AY Honors/Cold Weather Survival/Answer Key
1. Know three most important survival items that you can carry in your pocket.
a. Fire Starter - such as waterproof matches, lighter, flint & magnesium
b. Knife or multi-tool
c. Survival whistle
2. Research and discuss the following regarding cold weather apparel.
a. Benefits and disadvantages of clothing made of wool, polypropylene, cotton, nylon or combinations. How does each type affect the body when it is wet? What other/newer clothing materials are recommended for cold weather survival? Why?
b. Benefits of layering clothing. What clothing materials work next to your skin? On the outer levels? In-between? Why?
3. Choose from some of the items on the following list and create your own survival kit that can be carried in a Hydro-pack or Fanny-pack. Tell how each item would be useful.
- Survival Whistle
- Fire Starter
- Tinder (dryer lint, candle)
- Water
- High calorie energy bar
- Flashlight or headlamp
- Compass
- Pocket Knife / multi-tool
- Mylar Emergency Sleeping Bag
- Hand warmers
- First aid supplies
- Compact Folding Shovel
- This Honor Sheet
- Rain Poncho / Small Tarp
- Cell phone, GPS, FRS Radio
- Signal Flare
Other items you might consider
The items listed above are part of this honor's requirements, but they are not an exhaustive list of items that would be useful in a cold weather survival situation. You might also consider these items:
- Large Trash Bag
- Bright Colored Jello
- Avalanche Transceivers
- Avalanche Airbags
4. Discuss the hazards of hypothermia, a condition in which the body’s core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions. Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of 98–100 °F.
- a. MILD symptoms
- If exposed to cold and the internal mechanisms are unable to replenish the heat that is being lost, a drop in core temperature occurs. Characteristic symptoms occur such as uncontrollable shivering.
- b. MODERATE symptoms
- Surface blood vessels contract further as the body focuses its remaining resources on keeping the vital organs warm. The victim becomes pale. Lips, ears, fingers and toes may become blue.
- c. SEVERE symptoms
- Difficulty in speaking, sluggish thinking, and amnesia. Inability to use hands and stumbling are also present. The exposed skin becomes blue and puffy, muscle coordination becomes very poor, walking becomes almost impossible, and the victim exhibits incoherent/irrational behavior. Major organs fail. Clinical death occurs.
5. Discuss with your group each phrase of the following statement.
“One of the most difficult survival situations is cold weather. Cold is a far greater threat to survival than it appears. It decreases your ability to think. It weakens your will to do anything except get warm. It numbs the mind and body. It subdues the will to survive.”
6. Discuss the following:
a. Why you need calories.
b. The Buddy System and why it is important
7. Memorize the Hypothermia “Umbles” and which stage they occur in: (Mumble, Grumble, Fumble, Stumble Tumble).
The "umbles" show that a person is being adversely affected by the cold. It begins with the loss of physical coordination (stumbles, fumbles, and tumbles). This progresses to the loss of mental acuity (grumbles and mumbles).&
8. Watch a quality video/documentary on Survival and Hypothermia
Cold water hypothermia aboard a ship. University of Alaska, Kodiak Community College. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39KlHi-p_fI
MedWild has a number of good videos on wilderness survival and medicine including altitude, frostbite, hypothermia, etc..
https://www.youtube.com/user/MedWildVideos
By Nature's Rules is a hypothermia training movie from the 1970s but is still good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66glbp6jC3c
9. Contact your local Search & Rescue and ask them to speak to your club.
Remember that SAR are volunteers that give tirelessly of their time and money to training and helping people who are in trouble. Respect their time and be thankful.
10. Review and demonstrate the following instructions for survival and rescue.
a. Evaluate to determine if you are lost.
b. Blow your whistle. Remember that three of anything is universally recognized as a call for help.
c. (If you are cold, wet or hungry skip this step, build a fire and spend the night). Mark your location with something unmistakable. Venture out, and circle your marker while blowing your whistle and praying. Move your marker when you recognize something or if you lose sight of the marker.
d. Light a fire and build a shelter if it is afternoon (timing is dependent on your specific gear and environment). Stop trying to find your way out and plan to spend the night. Remember that possibly nobody is looking for you yet. Your ability to start a fire and be prepared for the night can make the difference between living and dying. Fire can provide warmth, companionship, comfort and safety. Your smoke and flames may signal a rescuer.
11. Practice the following survival skills on a club outing.
a. Finding direction without a compass.
b. Starting a fire using: Flint & magnesium, steel wool & battery.
c. Keeping a fire going using fuzz sticks, shaved sticks, moss, your tinder. Practice in wet conditions.
d. Demonstrating how to build a rescue fire (lots of smoke)
12. Complete the following Group Activity or its equivalent within a Cold Weather Survival context.
a. Build 3 shelters such as: a snow cave, a shelter with tree branches, a shelter with a tarp or rain poncho. Include proper placement of your fire in each situation.
b. Make your own fire starter using items such as paper egg carton, sawdust and wax, or other materials of your choosing that will last at least 10 minutes.
Paper egg carton, sawdust, and wax
For this fire starter you will need to melt some wax. Use a double boiler for this so that you do not accidentally ignite the wax. While the wax is melting, fill each compartment of the egg carton (make sure it's a paper-based egg carton) with sawdust. Fill them all the way to the top, but do not pack the sawdust in. When the wax is fully liquified, pour it into the sawdust and allow it to soak all the way through. Once the wax hardens, cut the compartments apart. You only need one of these to get a fire going.
Cotton balls and petroleum jelly
Another great fire starter is made by working petroleum jelly (such as Vaseline) into a cotton ball. Store these in a water-tight container so that you don't get petroleum jelly all over everything in your pack. These will light even when wet, and they will burn for at least ten minutes.
13. Use the following subjects for worship talks:
Spiritual Hypothermia
Spiritually Lost
Spiritual Preparedness.
14. Memorize at least two Bible texts that you feel might bring you comfort in a Cold Weather Survival situation such as Psalms 34:7; Matthew 28:20.
References
Compare to this honor version: http://www.pathfinderconnection.com/uploads/3/2/1/3/3213915/winter_wilderness_survival.pdf
