Thoughts on Boreal/sub-Arctic winter survival...

Benchmade,

I spent more than 25 years in Manitoba, and really do miss it. Winnipeg is a better town than most give it credit for. And with Nopiming and Whiteshell so close...
A buddy and I used to hike in to Caribou Lake on the south end of Mantario Trail every winter, about 9 clicks in, and loved it, regardless of the cold. We tried the mountain tents, but always went back to the quinzee. It was just warmer.
Do you get out much in winter?

Jim
 
skammer said:
For those who have never experienced it bush travel with as little as 12 inch deep snow is EXTREMELY difficult and will exhaust even highly fit people quickly. Even with snowshoes its still about 3-5 times more physically tasking than having no snow.

Much of this depends on the type, the really powdery type can almost be ignored, it is mainly air and it does little to slow you down, it is similar to walking through light brush. However the really wet and thick type gets annoying fast, it sticks to everything and just weighs you down and you can't walk through it as it is way too solid.

The big problem isn't what is down, it is what can come down. Recently we were stuck with a blizzard which hit some areas with 30-50 cm of snow in a very short period of time. Conditions were very bad for about two days. There were frequent white outs due to heavy snow and high winds. Walking in such conditions would be extremely difficult, as would trying to build a shelter and starting a fire.

And the nice thing is, this isn't even the worst that can happen, you can get sleet storms which make 50 cm of thick snow look like heaven. Try being out in freezing rain and being productive. Everything gets heavy fast due to buildup of ice, it can even rip power lines off of poles and tear branches from trees. This is pretty nasty stuff and trying to move around even after it is over is problematic because everything is now a solid sheet of ice.

This can happen pretty much anytime during the winter and it extends really far up into summer, we have been hit with snow in late May. So what you have to do is think of is what can happen, how far you may have to walk and factor that into walking out vs staying still. Mear's talks about this a lot in his Bushcraft shows, when he sets up camp and such he talks about preparing for the worst weather.

-Cliff
 
Jim Craig:

Yes, I get out as much as I can. We've had a REALLY mild winter here. We finally hit -25 celsius for longer than 24 hours and everyone is complaining . . . It seems that as soon as decent snow (for snowshoeing) falls, we have a warm spell and it turns to mush, then freezes, then thaws . . . . One day it went from -30 C with the wind to +5 with sunshine in a 12 hour period!! So you're originally from the 'Peg? :thumbup: I see you are in Inuvik now. I agree, I love my town, mosquitos, weather extremes and all :D
 
Just a note on sleep cycles from my experience...
RokJok, if you kept at those hours you would have become used to them.
Gradually.
I worked nights 3-11+ (we didn't leave until the work was done) for 7 years. I started out like you and little by little my 'day' shifted later and later. For the last 4 years I'd wake up, grab a cuppa coffee and run out the door much like normal morning commuters.
Excpet it was 2 in the afternoon.
It is amazing how the human animal can adapt.
The adaptation to days was much quicker now that I have a day job. That only took a couple of weeks. We are day (diurnal?) creatures after all.

cliff's 24 hour stints sound much like advertising. Not at all uncommon to work that long, sleep for a couple hours and finish off the next work day.
Key for me is to hit the sack at the normal time, when it rolls around.
If I don't, I'm always chasing sleep, trying to make up.

Moving at night could work (regarding sleep cycles) for a short time, but it is taxing. Your body would fight it. You'd end up with much less sleep (like RokJok) and prolly only fall asleep when totally exhausted. A bad way to be in a real life survival situation.
 
You probably know this allready but if not, Les Stroud's show will be about the Boreal Region next week on the Science Channel.

Just my thoughts on this guy and his show, First off I am not a Survival Expert just a student, and I think overall this guy is pretty smart just takes some chances that are against the rules.
 
x39 said:
The staying put part is pretty much a given in most situations. My thoughts had more to do with taking advantage of the sun's heat by reversing sleeping patterns, somewhat like resting during the hottest part of the day in the desert, only for the opposite purpose. I was definitely not trying to start another Les Stroud thread!

Im new to this forum, this is actually my first post :)

It's really not that sure that it will be any warmer during the day (if the weather stays exactly the same, there might be a 5-7°C difference), and anyway, the daylight only lasts a few hours in the north during winter time. The warming affects of the sun are not that relevant. In a bright weather it's usually a lot colder than in a cloudy weather, so if it's sunny, it might be a good idea to hold still and see if the weather changes (assuming theres enough food). If there's no moonlight, travelling or setting up a camp during the night is also quite dangerous, since it's really pitch black up here (I'm from Finland). If you for example were to drop your knife, it could be nearly impossible to find it (especially because you cant take you gloves off) So, I would definately use the few hours of light collecting firewood and making sure everything is allright before the night falls.

I would personally try to set up a camp, dig the snow out of the way, get some spruce twigs to sleep on (about 0,5m or 1 ft at least) to insulate the coldness of the ground, and collect as much fire wood as possible. I've swimmed in a hole in the ice during winter several times, and I can tell you that when the trembling starts, you can't do anything anymore, not even think straight. So if it would be necessary to travel, one should be extra carefull, and probably start walking early in the morning, and set up a new camp when it's still sunny. Also it would be a good idea to prepare some kindling in the camp before leaving, so you can set up a fire easily when you start building your next camp (since you really cant tell what the conditions might be at that point). Failing once to set up a fire, or building a decent shelter would be fatal.
 
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