Winter Survival

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Winter Survival
Workplace Safety 3220
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Topics

• Survival Kits

• Myths

• Shelter

• Frostbite

• Survival Stories

• Hypothermia

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Survival Myths
1. Leather hiking boots will keep your feet warm
2. Waterproof clothing is ideal for cold weather
camping
3. Winter camping does not require much
preparation
4. Mental attitude has little to do with winter
camping
5. In cold weather, tasks can be done just as
quickly as in warm weather
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Survival Kits
Some Essentials

• Matches (waterproof/wind resistant)

• Plastic Food Bags

• Garbage Bag

• High Energy Snack

• Whistle/Knife/Compass

• Reflector

• Waterproof Container

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Winter Shelters

• Snow Cave

• Snow Trench

• Treewell Shelter

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Snow Cave
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Snow Trench
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Treewell Shelter
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Frostbite

• The formation of actual ice crystals under the
  skin. Usually effects
• exposed areas and extremeties first. It appears
  as grayish or yellow
• -white spots on the skin.

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Hypothermia Symptoms

• 98.6 Normal body temperature.

• 95.0 Paleness, drowsiness, listlessness,
  shivering. Then mental confusion, armpits and
  abdomen become cold, blue Iips, goose bumps.

• 93.2 Loss of memory, movements slow and hard,
  irrational behavior hands can no longer hold
  things.

• 91.4 Shaking stops, unconsciousness, shallow
  breathing, 50 chance of survival.

• 89.6 Slow weakened pulse. Heart may stop. 30
  chance of survival.

• 68-77 Heart stops.

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Decisions???

• What can impare our ability to make the right
  decisions in an emergency?

1. Hypothermia will cause disorientation,
incoherence, and memory loss.
2. Alcohol will impair your ability to think
clearly and reasonably, besides making you
colder.
3. Snow Blindness due to extreme snow glare
exposure can cause temporary or permanent
blindness.
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4. Fear can cause rash decision making based on
emotion rather than logic
5. Pride can cause a person to attempt a manuever
that is unreasonable
6. Thirst and Hunger can limit our ability to
think clearly
7. Injury, especially to the head, can impair
thinking

8. Impatience can often lead one to make unwise
choices
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Survival Stories

• Ernest Shackleton- Antarctica Explorer

• 1913/14 Canadian Arctic Expedition

• The 1914 Newfoundland Sealing Disaster

• 1972 Andes Survivors - Paraguay Soccer Team
  (ALIVE)

• 1996 Mt Everest Disaster

• 2003 Revelstoke B.C Avalanche

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Survival Links

• http//www.inquiry.net/outdoor/winter/gear/surviv
  al_kits/index.htm

• http//okok.essortment.com/snowshleter_rbno.htm

• http//www.rmsg.us/general/shelter.htm

• http//www.alden.wnyric.org/hs/le/snow.htm

• http//www.rbnc.org/winsurv.htm

• http//www.k12.nf.ca/fatima/fatima_webpage/winter
  safety/index.htm