Surviving Extreme Cold With Just Your Clothing?

[Monk]

I know there are folks here who have been out in extreme arctic temperatures and I would appreciate if they can please post on this question.

Can a person survive living outdoors with just the clothing on their back in extreme cold?

A book by Alan Fry Wilderness Survival Skills mtns. the case of an Eskimo woman caught out in a blizzard. Unable to make it back to her village she allows the snow to cover her while she is sitting cross-legged? on the tail(parka was made longer in back) of her parka. If I recall correctly Fry writes that she was wearing a parka with the fur next to the skin and another parka fur side out to the snow. The snow covers her mostly and provides some insulation against the storm. Next day storm is over she breaks out of her snow cocoon and goes back to her village.

Another book is As Far As My Feet Will Carry Me by Josef Bauer about a German POW who decides to leave his lodgings in a Russian camp and walk back to Germany..across Siberia? Again, he is with very little gear and seems mostly to rely on his clothing for protection against the elements.

Are there any truth to these stories or is it that folks who were doing this have certain bushcraft methods for coping with the cold with little gear that has been lost to time?

It's been a while since I read these books so some of the details might be vague.

Any thoughts, anyone?

 

[susi]

I don't quite understand the question, but it's still early


Is this it?

"Can a person survive living outdoors with just the clothing on their back in extreme cold?"

Answer depends on what clothes, whether you get wet, do you have fire, etc?

Or do you mean, "can someone survive without only a single set of clothes?"

Then the answer is yes, as long as you don't get them wet, or if you do, you have somewhere to dry them.

 

[dogwood]

I've lived in the Alaska and done a fair amount of snow camping in the arctic.

The story about the Inuit woman being covered by snow more likely refers to her making a snow cave to get through the night. In other words you don't wait for the snow to cover you, but rather you cover yourself in a tight snow cocoon.

History provides ample examples of people surviving for many days, and some cases weeks, without proper shelter in the arctic. So, yes, you can do it for a while. But it's quite hard -- for every single person who makes it a couple of weeks, there are lots of other people who die of hypothermia inside of a day or two.

Sure, snow caves work surprisingly well. But the margin for error is very narrow: fall into a stream or lake for a just minute and you're pretty much a goner within a day or two.

Under any circumstances the calorie burn in that environment is really, really extreme. There's a whole other thread on that issue in the survival section. Without a proper supply of calories you won't last long. Figure on needing 4,500 to 8,500 kcal a day if you're exposed and moving in the arctic.

Exposure takes it toll, either fast or slow, it takes its toll.

 

[Monk]

dogwood,

Thanks for pointing out about the possibility of clothing getting wet and also the calories needed in such conditions. The Fry story is secondhand so I guess the woman did make some kind of snow cocoon to weather the snowstorm.

susi,

sorry for the mixed question. Been years since I read the book. As far as I recall the German POW had a few layers of clothing on him-basically whatever clothing could be scavaged in a labor camp and he had some fatty fish/high calorie food; a Siberian knife(bolo? type knife popular in Siberia) and a tinder box with which to light fires. So basically he was trekking across Siberia with improvised layers of clothing and no modern high tech gear.

dogwood,
do you have any knowledge of what the Eskimos and old time mountain men did when they were caught out in Arctic conditions?

 

[tommy the cat]

do you have any knowledge of what the Eskimos and old time mountain men did when they were caught out in Arctic conditions?
I seem to recall the Koyuk (sp) book I read that the Indians ( as were called) Siwashed if 'caught out' in the Yukon for the night.
A long fire and an improvised shelter.
Dave

 

[fred gordon]

On this sort of question 'To Build a Fire' by Jack London is worth a read;

http://www.kingkong.demon.co.uk/gsr/fire.htm

Makes you think about cold.

 

[susi]

susi,

sorry for the mixed question. Been years since I read the book. As far as I recall the German POW had a few layers of clothing on him-basically whatever clothing could be scavaged in a labor camp and he had some fatty fish/high calorie food; a Siberian knife(bolo? type knife popular in Siberia) and a tinder box with which to light fires. So basically he was trekking across Siberia with improvised layers of clothing and no modern high tech gear.

Interesting story. I think he must have had some sort of shelter. As an example we did 20Km yesterday in about -20°C in about 25-30cm of snow, without skiis or snow shoes. There is a kota (Lappish hut) after about 15Km and that is where we take our first break. I had found it particularly hard-going and by the time I arrived, I was quite sweaty (despite wearing only a wicking base layer, thin fleece and a single layer ventile smock).

In the time it took to rig up a short drying line and hang up my smock, remove fleece and replace with a dry one from rucksack, feather a few sticks and light a fire (matches), two things had happened:

- the sweat on the inside of smock had frozen and it was as stiff as a board.

- my hands had swelled slightly and were incredibly painful with the cold.

I needed quite a large fire to dry the smock and warm us both. Luckily wood was ready there in a woodshed - if it had not been a "fixed camp" situation and I had needed to gather my own wood on arrival, it would have been very tough.

So back to the German POW, travelling long distances through deep snow, finding food and keeping warm..... I don't think they make men like that anymore

 

[dogwood]

dogwood,
do you have any knowledge of what the Eskimos and old time mountain men did when they were caught out in Arctic conditions?

I'm not exactly sure what you mean when you ask about Inuit being "caught out" in Arctic conditions since they were always in Arctic conditions.

Do you mean caught alone and unexpectedly in the old days? (Today's Inuit live a radically different, and sadder, life than they used to, so I assume you're talking about the past.)

If you're talking about being unexpectedly alone and unequipped, I can tell you it didn't happen too often. Like all hunter gatherers, Inuit hunted in groups. It was well planned in advance and they went out equipped for the unexpected. If they weren't well equipped, they didn't go.

They hunted in groups from large camps with women and children along and they would transport many hundreds of pounds of supplies in umiaks -- the large (it can carry 30) open cousin of the kayak -- to these camps.

Hunting expeditions (on dogsled or kayak) from the camp were seldom more than a day or two and often they'd head out in the morning and be back in hunting camp by night. If a mishap happened while dog sledding, they would start eating dogs. (Dogs were a staple food of the frontier -- the Lewis and Clark expedition preferred dog to elk...)

In the arctic, you don't mess around and take many chances. When you're there, you're acutely aware of the fact that nature is actively trying to kill you The Inuit respected it and did everything they could to avoid being "caught out."

If some enormous mishap happened and they were caught alone, they usually died. There is almost no way to avoid it -- if you're alone in the arctic, you die. Even if you're very well equipped, you still die if you're alone in the arctic. Being banished from the group was a death sentence.

Similarly, mountain men spent their time in groups. The image of the lone mountain man is, to a *very* large extent, a myth. Mountain men went out -- often with Native wives -- in groups of up to 40 to the hunting/trapping grounds and establish a base camp.

They would then go out in smaller groups -- two or three -- to hunt or trap. They were almost never alone and if they were, they had horses carrying gear. Again the rule applies: alone in the wild you eventually die. They understood this and went in groups. Generally speaking, the most they would be alone -- with their pack train of horses -- would be for a week or two. And most were almost never alone.

There is one epic (and documented) tale of solo survival amongst the mountain men. Google Hugh Glass and you'll encounter one of the most amazing tales of survival ever told. And he was just about naked. I know the country Glass crossed pretty well, and I promise you, his feat was unbelievable....

Hope that helps!

 

[forestwalker]

Can a person survive living outdoors with just the clothing on their back in extreme cold?

As others have said, it is all about conditions, equipment, skill level and duration. It is currently -15 and 30-40 cm of snow around here. If I went out in the clothes I'm wearing right now (wool long johns, fjällräven pants, t-shirt, cotton flanel shirt, a knife in a cord around my neck, a firesteel in a pocket) I'd die within a few hours at most. If I change into proper clothes (m59 pants, wool undershirt, sami boots, smock, etc) I could make it for a day or so, perhaps more. If allowed to add the warming layer (insulated overpants, parka) I could survive for perhaps a week at best (the lack of a proper tool for cutting firewood would be a major handicap, as would the lack of a pot to melt snow in (I could melt it next to a fire tied inside a bandana, but...). If I could have the parka, an axe and a pot I could survive "indefinitly", i.e. until I starved to death (weeks even with no food) or f*ck*d up and cut my foot off with the axe, went through the ice, etc. And in that time I could walk from here to the next river valley (cordage for roycraft snowshoe building and bindings would be the major further item I'd lack).

Basically; with proper clothes it is "easy" to survive a night or two, but quite hard for more than that, without them it is almost impossible.

If I recall correctly Fry writes that she was wearing a parka with the fur next to the skin and another parka fur side out to the snow. The snow covers her mostly and provides some insulation against the storm. Next day storm is over she breaks out of her snow cocoon and goes back to her village.

Wearing the full Inuit clothing set that is mostly booring, not a major feat. As others have said digging in is the way to go (even cannonballing into a drift and wriggling around to make room will do in a pinch). I recall a case of snowbound solo skier in the mountains when I was in my teens. But he had skills and kit, he dug a pit (L-shaped, so he could sit in with ith his legs straight, and was warm in his clothes and sleeping bag, used his stove to melt water and cook his food, etc. I suspect I he was never really worried, mostly boored for 2-3 days; I certainly would do a lot of meditation to fill the hours.

Are there any truth to these stories or is it that folks who were doing this have certain bushcraft methods for coping with the cold with little gear that has been lost to time?

The short term skills as such are mostly alive and well, but the long term skills (daily hunting pre-modern weapons, etc) are not there any more, not to the extent they used to be.

As to the POW walks (the one you refered to as well as Rawicz one) these are stories that I'm somewhat sceptical of (most of them are written by people who did not have the background one would expect would to be needed). Could I do a "reneactment" of e.g. Rawicz walk (Siberia to Tibet), with the kit he lists? Very possibly, but it would be effing hard going. Would a 18th century Cree hunter (e.g.) have been able to do it easier and better than either of us? Almost certainly, he would have had the routine and the "deep" skills we lack.