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Stuck in snow with now help in sight; what do YOU do?
- Thread starter NVP5White
- Start date
i wouldnt be caught dead around an area that is snowed in. if you know the road is un passabe at times during winter, why would you chance it, you have two kids, i would of went on a nice hot summer vacation in Florida instead. whats the worst you could get? sunburn?
If you know you are going on a road trip in the winter, the essential things to bring are:
Road emergency kit (flare, jumper cables, first aid kit, small knife, matches)
Blankets
gloves, jacket, hat
Cell phone
tire chains (make sure they fit your tires and you know how to put them on)
newspaper (to burn and make smoke during the day to been seen at a distance)
cooking pot, gallon of water
food
Small bag of dried dog food (when you run out of food, you can survive off the dog food, and you will only eat it when you need to)
If you are in a group, NEVER SEPARATE! unless you KNOW where you are going. together = warm, and together means if the search party finds you, they find all of you! they do not need to keep looking for the other person somewhere.
Road emergency kit (flare, jumper cables, first aid kit, small knife, matches)
Blankets
gloves, jacket, hat
Cell phone
tire chains (make sure they fit your tires and you know how to put them on)
newspaper (to burn and make smoke during the day to been seen at a distance)
cooking pot, gallon of water
food
Small bag of dried dog food (when you run out of food, you can survive off the dog food, and you will only eat it when you need to)
If you are in a group, NEVER SEPARATE! unless you KNOW where you are going. together = warm, and together means if the search party finds you, they find all of you! they do not need to keep looking for the other person somewhere.
Situations like this are why I am glad I am an Eagle Scout. They mentioned on the news that the only reason they found the car was because they found his trail and followed it back to the car. I'm not sure how true that was...but like many people here, I would have done quite a bit differently.
First off, you have to remember when you are lost, the only piece of information you have is where you came from (or where you thought you came from). Therefore, no could imagine that he would walk 5 miles up the road to find a resort. For all he knew, the logging road dwindled into nothing. So back the way he came was the best approach.
Leaving the road for the river wasn't a very wise choice. Perhaps in the desert or a dry climate where water could not be found this may have been better. But there was snow everywhere...water wasn't a problem.
I think the worst choice he made was to cross the river (unless he fell in accidentally). The second he got wet it was all downhill. Perhaps he was already soaked from walking through the snow but at least his body was still warm from walking. Getting into that water chills you to the bone.
I imagine that he did try to get a cell signal before leaving on his trek. Afterall, they were stranded for several days before he decided to leave. And he had no way of knowing that the faint signal he did have would help rescuers.
What would I have done? Well, knowing that the nearest real road was several miles away, I would have found a way to survive the storm with the plan to seek help afterwards. That of course means conserving energy and staying warm. The car itself is a shelter so perhaps piling snow around it would provide some insulation (leaving an opening to get in and an opening for the intake/exhaust). Granted this will hide it from ariel rescues but you can uncover it when the storm passes. Using the car for heat is a poor method since the car will not produce very much heat for the amount of gas you will use. Save the gas (or some of it). So collecting firewood should be the next chore (won't be easy with that much snow) and starting a fire after that. If you need additional shelter, you could try removing the hood of the car and proping it up somewhere. With heat you'll have plenty of water provided you have something to melt snow in, for example a hubcap or ashtray. Food is also an issue but if you have water you can go for days without food. Instead of searching for food, spend time making some snow shoes for when the snow stops. Use branches and pieces of fabric from clothes or the car. They will increase your travel speed once the snow stops falling and it will leave a more obvious track.
First off, you have to remember when you are lost, the only piece of information you have is where you came from (or where you thought you came from). Therefore, no could imagine that he would walk 5 miles up the road to find a resort. For all he knew, the logging road dwindled into nothing. So back the way he came was the best approach.
Leaving the road for the river wasn't a very wise choice. Perhaps in the desert or a dry climate where water could not be found this may have been better. But there was snow everywhere...water wasn't a problem.
I think the worst choice he made was to cross the river (unless he fell in accidentally). The second he got wet it was all downhill. Perhaps he was already soaked from walking through the snow but at least his body was still warm from walking. Getting into that water chills you to the bone.
I imagine that he did try to get a cell signal before leaving on his trek. Afterall, they were stranded for several days before he decided to leave. And he had no way of knowing that the faint signal he did have would help rescuers.
What would I have done? Well, knowing that the nearest real road was several miles away, I would have found a way to survive the storm with the plan to seek help afterwards. That of course means conserving energy and staying warm. The car itself is a shelter so perhaps piling snow around it would provide some insulation (leaving an opening to get in and an opening for the intake/exhaust). Granted this will hide it from ariel rescues but you can uncover it when the storm passes. Using the car for heat is a poor method since the car will not produce very much heat for the amount of gas you will use. Save the gas (or some of it). So collecting firewood should be the next chore (won't be easy with that much snow) and starting a fire after that. If you need additional shelter, you could try removing the hood of the car and proping it up somewhere. With heat you'll have plenty of water provided you have something to melt snow in, for example a hubcap or ashtray. Food is also an issue but if you have water you can go for days without food. Instead of searching for food, spend time making some snow shoes for when the snow stops. Use branches and pieces of fabric from clothes or the car. They will increase your travel speed once the snow stops falling and it will leave a more obvious track.
Donas64 said:I just pray that none of us ever finds ourselves in that situation. I mean this guy had his whole life ahead of him, loving wife, 2 beautiful kids, only in his early thrities, had his own small business and was doing a job he loved. Stories like this remind us that life is precious. This guy has my FULL respect for giving his life in an attempt to save his family. Many of us talk the talk, this guy walked the walk.
(werd)
I never go out driving in any kind of bad weather unless I have proper clothing to survive in the conditions I am driving in. That was probably the biggest mistake he made. If you have snow for water, you go a good week as long as you are dressed properly in that situation.
I cant fathom why he was on that road in the first place.
I cant fathom why he was on that road in the first place.
nealric said:I never go out driving in any kind of bad weather unless I have proper clothing to survive in the conditions I am driving in. That was probably the biggest mistake he made. If you have snow for water, you go a good week as long as you are dressed properly in that situation.
I cant fathom why he was on that road in the first place.
They took a wrong turn and got lost.
exactly, if it was that bad out STAY HOME. What were they thinking anyways going out in bad weather to begin with....AND THEN taking their kids? No wonder the world is what it is. I won't even drive fast with kids in the car, yet alone drive in a storm, or start taking unknown backroads?!?!?!?
Very sad story though, and I don't mean to come across as harsh, but people need to really think things through more and use common sense.
Very sad story though, and I don't mean to come across as harsh, but people need to really think things through more and use common sense.
I remember a few years ago that happened up here to a family of three. They were driving down a road that was not maintained and very rural. They got cought in a snow drift in the road. They tried to walk out and ended up not making it anywhere. They were finally found weeks later by an airplane. It was apparent that they died of hypothermia. Sad and very tragic. You should always plan for these kind of things.
NVP5White said:Tragedy struck the Kim family as the body of James Kim, CNET.com editor, was found in Big Windy Creek in southern Oregon. It appears that the Kim's made a wrong turn onto a logging road and became stuck in the snow on November 25th. James Kim left the family to find help when they ran out of gasoline to heat the car and food for their two young children. It appears that Kim made a desperate 7 mile hike that ended when he became stuck in a part of the creek that was surrounded by very steep and rocky terrain.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/07/MNGH6MR3191.DTL
When I read something like this, I immediately say to myself "what would I do in that situation." We try not to think about such life and death situations, but the fact of the matter is, it can happen to anyone and the decisions you make can save your life.
So, with a 3/4 full tank of gas, a station wagon of unknown make, a wife and two young children with just three days of baby food, what do you do?
Purrfectangel
Member
- :
- 2002 Protege 5
With winters the way they are around home here I always keep emergency stuff in the car, thermal blankets, multi knife, dried food, extra hats, mits, socks, candles, flashlight, batteries, emergency light, first aid kit, and a bag of kitty litter. Standard stuff for me because I travel a lot and I always call ahead if I'm going somewhere so that someone knows I'm coming and if I don't show up they know somethin's wrong.
- :
- 96 Miata M-Edition, 2015 Mazda 3 Hatch
tengoestetempo said:whats with the kitty litter?
melts snow a little bit, and it is gritty like sand.. pop some under your tires and you can get some extra traction to get unstuck.
Purrfectangel
Member
- :
- 2002 Protege 5
hahahaha I have two cats so it's pretty much a staple lol. Clay stuff works best!
Ok, so who's gonna put a winch on their P5 now? I know someone was making a rally bar for a short time.
I saw an update on the news this morning. He did build a fire so his family would stay warm. They waited for quite some time for help and then he took off to find a town which he thought was only 3 miles away. He ended up traveling 10 miles.
You can't blame him for not knowing about the shelter up the road. When you are lost, sometimes it is better to go back the way you came...especially when you have no idea what lies ahead.
I just don't understand why he swam across the river. That alone was his downfall.
I saw an update on the news this morning. He did build a fire so his family would stay warm. They waited for quite some time for help and then he took off to find a town which he thought was only 3 miles away. He ended up traveling 10 miles.
You can't blame him for not knowing about the shelter up the road. When you are lost, sometimes it is better to go back the way you came...especially when you have no idea what lies ahead.
I just don't understand why he swam across the river. That alone was his downfall.
- :
- 96 Miata M-Edition, 2015 Mazda 3 Hatch
Purrfectangel said:hahahaha I have two cats so it's pretty much a staple lol. Clay stuff works best!
I've got three myself.. the scoopable variety does a bangup job on melting snow
chuyler1 said:Ok, so who's gonna put a winch on their P5 now? I know someone was making a rally bar for a short time.
I saw an update on the news this morning. He did build a fire so his family would stay warm. They waited for quite some time for help and then he took off to find a town which he thought was only 3 miles away. He ended up traveling 10 miles.
You can't blame him for not knowing about the shelter up the road. When you are lost, sometimes it is better to go back the way you came...especially when you have no idea what lies ahead.
I just don't understand why he swam across the river. That alone was his downfall.
Don't know if this is credible or not but I was listening on the news and there are reports that he might have been chased by a wild animal. But we all know how reliable the News Media is.
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