Thin slices a couple inches long burn for a few minutes. The foam can be used to splint fractures, or at least pad under a stiffer splint. Surely there are other uses as well. It is a clever idea that saves weight, adds comfort, and provides padding and insulation for an unexpected night out in the snow. I picked it up somewhere a while back from some climbing book, or climbing magazine, and I highly suggest it to anyone who has a removable frame sheet in their day pack. This is an excellent example of using gear you carry anyway unconventionally in a emergency, rather than carrying something separate that can only be used in a emergency.
Snow Shelters
In winter conditions, snow shelters become a viable option. They are very warm and windproof compared to other kinds of shelters. A well executed snow shelter is superior to a tent in many ways. There are many kinds of snow shelters including snow caves, quinzhees and igloos.
Fire
Tinder
Tinder is the smallest stuff that catches immediately with a flame.
Home-made options:
Cottons balls saturated with Vaseline (waterproof, catches with a spark, each burn 2-3 minutes).
Ranger bands (1 cm wide cuts bike inner tube; waterproof, burn 2-3 minutes each).
Commercial options:
Coghlans emergency tinder (sort of like the cotton balls above, but not as messy; http://www.coghlans.com/images/productBig/392.jpg).
Coghlans fire sticks (basically wax and saw dust; http://www.coghlans.com/images/productBig/164.jpg).
Other options:
Strips of foam seeping mat or padding in pack shoulder straps or back panel.
Insect repellant saturated bits of cotton.
Suggestions for packing Vaseline saturated cotton balls:
Stuff a whole bunch into a film canister.
Cut a section of drinking-straw a couple inches long. McDonald’s straws are good because they are wide. Using a q-tip or toothpick, push the Vaseline cotton ball into the straw, and then carefully melt the ends shut. When it is time to light, cut off a tip, pull out a bit of the cotton and it will light with spark and burn for a few minutes.
Kindling
Kindling is the smaller wood (toothpick to broomstick thickness) that catches from the tinder. This stuff generally has to be dry, which is hard to find, especially in winter or wet weather. Splitting larger wood is the best option. If splitting is not possible, shaving away wet outer surfaces to access the drier parts is the next best option. Smallest kindling should be dry shavings of wood, followed by progressively larger pieces.
Standing dead wood is the best option for dry wood, but hard to find, and will still need to be split for kindling. Dead and down wood is often wet on the outside, but is sometimes dry on the inside and a good option if the snow is not too deep to find it. Living trees provide the most easily accessible wood. Only the outer ring (sapwood) is alive and contains sap and moisture while the inside of the tree (heartwood) is dead and generally dry. Moisture content varies with species. Harder dryer trees like ash (not found out west), maple and birch are best. Soft sappy trees like pine, fir, spruce and cedar are much harder to catch fire. Once the fire is going, these tree types burn just fine.
Cutting larger diameter wood into manageable logs is best done with a saw. With patience, a small saw such as the one on a Swiss Army Knife will get through 4 inch trees/logs. When the diameter of the wood being cut exceeds the length of the saw blade, you have to saw around on each side of the wood to work your way through it. Larger saws are obviously faster and easier to use. A good fixed blade knife suitable for splitting (described below) can be used to chop. Chopping in general is more dangerous than sawing, and harder to do when physically or mentally compromised. With practice and good technique, a 6 in blade knife will chop faster than a Swiss Army Knife or Leatherman can saw.
The safest way to split logs is with a fixed blade knife. The blade needs to be about an inch longer than the diameter of the wood being split. For most purposes a 5-6 inch blade is long enough. The blade is pounded into the log with a baton (some other heavy enough branch) to split it. This is the best way to get small sticks. http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/5306/p5231666mw2.jpg (knife in pic has a 9 in blade)
Knives and Tools
The knife blade should be at least 3/16 inch thick (5 mm) with a flat spine. Avoid hollow handled knives and blades with a saw back, like Rambo’s knife. These are novelty items that limited the strength and use of the knife. Good knives have a full tang (look it up if you don’t know this is). Avoid knives with guards that extend on the top of the knife. They interfere with ‘batoning’. A guard that prevents fingers from slipping onto the blade are good idea however. Blade steel needs to be good quality. Stainless steel is generally low quality if it is affordable. Examples of good stainless steels are 440C, VG10, S30V, AUS8(A), 154CM . If the type of stainless steel is not specified, it is junk. High carbon non-stainless steel is generally better quality for the price, but needs to be kept lightly oiled to prevent rust. (Even stainless steel will rust in time if not cared for). Carbon steel is also easier to sharpen which is a bonus. Good quality steels stay sharp longer, are much stronger, and the edge will not chip. Look for flat or saber ground knives. More expensive convex grinds are the best. Avoid hollow grinds. There and many good knives out there, but unfortunately many more crappy ones (which are commonly just as expensive) making knife shopping tricky. Ontario, Cold Steel and Camillus (Becker) are some of the more affordable brands that make good knives. The Cold Steel SRK is my favourite. It is the lightest knife of its size I have found with good balance for chopping as well fine work; it has a very strong point for digging and prying, a secure sheath, and can be had for $60 with careful shopping. Expect to pay a minimum of ~$100 to get a decent knife in or to Canada.
Opinions on tools vary. The idea is to have the lightest weight combination that will cover the basic tasks of “getting” and splitting wood. Some people prefer a large knife 8” – 10” blade (like the 9” one in the pic above) that will chop well and split. Mine weighs 24 oz with its sheath. I suggest two smaller tools instead. My 6” SRK and 7” pruning saw (Sandvik Laplander sold at MEC) have a combined weight of 18 oz. Not only is this lighter, but it is safer and easier to use than the one big knife. Chopping is not only dangerous, but it requires good technique to be efficient. Sawing is much easier when injured, which is an important consideration. Using the saw to “get” the wood will keep the knife sharper longer, and reduces the likelihood of breaking it. Two tools give more versatility, and the ability to leave one behind, or to carry them between two people. Also, should one tool break, you still have another to work with. If only one can be carried, the knife is more useful than the saw. The 6” knife, or Swiss Army Knife/Leatherman saw can still “get” the wood, it is just much more work and slower.
Axes and hatchets are too specialized and heavy to carry hikes or ski trips. They also require good technique to be safe and efficient. Very long thin blades like machetes are for use on light greener vegetation and are not appropriate for these forests.
Other
Disposable lighters are more reliable than matches, and will light many more fires than matches of the same weight and bulk. Birthday cake candles are useful for reaching into the fire to light tinder.
A good introductory reference to firecraft is chapter 7 of the US Army Survival Manual: http://rk19-bielefeld-mitte.de/survival/FM/07.htm