Driving In Remote Mountainous Areas In Winter

I hate to ask the obvious, but how about turn around and drive back the way you came? I assume the vehicle died or ran out of gas in which case I would bring 5 gallons of gas. I carry a lot in the truck in the event I have a breakdown, but I generally don't plan on staying more than one night. If snowed in I would walk back on the same road I came in on as at least I know the general time it took to get me from where I knew my location to now I am lost.
Items in the truck I keep
thermal blanket
extra shirt, socks and shorts
mora
axe
corona saw
matches
lighter
fire stell
metal water bottle
flares
backpack
4 bottle of water
4 packages of crackers with cheese or PB
road flares
wire
50 ft of cord
multi tool
hats
meds- aspirin & benadryl
 
gadgetgeek said:
another thing that just bumped into my brain since you mentioned it Thomas. it takes less heat energy to melt ice than snow for a given volume of water. so even a pack of bottled water in the back is fine when frozen, you can either cut the bottle apart to melt the ice inside, or do a double boiler rig to easily get the water. you don't really want to be drinking warm water (unless you are at the point where you are no longer providing your own heat) and any health risk from the plastic is negotiable compared to death by dehydration. you could even tuck a few into your parka while working to keep you cool, and take advantage of the waste heat, or stick a couple over the vents while warming the car with the engine, you had a full tank right? And lastly you could heat them directly on the fire if it came to that.
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For winter survival, warm to just shy of burning hot water is preferred to cold water. It will help keep your core at temperature. Over the period of a day, the energy difference between cold and very warm water is about half a Snickers bar.
 
Bo T different schools of thought on that one. I find that if I drink something that is too warm, I will start to get chilled, where as if I try to match my body temp with the water, I do a lot better. But to each their own. It depends on how well your body thermo-regulates on its own I guess as well. I know guys who can drink ice water while working in the cold because they are generating so much heat anyway, it doesn't matter. For me that doesn't work so much.

RWT, often with getting stuck in the snow, there are a lot of factors that can be at play. I've gotten stuck in all kinds of snowbanks, often due to the dumbest of causes. Also, I cannot stress this enough, in all but the rarest of circumstances, people who leave the vehicle in snow die. I'm not being over dramatic. its what happens.
 
No problem, just stressing the survival part. If I'm out shoveling snow for a couple of hours I'll drink cold water while I'm working and I'll come in next to a warm fire soaking wet from sweat. In the scenario given I'd do my best to keep from sweating.
 
Its all good. I'm 5'10 and 150 after a hearty lunch, so I tend to need every advantage possible to keep warm. As far as the survival aspect, you are right it does make a difference. Energy is energy, just converted and moved, never destroyed. I have a very twitchy internal thermostat.
 
Still a tragic story of what pushing on can do when unprepared in bad weather and road conditions.

Hits really close to home, but I couldn't agree more, I feel every kit should be equipped with emergency use materials, food and water. For the amount of money people spend on car insurance per year, a fraction of that can buy you a whole lot of kit and some piece of mind. Pactical things to maximize the elements of your environment for all seasons of weather, not just to give you the advantage of survival, but comfort. I rarely see sleep gear included in lists online, from experience, a good night's sleep can be game changing. Other than the obvious items, I'm more curious to see how some of our fellow members in different parts of the US/world fortify their kits to their specific locations and wetaher, show shoes, snow pants, other comfort items, since after all, your car's carrying it for ya.
 
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