"They stayed together and that was the key that allowed them to live through this experience. You don’t see that that often in search and rescue," said Paul Burke, search-and-rescue coordinator for the state. "They did some pretty inventive things, heating up rocks and things. Staying together, that was a big deal."The 6 survivors consisted of a man and his girlfriend, their 2 children, and the woman's niece and nephew. The children were aged 3 to 10. I'd like to know what the man and woman thought and talked about and how the children responded. I await a new episode of "I Shouldn't Be Alive."
December 11, 2013
"Their father kept them alive and well" — sheltered under an overturned Jeep for 48 hours in temperatures as low as -16.
"Everybody is in good shape. There was no frostbite. They are stable. They suffered a little exposure and dehydration, but that is all."
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23 comments:
Nice job, except for the part when they flipped the jeep.
That was the man' s role as a husband and father played out in a reality event. No big deal. The key was not running off.
Traditionalguy, He wasn't a husband. He was a squeeze. Still, good job.
"the group stayed in the upside-down vehicle for shelter, burning the spare tire to keep warm."
What's that smell? Why, that's the smell of an EPA investigation! I sense a fine coming, and possibly an arrest.
Kudos for keeping calm and staying alive.
Major demerits for going off-roading in the mountains in the winter without adequate supplies -- especially when children are involved!
What are the Darwinian implications?
Survival always makes you a Darwinian winner. (or words to that effect)
Instructor
USAF Survival School
1966
Do we want them to reproduce because they are survivors or do they represent the very bottom of the gene pool and therefore their survival is a negative?
They weren't offroading. They were just bad-roading.
As long as you're not discovered by Kathy Bates, you should be good to go.
Do you remember the post (yesterday? the day before?) about "be a man"? This story is what that's about. Someone took charge, kept everyone calm, and they all survived.
It sometimes is a woman who does that, particularly a woman in charge of children.
But the point is that we need to have an idea, a model, of what it is right and appropriate for us to do in a challenging situation, and for a man (or a boy growing into a man) "be a man" can provide that model.
They survived. Therefore they're survivors.
I LOVE I Shouldn't Be Alive. It's hardly ever on TV anymore and they never made enough episodes to begin with. When they play the rescue theme, I get a lump in my throat.
That was the man' s role as a husband and father played out in a reality event.
If you're a husband and father, and your family appears in the national news along with phrases such as "...under an overturned Jeep for 48 hours in temperatures as low as -16," I'd say that constitutes a major fail of role.
While the guy did good to keep everyone alive, he's the one that put them in danger in the first place. I take it he wasn't a Boy Scout and didn't take "Be Prepared" to heart.
I was reading an essay by Jim Quinn (Burning Platform) and came across this Heinlein quote that seems appropriate:
"At least once every human should have to run for his life, to teach him that milk does not come from supermarkets, that safety does not come from policemen, that ‘news’ is not something that happens to other people. He might learn how his ancestors lived and that he himself is no different–in the crunch his life depends on his agility, alertness, and personal resourcefulness."
- Robert Heinlein
Everybody is occasionally careless. Not everybody escapes the consequences so cleanly. I tip my hat to the guy.
As Squid said. Bunch of whiny, know-it-all, holier-than-all armchair quarterbacks in this comment thread.
I lived in Colorado for 27 years. One of the things I learned there was to have some basic emergency provisions in the car during winter. Even in a city, if you get caught in a winter storm, you could be stuck in your car for a while. How hard is it to pack a shovel, some candles, and some food in a car when you're going off the beaten path? Some other things, like space blankets, are also a good idea. All of that can cost less than $20 and can save your life if trapped in the snow.
What Pereg. John said. Sometimes crap happens, and when it did Dad did everything right.
In the mountains, I always carry my Svea123, mre's, sleeping pads and a wool blanket for everybody.
What Pereg. John said. Sometimes crap happens, and when it did Dad did everything right.
In the mountains, I always carry my Svea123, mre's, sleeping pads and a wool blanket for everybody.
There was a case a few years back also involving an accident in the backroads of Nevada. The guy in that case did nearly everything wrong (took an unknown route, went out when a storm was expected, didn't tell anyone where he was going, separated the party)--he lucked out and everyone survived (I think he lost a good chunk of one foot to frostbite). That guy was stupid and he and his family were lucky to be alive.
As far as I can tell, this guy did most things right. He let people know where they were going and when they expected to be back. He knew where he was going. I'm guessing he checked the weather before he left. When they had an accident he kept everyone in the vehicle and kept them warm and waited for rescue. Nobody died, nobody lost any fingers or toes. He did flip the jeep, but it's not clear if that was due to him goofing off or if it was just one of those things.
We have two Jeeps (a Wrangler and an old Cherokee XJ ...not that the Wrangler is all that much newer lol); don't have - nor want - any "regular" car.
Both Jeeps are outfitted pretty much summer and winter for emergencies (both have winches, for example: and if that guy would have had a winch on his Jeep, he could have had a more than fighting chance to roll it back over lol).
Not because we expect to go out and seek some experience out that will be turn out to have been a bad idea mind you ...but just because we like "going out" and ...well ...stuff happens. Usually when there's no one nearby.
That guy needs a winch on that Jeep. And a Hi-Lift (a very sturdy jack, which can pretty much take the place of a winch, with a bit of learnin' how to use it). And a CB (we don' need no steekin cell tower lol). An axe. And a shovel.
...and a sleeping bag (one each). And a spare dry sweater and coat. And water. And a med kit (packed with the usual, if "the usual" means a smallish border war). Matches. Flash light. Rope.
Carefully plan and fill up a bug-out bag with important stuff that will keep you alive ...or make it so you can help someone else stay alive. Throw it in the back. Check it every once in a while.
What with where he lives, and with what he likes doin', that's kind of common sense.
...bet he seriously considers a winch for that Jeep. Now, at least.
...or he at least puts it higher on his priority list.
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