Again, gear is no replacement for real-world skills...

Tragic.

Today I have the benefit of lots of great gear. But the most important time that my skills came in handy (to say the least) I had very little with me. The skills I had been honing and using for 25+ years were what kept me alive and enabled me to thrive. Gear is great, knowledge which has been turned into practicaly reflexive action is the needed ingredient. This man had a fatal case of self confidence and it killed him.
 
Aw, man. That's close to home. Poor guy.

At least he left instructions with his landlady. His gear list seems like it was lacking the cold-weather and shelter-building gear that is still absolutely necessary in that part of the province this time of year. I have spent some cold nights (in my tent) in the woods up near Huntsville. I wouldn't want to do it minimalist / survival-style in the winter.

The Star did a good job of writing this one up - lots of commentary from the experts on the importance of training and skill-building.

RIP Mr. Cole.
 
The article doesn't mention what he was wearing on the trip, nor does it mention whether he actualy ever built a shelter. He may have fallen victim to the slow creep of hypothermia. Once it starts to affect one's judgement the only thing that will save ya is to have the ability to recognize what's ging on and take immediate measures to warm up.

Unfortunately I and most oters who have any SAR experience can only too sadly say how seldom we see that happen.

I agree the Star did do an excellent job on the write-up.
 
sad event....


i find this statement to be so true.......

"For some outdoor education experts, “survivalist” reality shows have skewed the public’s perception of how dangerous it really is to live off the land, prompting inexperienced campers to venture into the woods with a bolstered sense of confidence."
 
Very unfortunate indeed. I only hope this instance doesn't give Les Stroud a bad rap, this man's death certainly is no fault of Les or the show itself. I for one have never found it "romantic", as the article implies, to be stranded in the bush, I find it uncomfortable, boring, and seemingly endless, even when under relatively recreational circumstances. I certainly do not wish to sound mean, but I find it unusual that anyone would subject themselves to such misery without ever having first experienced it and then making a decision as to whether or not they would undergo it again. Without knowing the background of this fellow, I cannot assume he is either inexperienced or very experienced, but what it does sound like to me, is that he was hoping to have fun and challenge himself. Unfortunately, he didn't make it through that challenge, which is very sad indeed. I do not, however, class him in the same category as the yuppies who head up a mountain with sandals and a t-shirt only to get stranded in a freak snow storm. At least the fellow in this story had some understanding of what he was getting into, he simply lost the game, and his fate will hopefully help educate other thrill seekers in knowing wilderness survival is just that, "survival", and should not be confused with camping.

As a side note, I am unfamiliar with Gino Ferri, is there anyone who might be able to enlighten me here?
 
That is sad. I think we have to be truthful with ourselves about our skills and experience to avoid situations like this.
 
Yikes. Man I wonder what happened? Just because he hadn't taken any actual classes, it sounds like he had some knowledge from self teaching and some practical experience. Maybe he just pushed it too far this time? It's really sad, the guy sounds like someone that could be on this forum...

I do think they are attempting to single out and throw the Survivorman show under the bus a little. Les Stroud keeps it as real as can be expected considering a 7 day long ordeal is condensed into an hour long show. Usually he shows himself pretty much starving for 7 days, doesn't look romantic to me.
 
remmmm said:
Yikes. Man I wonder what happened? Just because he hadn't taken any actual classes, it sounds like he had some knowledge from self teaching and some practical experience. Maybe he just pushed it too far this time? It's really sad, the guy sounds like someone that could be on this forum...

I do think they are attempting to single out and throw the Survivorman show under the bus a little. Les Stroud keeps it as real as can be expected considering a 7 day long ordeal is condensed into an hour long show. Usually he shows himself pretty much starving for 7 days, doesn't look romantic to me.
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I agree with both statements, just want to add that with lack of proper winter gear and if he got wet and then could not get a fire going, big problem. I think training is great but you need a fall back or plan B incase it goes south on you.

RickJ
 
Thats darwin in action. A guy who was 41 and didnt have a stable job or much of a life and apparently lacked common sense died of exposure. This isnt even news. The sickening part is that they try to place blame on les stroud and the media. No one ever wants to take responsibility for the stupid stuff they do.
 
Gear is great, knowledge is power. All the best gear in the world won't do you much good if you don't know how to use it. Sorry to see this proved by the death of someone that could very well be one of us posting here :(.

With that said, from the article I had the impression that the writer was pointing some fingers at survival shows, in this case, Les'. I'm certain though that if instead of Les our dear Bear was the one singled out, folks here would be way more vocal about this :rolleyes:. Independent of who makes the show, the fact is that they are for entertainment only, some worse some better at entertaining. They're not survival courses, but the problem is most viewers do not understand that.
 
oh my! I have been saying for years, that doing what Survivor man suggests will get someone killed.
 
A couple of things bothered me about this article.

1) I don't think the wilderness is a 'nightmare' - but I don't purposely put myself in 'survival' situations. I train my skills one small step at a time and always with a safety net.

When I see guys like Rick go into the winter woods with very little, I KNOW he has trained for years to do this, with experts like Bow. I would not do this - if I practice survival fire - I have a sure way to make fire with me.

2) I think Stroud should be left out of this - for the most part. He ALWAYS speaks of getting training, in his book he repeats this nearly every chapter, the show has a disclaimer - I agree with him, just because HE can go into the woods with very little and make it (and he NEVER has made it look easy) doesn't mean you should.

I have never seen him do anything that was just stupid and unsafe - I cannot say the same for Bear.

3) I hate stories that hint at looking for a responsible party. The responsible party was the man in the woods. I am not claiming he was a moron, or kicking the dead, but I cannot blame anyone else for his untimely death. I think he would agree with this.

We have to take responsibility for our own actions. He was not coerced nor was he in a situation where he was given poor advice, I have never heard Les say 'Go out and try this - you will be fine!'

TF
 
That's why my backyard gets my practice rounds. Last week I went out to make a fire, was successful, yet got frost nip on my feet because I didn't have the proper socks or boots. Learned a lesson. I feel for the guys family.
 
I understand the the OP's meaning but the title isn't accurate. This person does not appear to have had much gear on him, aside from his lack of actual skills.
A good tent and sleeping bag would probably have saved his life, regardless of his survival skills.
I totally subscribe to the 'skills before gear' philosophy. It's just that with even very rudimentary camping skills (most people will succeed in erecting a tent or lighting a camping stove unless there's a hurricane blowing) a bit of proper camping kit would have saved this man's life.
 
philwar said:
I understand the the OP's meaning but the title isn't accurate. This person does not appear to have had much gear on him, aside from his lack of actual skills.
A good tent and sleeping bag would probably have saved his life, regardless of his survival skills.
I totally subscribe to the 'skills before gear' philosophy. It's just that with even very rudimentary camping skills (most people will succeed in erecting a tent or lighting a camping stove unless there's a hurricane blowing) a bit of proper camping kit would have saved this man's life.
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I was just about to say something similar, after all what would an intervention entail. Either relocating him, tending his wounds [though we don't know he had any], or much more likely just adding gear. Get that guy warm in an appropriate dry sleeping bag, inside a Gore-tex bivvy bag, under some sort of effective roof and already things are looking better. Wind in a burner that works and isn't dependent on what he has to go find to make it function and there's a warm dry happy bloke with a hot beverage and perhaps breakfast in bed.

...
True, knowledge can sometimes be more important than gear. I can think of a number of people that would have to sit in the dark because none of them have the wherewithal to light an old Tilley lamp for example. However, there's a flipside to that coin and it relates to the weird notion that “knowing” somehow universally trumps kit. I think that's bollox. I see gear here all the time that would fail regardless of what you think you know. I think; “If I took you up on the moors looking like that within a few hours you'd be a soggy mess. Then you'd probably try to hunker down under your tiny poncho/space blanket as best you could to fend the lashing rain off and you'd find that doesn't work so good. Next you'd probably try to find dry sticks to get you warm and fed, well good luck with that. In a couple of days a Gore-tex clad poacher will come through and find a big wet sponge like lump, half wool half moss. That will be you waiting for the helicopter. Even a moron with the right kit could have just sat that out. By contrast all your knowing did nothing to save you”. I don't think that message really gets home to some people 'till they've been in extreme conditions. I think the desert is a great illustrator, and I'm sure The Poles probably the same - Knowing is no substitute for the right kit. I do find it so strange when people are so dug in one camp or the other. One guy spends needles amounts of money on gear only to find that if it fails he lacks the skills to improvise – gear dependent. Bushcrafters [where old army surplus goes to die] skip along thinking their knowledge will save them from the disadvantages of their 50 pence WWII Swedish officers tunic and all that – romance dependent.

Anyways, his face looks vaguely familiar. Was he a member here?
 
I have no idea what the guys background is like, but I think its best to test ones bushcraft skills very slowly. Im still in that "day hike / over nighter" stage.

My favorite means of testing myself is to carry a good kit, and then try not to use it :)

I practice the basic skills of knife work, firebuilding, trap building and shelter building almost weekly. But its just not something to play with out in the field with no gear unless one HAS to.

Sad story.
 
sad story :( I do agree w/ the sentiment that if your "practicing" you should have a plan B- ie truck is not far away, tent w/ sleeping bag is not far, buddies not far- some kind of safety net

you don't need to hike 10 miles into the wilderness to hone survival skills; you not only put yourself at risk, but also the SAR folks that eventually have to come looking for you as well
 
Rockywolf said:
That's why my backyard gets my practice rounds. . .
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jeff_c said:
My favorite means of testing myself is to carry a good kit, and then try not to use it :)
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+1000 to the above. I think a lot of guys that get labeled "gear queers" fall into that category. IMO, the backyard is the best place to develop basic skills -- if things go wrong, you go inside, warm up/cool down and try to figure out what went wrong.

As an above poster pointed out, no matter how much you know, there are certain minimums of equipment -- primitive or modern -- required to live in any environment. If you're planning to live year-round in an area, then you have to have ALL of the required equipment all the time (at least at what you establish as your basecamp).

But...let's think about something else. We don't know what the guy's thoughts are (obviously). Maybe he thought things were so bad, he wanted to get away and try something he always wanted to try -- and he might be just fine with the idea that failing meant dying.
 
Talfuchre said:
2) I think Stroud should be left out of this - for the most part. He ALWAYS speaks of getting training, in his book he repeats this nearly every chapter, the show has a disclaimer - I agree with him, just because HE can go into the woods with very little and make it (and he NEVER has made it look easy) doesn't mean you should.
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They even named the deceased "Survivorman" in the title of the article! I thought Les Stroud died until the page fully loaded! How cheap they are.

I have never seen him do anything that was just stupid and unsafe - I cannot say the same for Bear.
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Oh yeah he did, he ate a mushroom and admitted he did not properly identify it and if he was just joking, he should not joke like that on something that is going to be televised.

3) I hate stories that hint at looking for a responsible party. The responsible party was the man in the woods. I am not claiming he was a moron, or kicking the dead, but I cannot blame anyone else for his untimely death. I think he would agree with this.

We have to take responsibility for our own actions. He was not coerced nor was he in a situation where he was given poor advice, I have never heard Les say 'Go out and try this - you will be fine!'

TF
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Correct on all counts.

I spent most of my youth in the woods and on and around the water, camping, fishing and hunting...and, in general, banging around in the woods. I won't use the trendy term, "the bush," just the woods, all seasons. When you hunt deer, you learn to dress warm, you learn, at least in the 70s and 80s, the value of wool and other old-time knowledge.

The only way I am going to die in the woods is if I have a health-related incident, I mean, we do sometimes die. :D Or, if I suffer an injury that disables me to the point I cannot do what I have learned over the years.

Or I get killed by someone, or a bear...or mountain lion...or dropped frozen blue ice chunk from passing airliner...probably not from hypothermia...unless I am in the Arctic and I don't have the money to travel there, anyway.
 
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