Heresy in Backpacker

Thomas Linton

Thomas Linton

Joined
Jun 16, 2003
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Amidst several silly mistakes, Backpacker Magazine's issue on survival notes that falls, drowning, and heart attacks are the three biggest killers in the wilderness.

They go on to list hypothermia as # 4, hyperthermia as # 5, and lightning as # 6.

I could find no reference to their source(s).
 
I would question #5 and would be tempted to switch #2 and #3. That being said, without reference their guesses don't mean any more than mine. Or any less.
 
Those are our three biggest callouts in search and rescue. Even being in the desert we have a lot of drownings.
 
I'm still a firm believer that some falls, as well as many heart attack and drowning cases can be directly attributed to hypothermia.
 
longbow50 said:
I'm still a firm believer that some falls, as well as many heart attack and drowning cases can be directly attributed to hypothermia.
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I (almost) never argue with belief. However, how can one write a book on wilderness survival and totally ignore falls, drowning, and heart attack as risks? Cody?
 
I dunno, those first three sure fit with my experience as an EMT. The overwhelming number of calls we got for people hurt in the woods were falls and drownings. Not as many heart attacks, but there were some.
 
Hypothermia is the main risk for AN OTHERWISE HEALTHY person.

That means "be careful", then watch out for hypothermia.

In my humble version of the "rule of threes", I say you can live :

- 3 nanoseconds without the will to live
- 3 seconds being stupid (accidents, drowings, big mistakes, etc.)
- 3 minutes without O2 in your vital organs (ABC's)
- 3 hours without shelter
- 3 days without water
...

Each "level" of course has an impact on each other : in the cold you need more calories, and if hypothermic you can't think straight and thus are more subject to accidents, etc.

This is, specifically, to include the aforementioned risks in the whole thing.

David
 
Moine said:
Hypothermia is the main risk for AN OTHERWISE HEALTHY person.
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Friend, I find no evidence that such is the case. I have challenged the believers in the traditional view (hypotherima uber alles) on this and other forums to product evidence supporting that view, and have received none. The government agencies repeating the traditional view that I have contacted have no such evidence (or made no response). They just are repeating what "everybody knows" -- what cannot be substantiated and what is contary to the only systematic gathering of data that exists. Missouri cites Illinois, who cites Pennsylvania, etc.

I think your reformulation of the traditional view has to be true as regards the heart attack component of the three main causes of wilderness death; however, there seems little connection between health and the desire to "boulder" or "climb" or folks getting into trouble in the water when swimming/diving/hunting/rafting/etc. (The only SAR cases I had involving drowning [and thankfully, another team found the bodies each time] had as victims persons under the age of 25.) Statistics on drowning generally show that young people are "overrepresented." Why would that be different in the back country?

I am not arguing that we forget hypothermia or that it is an unimportant risk. I just argue that virtually ignoring what are statistically - far and away -the biggest causes of wilderness death makes stunningly little sense.
 
IMHO the main reason that hypothermia is bally-hooed so much is that it is sneaky and insidious. Most of us know to be careful near "the edge" and around water. Most (not all) heart attack victims have a cardiac history and have some idea of their limits. Hypothermia, like CO poisoning, sneaks up on you. You start making bad choices and end up dead. So is it #1 or #10? Who cares. I personally believe it is one of the most dangerous because it so often goes unrecognized. It can be combatted and overcome, but it seldom gives up. I compare it to nitrogen narcosis when on deep air dives. Deep divers are well aware of "being narced" both in themselves, and in their dive partners. Through rigid protocols, awareness, and experience the effects can be minimized and compensated for. But to beat it, you have to surface; or to bring this rant back to the point, get warm.
 
I wonder if the high listing of heart attacks might be due to the greater number of aging baby boomers (like me) who persist in hiking and backpacking despite our dotage.

I too would have thought that hypothermia would have been number two or three. When I was younger, I couldn't understand the stress on shelter in survival courses. Then I spent a long November night in the woods, and my youthful sense of invulnerability disappeared.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Amidst several silly mistakes, Backpacker Magazine's issue on survival notes that falls, drowning, and heart attacks are the three biggest killers in the wilderness.

They go on to list hypothermia as # 4, hyperthermia as # 5, and lightning as # 6.

I could find no reference to their source(s).
Click to expand...

This is in line with a study just recently completed about rescues done over a two year period from 1999 to 2001 in the White mountains of New Hampshire. The Wilderness Medical society did a study on White mountain data and it placed drownings at the first cause of death, heart attacks as second and blunt trauma, then hypothermia was next. There were only 2 people who died from hypothermia out of the 64 recorded death.

If I remember correctly, the 20 to 30 year old group were mostly responsible for rescues because of risky behavour, no suprise and then the 50 to 60 years olds were dropping because of heart attacks from pushing too hard.

Wilderness medicine journal

KR

NREMT-B
CT EMT-D
Wilderness EMT
NASAR SAR Tech III
FUNSAR Trained
 
Interesting... so if the data is coming from the New Hampshire region, wouldn't that downplay dehydration-related illnesses... which would be a bigger threat in say New Mexico.

Perhaps a regional study is the only accurate approach?
 
Watchful said:
Interesting... so if the data is coming from the New Hampshire region, wouldn't that downplay dehydration-related illnesses... which would be a bigger threat in say New Mexico.

Perhaps a regional study is the only accurate approach?
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But it matches the results of the study of western U.S. Parks faily well -- same top three causes of death.

More studies would be good. There are national numbers on hypothermia as a cause of morbidity and mortality, but they are heavily weighted towards cities since that is where 90%+ of the cases occur - homeless and old folks primarily.
 
Remember that a lot of these incidents could involve overweight, out-of-shape hunters, many of whom fall out of deer stands.

I gave up my subscription to Backpacker as it seems out of touch with reality.
 
I can recall quite a few fatal hypothermia cases in recent years in my area (eastern Maine). Perhaps hypothermia fatalities are more common in really remote areas (where people actually get lost or stuck for days) as opposed to parks and places that are popular for recreation. There are many falls resulting in injury and even fatalies in Acadia National Park, but they are not nearly as common in the woods where I live.
 
Thomas Linton said:
In a National Park?

In any event, they failed to survive in the bush.
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Who said National Park?

The original post read: "Amidst several silly mistakes, Backpacker Magazine's issue on survival notes that falls, drowning, and heart attacks are the three biggest killers in the wilderness."
 
Sorry, Guyon, I was referring to one of the two studies of wilderness fatalities -- one of NH cases and one of cases in nine western National Parks - where they wouldn't likely have been hunting. Wherever Backpacker got its numbers, they match these two studies.
 
Ok, so whats your point? Is Hypothermia not important? Do you have a wilderness plan on how to not fall down? What are you talking about?
 
Horse said:
Ok, so whats your point? Is Hypothermia not important?
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(deep breath) :rolleyes: To repeat, I do not regard hypothermia as unimportant. To repeat, my point is that almost no "survival" literature discusses how to avoid the most significant causes of wilderness death, including the latest and greatest -- Le Grande Cody.

Do you have a wilderness plan on how to not fall down? What are you talking about?
Click to expand...

I need not be an expert on radios to point out that a radio that I bought does not make any sound. However, I have given some thought to the topic.

One might address the need for footwear with good traction. This is contrary to the belief of some that high-traction soles cause unacceptable environmental damage.

Planning, using topo maps, could reduce risks.

Many sources are still calling on folks to back their backpacks with a very high center of gravity. Leaving aside the issue of whether that makes any sense with most of the load on the waistbelt, a lower center of gravity reduces the risk of loss of balance.

Train on use of safety ropes.

Emphasizing the risk of falls (and heart attacks and drowning) might encourage folks to minimize exposure to the risk. If hypothermia is so far and away the geratest killer than no other risk is seriously discussed, why worry about any risk more dangerous than hypothermia?

Heart attack? Physicals. Stay in shape. Aspirin in the first-aid kit. Realistic expectations.

Drowning? Learn to swim. Loosening pack belt before crossing. Field test for water temp before that "cooling dip." Avoid diving. Testing depth and footing ahead of progress. Technique for surviving passage of rapids if carried away. Training on danger of contact hypothermia. Overloading of watercraft. Safety lines. The force of moving water. Planning to reduce risks.


That's only a start. Y'all can come up with more.
 
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