5 Tips for Surviving A Blizzard in the Wilderness
In 2012, Josephine Johnson, age 53, and her boyfriend Jim Dickson got lost in a blizzard while hiking at Mount Rainier National Park.
There was already snow on the ground, and the pair planned on a short snowshoe trek through the winter wonderland that day. Hours later, the snow was so thick that they couldn't see ten feet in front of them. They were about to turn back, but they saw another group of hikers ahead of them. Being good Samaritans, Johnson and Dickson wanted to catch up to that group and warn them that they should turn around and go back to the trailhead.
Instead of catching up, they lack of visibility quickly got them lost. Realizing that dusk would be upon them soon, and they stopped hiking and built themselves a snow cave. Twenty-four hours later, after hiking another full day, they were building another snow cave.
A rescue team found them on Monday, but Johnson and Dickson weren't the hikers the team was hoping to find. They were actually searching for a 66 year-old Korean hiker Yong Chun Kim -- a member of the party Johnson and Dickson had been trying to catch up with their first day in the park. Kim, an experienced hiker and Vietnam vet, used a tree to shelter himself and created small fires to keep himself warm. By the time rescuers caught up with him, Kim had burned a scarf, his extra socks, and all the money in his wallet.
How did Johnson, Dickson, and Kim stay alive in Mount Rainier's blizzard conditions, when so many others have perished in the same extreme weather? Here are five tips every hiker should know about surviving a surprise blizzard.
1. KNOW HOW TO BUILD A SNOW CAVE.
Ideally, you dig a snow cave into a drift, bank, or slope that's at least six feet deep. Pack the snow down before you dig the cave to make the structure stronger. You can pack the snow by stomping on it with a snowshoe. Remember, the more powdery the snow is, the more work you will need to put into packing it down. Dig a tunnel, sloping upward, then hollow out the cave itself. If you are sure that the temperature is below freezing, you can pour water onto the outside to strengthen the cave. The doorway and the ceiling should be arch-shaped to take advantage of the arch's natural structural integrity.
Add air vents by using a stick or ski pole to poke holes through the top of the cave. Cover the entrance with rocks or a tarp, but make sure that fresh air can still get through. Plenty of fresh air is important! More than one hiker has died from carbon monoxide poisoning inside a snow cave.
As you build, try to stay dry. If you work up a sweat, you will soon be even colder than when you started. If you have at least two people, work in shifts to avoid over-exertion.
2. ALTERNATIVELY, DIG A TRENCH.
If you don't have the right conditions for building a snow cave, you can also dig a trench in the snow and cover it with a tarp. This does not provide as much shelter as a snow cave, but it's better than being completely exposed to the wind and the snow.
3. HAVE SEVERAL WAYS TO BUILD A FIRE.
Surviving a blizzard is all about staying warm and getting found as quickly as possible. Fires can help you do both. However, one common mistake amateur hikers make is not carrying several ways to build a fire and tinder kits.
Matches are probably the least helpful way to start a fire for hikers who get caught in blizzard conditions, because once they get wet, they're useless. A flint-and-steel striker kit is a much better option and is relatively easy to learn how to use.
You'll also need a good tinder kit. Carry tinder material, such as a tinder cloth, petroleum jelly-soaked cotton balls, separated rope, or tree shavings in a water-proof container. An empty Altoid tin carried inside a Ziploc bag is a favorite method for many hikers.
4. KNOW HOW TO FIND BURNABLE WOOD.
"The real trouble with building in a fire in a blizzard," you say, "is not starting the fire but keeping it going. Everything's too wet to burn." Well, almost everything's wet. For those who know where to look, it's usually possible to find wood dry enough to burn.
The trick is to look for dead wood. Dead tree limbs are great, but these might be too high for you to get to. The next best option is a dead tree that's still standing. The third option is to find a dead tree or tree trunk that's fallen to the ground but is propped up by rocks or other trees beneath it.
Use your survival knife (you do carry a survival knife, don't you?) to take off the outermost layers of bark or wetness. You will find that the wood pulp inside is usually dry enough to burn.
Build a fire by clearing a spot in the snow, all the way down to the wet earth below. Use branches to create a platform, then place the dry wood you found on top of that. Place your kindling tee pee-style on top of the dry wood, then use your tinder kit to light the kindling. Soon, you'll have a fire big enough to keep you warm, at least for a little while.
5. THINK HANSEL AND GRETEL.
If you were sensible before you left on your hike, you checked in at the ranger station where you began your hike, you've been signing the trail registries as you find them, and you told your friends and family back home about where you'd be about when. If you've done all of that and a blizzard comes up, a search and rescue (SAR) team will be out looking for you in pretty short order.
What did Hansel and Gretel do when they were kidnapped by the evil witch? They used pebbles to mark their path. By using the clues that the children left, their rescuer eventually found them and saved them in the nick of time.
You can leave "pebbles" for a SAR team. A big, smokey fire is obviously a good clue to your whereabouts, but so are notes written on rocks with mud, an SOS made with rocks in the snow, or a bright article of clothing tied to a tree. Once you've left some clues, stay where you are if you can. You'll be easier to find if you're not a moving target.
6. HAVE YOU SURVIVED A BLIZZARD? TELL US!
If you've survived an unexpected blizzard in the wilderness, or if you have other wilderness survival tips, share them in the comments section below.