Real Stories of Survival Repository

matthewdanger

matthewdanger

Joined
Jan 29, 2003
Messages
1,568
I have been reading lately about Sir Ernest Shackleton\'s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. It is a very impressive story of endurance and survival in some of the most terrifying climates on earth. Reading about the heroism of expedition has impressed on me how much there is to learn about survival from those who have actually survived!

So I thought I would start a thread where all of you good little W&SSers could post links or text about true survival stories. It could be anything from that time you got stuck out after dark on your hunting trip, to an Everest summiting attempt gone wrong, to an urban mugging - it\'s all about survival. As the repository grows it could make for a great resourse and a fine way to pass time.

I\'ll start:

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition: Survival in the Antartic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Transantarctic_Expedition
 
matthew, if you liked reading about Sir Shackletons' expedition then you should read this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shackletons...=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224280216&sr=1-5

Its the story of a number of the crew of the SY Aurora who were stranded in the Antarctic. The ship was tasked with laying out the supply caches for the exit leg of the Shackleton expedition from the opposite side of the continent.
I've not read this specific book but I did read this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Men-Harrowing-Story-Shackletons/dp/0747569266/ref=pd_sim_b_6

Enjoy.
D.
 
I spent 367 long cold days in Antarctica at both McMurdo and the South Pole Station Amundsen Scott almost 20 years ago.

I can not even begin to tell you how hard it is to live down there. The coldest it got down to while I was there was -103 and windchills were crazy cold. The coldest winchill was -187. Winds were either dead calm, or tornado like and always in your face.

I remember when the station manager came in and asked how many of us were in temps that were 100 above zero. We all were, and he said well if you go outside now you can say you are part of the 200 club. I didn't know what that was, and he said it is now -103, so you can say you were in 100 above zero and 100 below zero, the 200 club. At that time I didn't really care, because I was outside everyday, as that was my job. I baby sat scientists while they did their experiments.

A lot of bad things happened down there. There was a helicopter that went down about 100 miles away. It took us on the SAR team over four days to get to them on the ground. For us, it is not about rescue, but recovery.

It makes you think while you are out there, because if something happens to you, there is no one else to call. You are the calvary. It is one of the most unforgiving places I have ever been.
 
This is turning out just like I hoped. Thanks for all of the resources everyone.

And a special thank you to 1 BIG BUNKER for your perspective.
 
I had to dig and dig, but I found a few pictures from my time down south. Here is that helicopter that went down and we had to go out and recover.








This is me sitting in front of Shackleton's hut. It hasn't changed one bit since he was there. Everything inside is still the way they left it, coffee cups, pots, old tins of supplies, everything. There is even a dog that died that is still chained up outside the hut. It is so cold down there that it is considered a sterile environment, so no germs to speak of. This means that things don't rot away, they just kind of freeze dry.

In fact, after you have been there a while, and everyone's body has fought off all the germs, your immune system starts slowing way down as it is not needed. Then when some new people come in after a year, everyone is deathly sick. If you don't get sick then, you will when you get back to Christchurch.

It is funny, while you are down there, you forget that there is nothing to smell. No grass or trees or flowers or anything. Rock, ice and snow have no smell. Then when you get back to New Zealand, your nose goes into over load smelling everything again. Even seeing little kids is something you forget about.




This is one of many survival shelters that are placed in certain areas. They are filled with food, fuel, and supplies. One of my jobs was to ride around and make sure everything in these was in working order and fully stocked at all times.



I will stop now. I hope I haven't high jack your thread to much.
 
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