"I think the fact that he focused on just hunkering down, settling in and staying sheltered, regardless of whether he’s ever done it before, he was getting himself into a better situation. And maybe more important, he picked a project to work on that caused him not to basically wander further and farther off and freak out."ADDED: I don't know what TV show he watched, but for future reference, here's how to build a quinzhee:
March 6, 2013
"Rescued teen praised for snow survival skills."
"Nicholas Joy... told his rescuers he learned how to build the shelter from watching a survival show on TV."
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17 comments:
Pretty cool.
I realized I spend far too much time online when the first thing that popped into my head after reading the headline is the Better Drink My Own Piss meme.
" And maybe more important, he picked a project to work on that caused him not to basically wander further and farther off and freak out."
A lot of people need a project.
Probably a devotee of the Military Channel or one of the Surviving The Cut things on Discovery.
You used to see things like that in comic books years ago.
"What a great night's sleep!"
I'm skeptical.
Very cool. I would not have thought of packing the snow so efficiently and then "letting it set" for a while before working with it.
If you have enough legos, of course, these issues do not come into play.
bagoh20, maybe that's why Obama keeps giving Biden stuff to do.
The break for hot drinks is noted.
Excellent subject and a favorite of mine. To learn more, check out "Deep Survival" and "Surviving Survival" by Laurence Gonzales, "Will to Live" by Les Stroud, "The Survivors Club" by Will Sherwood, and "The Survivor Personality" by Al Siebert.
Here are the attitudes that Gonzales suggests separate survivors from those who perish.
Survivors...
Accept the reality of the situation
Stay calm
Use humor
Think/analyze/plan
Get organized
Set up small manageable tasks
Create routines
Are bold and cautious
Deal with what is in their power to control
Celebrate successes
Count blessings
Play, sing, play mind games, recite poetry, do math problems
Engage the crisis as though it were a game
See the beauty
Believe that you will succeed
Make no more mistakes
Do your best
Surrender—let go of the fear of dying
Do whatever is necessary
Be determined
Use the world to do what you have to do
Never give up-let nothing break your spirit
See opportunity in adversity.
Dr. Dennis Charney's Resilience Prescription:
Practice optimism;
Identify a resilient role model;
Have a moral compass;
Practice altruism;
Develop acceptance and cognitive flexibility;
Face fears and control negative emotions;
Build coping skills;
Establish a supportive network;
Stay fit;
Laugh.
This stuff works for more mundane life crises and events, not just dealing with being shipwrecked.
Interesting factoid: quinzhee is derived from one of the 3,457 Eskimo words for "snow."
I realized I spend far too much time online when the first thing that popped into my head after reading the headline is the Better Drink My Own Piss meme.
I wonder how many people have watched that guys show and that is the Sole Survivor Technique they picked up. Kind of like the only thing I picked up from Rescue 911 is don't take out a knife when you've been stabbed because you might bleed out.
Ordinary vival suffices. You don't need survival.
He may have watched him some Bear Grylls or 'Survivorman'. I've probably gleaned. few tips from them, over the years.
I learned that stuff in Boy Scouts. They would take you into the woods, and "lose" you.
If you are lost, collect wood, and build three large fires. Boil water. Drink the hot water. Pee all around your location to mark it against wolves. Stay put.
Lather.
Rinse.
Repeat.
Oh, yeah....If you have one, then hang the American flag upside down.
I heard it was the Man Vs. Wild show, although I prefer Les Stroud's Survivorman. That's the sort of thing Stroud teaches: don't panic and take care of shelter, water, food first.
I actually tried to start a fire with a boot lace and a couple of sticks once but was unsuccessful. I really want to do that at some point though, start a fire without matches or such-like. I've used a flint and steel before, but that still feels kinda like cheating.
Good for him though.
The snow caves I've camped in held a temperature of about 35F whatever happened outside. This means that occasional drips of water fall from the ceiling into your sleeping face. It's really important to have some insulation between the snow floor and your bag; without, misery; with, OK night's sleep. Something perhaps peculiar to me was that the sweaty effort of shoveling out the cave meant agonizing electrolyte-deficiency cramps later. I would bend my legs to get in the bag and they'd knot up in an ecstasy of pain. Straighten, massage, retry. Same result. Half an hour to get in the bag. This is a good deal more amusing to the beholders than to the afflicted.
It's a long time in there - about 5 pm to 7 pm near the Solstice, which means it is too long for even a teen bladder to reach morning untapped. Your boots, in the entrance way, assume the air temp, and are so stiff it is pretty hard to put them on to go out and pee. The night sky at 10000 feet, miles from an artificial light, is a glory of galaxies in subtle colors you generally cannot see when 'looking at the stars.'
He didn't build a quinzee all by himself - no way, Jose!
For an individual, a snow trench is much easier and quicker to construct. Snow caves are also easier to build, locating on the side of a hill and digging horizontally into the snow. As for a good night's sleep, snow caves are the quietest and safest place on the mountain.
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