Alpine Survival Scenes and Stills

pict

pict

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Jan 7, 2003
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I have been having fun learning how to use Windows Moviemaker recently and post to Youtube. I am still learning what it takes to make good video. This one was more of a test run to see how to work transitions and include stills in a viewable format.

It does give a pretty good idea of what the upper elevations are like in my area. This is a tough area to survive in, the weather changes constantly.

Several years ago a group of four guys got lost up there and spent four days wandering around in the fog. They ended up burning clothes to keep warm (dubious strategy). They had gone in to photograph the ecological damage being done by the local mine. I was there during the search but I didn't know why they were searching until I came down. They had to foot the bill for their rescue.

This isn't a place to go unprepared. In fact I won't go up there anymore without at least three guys.

ALIPINE SURVIVAL SCENES AND STILLS

Mac
 
You bet! I wouldn't like to be there at all! Loose rock, wind, mild temps (cold but not freezing so it rains instead of snows)... Windy, wasn't it? ;) With no cave or no tent... you are pretty much screwed up. No matter how tight you set up ponchos or anything... the shelter is going to get ripped by the wind gust sooner or later. And you will end up wet no matter what. Better to wrap in the poncho with all the clothes on and sit on the backpack...


Mikel
 
Thanks for sharing. Foggy, windy, not exactly my idea of Brazil. It's good to see you are prepared enough to come back safe and alive.

dantzk.
 
Very cool! i really like seeing the videos and pics from other parts of the world like that, very interesting.
 
Wow that's pretty cool. I like the part where they are dancing to In the jungle. LOL
 
Excellent post .......not my idea of Brazil or is it Brasil ...I think of farm land and half naked women on the beaches..... I have a friend that lives there...send me pics from time to time !
 
The mountains there look cold and windy. Are they?



Texastony-I don't think we are talking about the same thing.
 
Mac,

Awesome vid and pics. :thumbup: Looks like Hypothermia zone there, eh? Those temps that hover between freezing and 50 deg F. What mountain range is that?
 
Thanks for taking us there pict. That's the only way most of us will ever see this area of the world. Great shots. :thumbup:
 
This is one of my favorite areas to camp in but it is nasty up there at times. You aren´t technically in fog, you are in the lower cloud levels. I should have taken some video when it was closed in. I tend to haul out the camera when it clears to take shots of the views.

The deceptive part of this mountain is that sometimes you get on top and it is crystal clear and you can see for a hundred miles. Sometimes it actually stays that way and there is very little challenge posed to naviagtion, you would have to be blind to get lost. Then the temps and wind direction change, you are a few km into your exploration, haven´t been navigating and suddenly you are in a 15 meter whiteout and everyplace looks the same.

There are trees growing up there in places where the rocks collect and channel the water but they are all very twisted. There are many places to shelter from the wind in the rocks but few that would make a good shelter for spending the night. There is also little in the way of brush or other resources with which to improve a natural shelter. If you add a lightweight tropical bag or a poncho liner you will actually get comfortable.

My minimum shelter kit for up there is, adequate clothes, a poncho, cordage and a bivy. In all seasons except winter this will get you through the night. Winter temps will get down to about freezing, but normally dry. Right now it is the end of summer so night temps are in the 50´s but with wind and rain.

Keep in mind that Brazil is a big place, you can fit the continental US in the Amazon basin (there are uninhabited areas of the Amazon as large as Iowa). This is the image most people have of Brazil, endless jungle. Here in Minas Gerais we have several climate zones that range from seaonal desert in the north to jungle (Mata Atlantica) in the south. Above about 4,500 feet elevation you get into the "Campo Rupestre" or Tropical Alpine ecosystem. This particular mountain is at the bottom end of the Serra Espinhaço. If you want to get a good look at the type of terrain then do a google search for "Serra do Cipó". Serra do Cipó is a national park to the north of this area. Mac

ETA - I can't stress how much a lightweight bivy adds to any natural shelter you'd care to construct. A poncho will go a long way to improving a natural rock or brush shelter but it won't stop the wind or gusting rain spray. A bivy does that for you right away. The poncho just gives you some living space and takes the direct assault to a degree. Its the bivy that gets you out of the wind chill and keeps your clothes from getting slowly soaked all night.
 
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