Two kids almost didnt make it.

N

nodh

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Mar 16, 2007
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http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article1621215.ab
A swedish article about two kids going on snowcats.
They were driving in the dark and got stuck in a ravine.
They left to continue on foot. Eventually one got got hypotehermia and " the body shortcutted itself". They tried to start a fire in a tree stump full with resin but didnt succeed. Fortunately they had mobile connection and could call for rescue. Eventually they were found after shining with the flash and flashlight built in their mobile phone to guide the rescuers. The guy with hypo had 32.5C when found.

What did they do wrong?
They might have been out in unknown terrain or overestimating their machines. The text doesnt say why they went into the ravine.
The guy who went hypo was wet from trying to get the machine out. It doesnt say if he went into water or just got sweaty.
They left the machines and wandered off, usually wrong.
They didnt manage to start a fire, even though those tree stumps almost self ignite from all the pine resin.
They had mobile phones (good for them), but no proper flashlights or such.

I have not been out riding a snowcat, but I guess there are space in them to keep at least some survival gear. Anyway, they tried to light a tree stump but they had lots of gas in the cats left behind.

I know it is easy to critise other peoples doings, but how hard could it have been if they had had a GPS on the machine, nothing fancy, just the coordinates, a proper flashlight or two and something to start a real fire. Something that burn good into a tree stump. We had some magnesium gadgets to run a mobile soldering iron and it burnt through almost anything.

Anyway, it is good that they survived. But still, they were lucky.

About the same time they got stuck the rescue was alerted, the search took two and a half hour to get running but it doesnt say how long it took for them to be found. Say an hour or so. They were not far from a big ski hotel in the first place. Anyway, if you go hypo it goes fast.
 
They were very lucky, I've never been around snow much (maybe three times in my life :o), but I'm sure I would have had at least 4 different ways to get a fire going in such cold weather. If I knew I was going to be out past dark, I would want a flashlight as well (I carry one anyways). At least they lived to tell the tale, and maybe next time they will be more prepared.
 
Ah, damnit nodh, I can't read that!!! I put in my post based on what you said, then to find out I couldn't read the real article.
 
Aren't mobile phones handy little devices. (as long as you've got both service and battery!!!) In oz recently some hikers got lost and sent photos of there surroundings to a friend who showed rangers, rangers recognised the area and sent SAR strait to them. link
 
The thing about living where it snows a lot is that you get over confident and careless.

And, no, I don't think there's very much storage room on a snow machine, anymore than there's a lot of storage room on a motorcycle. Still, a PSK with the fixin's to make a fire would have gone a long way for these guys.
 
When I go out for a walk at night, within a half mile from home at most, I carry more gear in my pockets than they seem to have had. When it's really cold here, or snow & ice on the ground, I make sure I don't overheat. Stop, rest, open the jacket to let out some heat, zip up and go. It's really not hard. It's mostly just paying attention. Oh, and good boots. :)
 
These two were snatched from Darwin's claws :)

My most favourite pastime is making [controlled] fires in the woods and judging from what's left at many sites I've been to, it seems that many young people cannot get a fire going without a bottle of spirits and a whole box of matches.
 
I would like to have something that can start a fire easily and burn like ****. Something like a thermite grenade but not that military. Something the size of a matchbox that you start with a lifeboat match or such. You can use BBQ lighters but they dont burn fierze enough.

Nowadays kids know nothing about the outdoors they pass from A and B but they know about the lates Ipod or mobile or whatnot that contains batteries.
 
Nodh,
I always carry a strobe when away from roads- SDE makes good ones or there are cheap ones about the size of a D cell battery. A Sterno tablet burns easy enough- I also have some of the USGI heat tabs in the brown foil but am at work and do not remember the name they go by. A tiny tube fo rubber cement like that for fixing bicycle tires makes a good accelerant.
If space allows- a small automotive flare is good for starting an emergency fire and for signaling as well.

2Door
 
Wow, at 32.5C he was pretty close to going. I bet there wasn't a whole lot of intelligent thought on his part with a temperature like that; I had mild hypothermia once and it affected my thinking. This guy was lucky to live.
 
This winther so far six people have died while driving snowcats in Sweden.
24/11 2007 Vilhelmina, a man was thrown off his machine and into a tree.
15/12 2007 Boden, about the same thing.
25/12 2007 Ovanåker, a person miss a bridge and drives into a ditch.
26/12 2007 Arjeplog, the steering ski jams and halts the machine. Killed by a car.
 5/1 2008 Bräcke, a guy hits the concrete foundation to a gate.
13/1 2008 Överkalix, a man thought to have hit a ice ridge on the river and crashed.
The rescue service think the reason for all these deaths are that the machines get more powerful and people have no knowledge of the terrain.

Still, going out in the forest without any type of gear is überstupid.
 
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