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Why are personal backcountry "Emergency Kits" dangerous?

"Emergency Kits" are dangerous because they are not sized to the individual, the season, the weather, and the adventure. They are a quick feel good "item" that does not provide real safety for an individual or a group. Read on, or jump to the answer and then come back to the beginning to Read on.

The tragic death of snowmobiler Roger Rouse from the effects of hypothermia after becoming lost in unconsolidated powder snow and windy cold snowy weather has prompted the public to seek protection for themselves by preventative measures. Roger Rouse and his son Brian Rouse, 29, lost the marked snowmobile trail and decided to seek safety in a run down hill toward a residential area six miles down Bridge Creek and east of Tumalo Falls. They abandoned their snow machines which became bogged down in the loose wet snow and branching streams and they continued on foot, wet and clothed in cotton..

We visited REI a few days after the missing snowmobilers were found and talked to an Associate who said many people had come into the store to buy a "small emergency kit" for their snowmachines. They mentioned the tragic circumstances of the Rouse family.

OpEd to The Bulletin

Bulletin survival recommendations don’t offer full picture
By Robert Speik
Bulletin Guest Columnist
Published on October 26, 2007

The October 14, 2007 Sunday Bulletin's twelve page insert "Winter Survival Guide" by writer Leon Pantenburg, may be appropriate for a pre-teen youth group but it fails to give hunters, snowshoers, skiers, snowmobile riders and other adults basic techniques they need to mitigate in part, the inherent risks of outdoor adventures in the winter.

Indeed, Mr. Pantenburg perpetuates many of the myths, tips and tricks offered by a cottage industry of “survival experts”. What one learned as a Scout many years ago or picked up in an “outdoor” magazine or seminar may be as outmoded as “cotton thermal underwear”.

Leon notes that I have written that “Survival Kits are Dangerous”. But he does not make it clear that my reason is that a “little Kit” takes attention away from the common sense things each individual needs to avoid hypothermia if one must stay out overnight when lost, injured, stranded by a breakdown or while helping an injured friend.

Here is a Media Statement I suggest should accompany almost every news report of an outdoor epic:

"We would like to take this opportunity to ask our visitors to the backcountry of Oregon to plan for the unexpected. Each person should dress for the forecast weather and take minimum extra clothing protection from a drop in temperature and possible rain or snow storm or an unexpected cold wet night out, insulation from the wet ground or snow, high carbohydrate snacks, two quarts of water or Gatorade, a map and compass and optional inexpensive GPS and the skills to use them, and a charged cell phone, turned on, and/or inexpensive walkie-talkie radios for a group. Carry the traditional personal "Ten Essential Systems" in a day pack sized for the season and the forecast weather.

Visitors are reminded to tell a Responsible Person where they are going, where they plan to park, when they will be back and to make sure that person understands that they are relied upon to call 911 at a certain time if the backcountry traveler has not returned. If you become lost or stranded, mark your location and stay still or exercise around your marked location to stay warm. Do not try to find your way until you are exhausted, or worse yet - wet. Wait for rescuers.”

The Bulletin’s Winter Survival Guide spends four pages on Fire Starting and on two small Survival Kits, one sized to an Altoids tin, and the other Kit in a small fanny pack.

The cover picture and text depict a dry windless summer night and not a cold wet snowy windy winter situation. In the winter cold, wood is wet and likely buried under feet of snow. (Former Sheriff Les Stiles suggested snowmobilers light up the oldest sled with gasoline and a road flair.) Do not depend on starting a winter warming fire.

Neither of Leon’s small “Winter Survival Kits” contains a map of the area. I did not find a map mentioned in the entire Guide. The tiny toy compasses shown may point towards North but are just feel-good substitutes for the real thing. It does little good to know which way is generally magnetic North if you do not know where you are on a map.

No mention is made of GPS receivers. The simple models cost about $100 and are easy to learn to use. Today, most hunters, snow shoers and snowmobile riders use a GPS.

No mention is made of the value of an ordinary digital cell phone. “Cell phones can mean survival”, a recent excellent Bulletin article by Reporter Erin Golden, shows how 911 can obtain your location information from your mobile phone Provider.

How to spend a “snug” night in a hole in deep snow is dangerously misleading! A proper “snow cave” benefits from the insulation of a thick dome of snow, not a thin tarp flapping in the winter wind. The entrance to a cave must be below an insulated sleeping bench, trapping warm air. In the snow hole described, hypothermia is hastened by the transference of warmth from the seated (child) to the ice. Note that little “Kits” do not include the required shovel(s).

No mention is made of high carbohydrate food or of water and the means to melt snow. Dehydration leads quickly to hypothermia.

The pages on layering fail to note the real danger of wet clothing – hypothermia from heat conduction by water - and do not emphasize carrying a waterproof shell and pants.

Robert Speik lives in Bend and offers “free basic to advanced mountain climbing instruction” on his website www.TraditionalMountaineering.org
Copyright© 2008 by Robert Speik. All Rights Reserved.

Here is why buying an "emergency kit" is dangerous:

Firstly, what product is sold in "outdoor" stores as an "emergency kit"?

These commercial kits are actually Emergency "Medical" Kits
(The "Personal Essentials" First-Aid Kit above advises folks to always have these "Essentials" when they go into the backcountry. This is a rather unfortunate reference to The Ten Essentials.)

Can you assemble your own "Basic Survival Kit"?

A CNN reporter put on a four minute special for the public one morning on what to assemble for an "Emergency Kit" in the event one becomes stranded and lost in a winter storm. He did make the point that you should stay in one place and mark the location and not try to find your way  (until you become completely hidden away from road or trail and exhausted, wet and hypothermic --Webmeister).

CNN suggests one be prepared by assembling a "Kit": matches, a space blanket, a high protein energy bar and an emergence (bicycle) blinker and put the items in your glove compartment. (The reporter was in jeans, low top shoes and a light leather jacket shooting on location from consolidated snow near his truck. He had just demonstrated a "snow cave" shelter scratched from the roadside snow, covered with pine boughs (that in turn were to be covered with snow).

No mention was made of the dangers of water absorbing cotton and the need for extra clothing providing extra insulation and providing wind and water protection and for extra high carbohydrate energy bars and drinking water or Gatorade.

We suggest that this is totally dumb report by CNN and a missed opportunity to inform the public.  Read on!

The Deschutes County Sheriff's "BASIC SURVIVAL KIT"

"Taking a Few Precautions . . Could Save Your Life"
The Deschutes County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Unit has widely distributed their brochure titled "Taking a Few Precautions . .Could Save Your Life" This brochure has been financed by a contribution from Les Schwab Tire Stores.

BASIC SURVIVAL KIT:
Map and Compass
9'x12' Bright Plastic Tarp
Plastic Whistle
Lashing Cord
Garbage Bag (Yellow)
6 Sugar Cubes
Waterproof Matches
Knife
Candle Stubs
Metal Container with Lid
6 Bouillon Cubes
6 Water Purification Tabs
3 Tea Bags
This SAR Brochure

BASIC FIRST AID KIT:
6- Band aids
1- 2" Ace Bandage
2- Triangular Bandages
2- 2" Compress Bandages 2- 4" Compress Bandages 1- 2" Roll Gauze Bandage 5-10 yds. Waterproof Tape
12- Aspirin, Tylenol
Sunburn Preventive
1- sm. Antiseptic Agent
1- tube Burn Ointment
Insect Repellent
Personal Medications
Safety Pins

BE PREPARED
Once you are lost or in trouble, it is too late to assemble a Survival Kit. Do it now and always carry it with you. Temperatures and weather conditions can change very rapidly. A basic survival kit may make a life and death difference until help arrives.

BE EDUCATED
How To Use A Basic Survival Kit
A survival kit is only as good as your knowledge of how to use it. Listed below are a few "non-traditional" uses for items in your kit. Remember, your own ingenuity and
creativity are your best resources.

1. Plastic Tarp, Garbage Bag and Cord
• Use as a raincoat or windbreak
• Use as a ground cloth or shelter

2. Matches, Candle Stub and Knife
• Cut slivers of pitch wood or dry wood.
• Build a teepee over the candle stub with the wood slivers.
• Light the candle with match - works on wet wood and in the rain! (Better to have 10 matches and one candle than 100 matches and no candle!)

3. Metal Container with Lid
• As a container for small survival items
• As a drinking cup
• As a cooking pot (container) or pan (lid)

4. Tea Bags
• A hot drink tastes great when you're cold and tired!

5. Sugar Cubes
• A little quick energy -- and goes great in your tea!

6. Bouillon Cubes
• Add to water heated over fire in container to provide energy, salt, flavor and much contentment!

YOUR LIFE IS IN YOUR HANDS!  IS IT IN GOOD HANDS?

BE COMMUNICATIVE
If something were to happen to you would you be missed? Would anyone know where to look for you? Too many people have died needlessly because no one knew they
needed help or where to find them.

Always tell a neighbor, friend, or relative your:
LOCATION: Where you are going and how you plan to get there.
DURATION: How long you will be there and when you will return.
Then Stick To It!

Cell Phones:
They don't always work in the backcountry. Don't rely on them as your sole means of communication. Be sure the battery is fully charged before setting out on your trip. High locations often provide better reception.

BE FINDABLE
It is no disgrace to get lost, especially if you are wise about being lost. Even experienced hikers can become disoriented or injured. If that
happens, do all you can to help searchers find you and keep yourself safe. Remember:

• DON'T PANIC! Searchers will be looking for you and will find you.
• STAY IN ONE PLACE! You will be safer and easier to find.
• DO NOT TRAVEL AT NIGHT! Gather a large pile of firewood (conditions permitting) and make camp before dark.
• CAMP NEAR WATER (if possible) It's more important than food.
• USE YOUR WHISTLE! Give three blasts in a row at regular intervals.
• ANSWER A NOISE WITH A NOISE! This will scare animals and attract help.
• TAKE YOUR TIME and THINK!

BE SMART
Do you know the area? Study a current map before you go then take the same map with you. Is the trip appropriate for your physical condition? Overextending yourself is
asking for trouble. What is the weather forecast? It is better to postpone or cancel a trip than to put yourself in danger. Do you have the proper equipment? This includes
your survival/first aid kit. Do you have a partner? It is much safer to travel with a friend than alone. Be sure to stay together. If you must separate, make contact frequently.

Trail Conditions for Deschutes Nat'l Forest: www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon/recreation/trails/
Oregon Weather & Road Conditions (any season): www.tripcheck.com/Winter/NOAAindex.htm

HYPOTHERMIA
Hypothermia is a very common danger in Central Oregon, any time of year.
• Description - Loss of body heat that can sneak up on you quickly
• Symptoms - Chilling, shivering, stumbling, fumbling, dulled mental function
• Prevention - Stay dry, insulated, out of the wind, hydrated, nourished

BE GPS-COMPETENT
If you carry a GPS into the backcountry know how to use it correctly before you start. To minimize error, master these primary GPS skills:
• Set up your GPS with the proper datum/ coordinate system for your map.
• Mark a waypoint (your present location).
• Create waypoints manually by entering coordinates and name/identifier.
• Determine bearing and distance to any given marked waypoint (Go To).
• Set up your GPS to record your track and retrace it (Track Back).
• Carry extra batteries.

The Deschutes County Sheriff's "BASIC SURVIVAL KIT" is "dangerous"

We have tried to get the Deschutes County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Unit to withdraw these sponsored Brochures and replace them with a Brochure that is more helpful to the public. In 2008, at the written request of then SAR Coordinator Sgt. Dan Swearingen, I provided the following suggestions:

Rather than suggesting that the lost person have a cup of tea with six sugar cubes (15 calories per cube) or bullion cubes (5 calories per cube) brewed over a fire (in a storm?), the Brochure should admonish folks to carry several high carbohydrate energy bars (250 calories each) and a supply of water (quarts not pints) to help avoid the slide into exhaustion, bonking and hypothermia.

No admonition is made by SAR of the need to carry extra hats, gloves and extra non-cotton clothing for insulation and (Gore-Tex) outer clothing for protection from wind and wet.

No admonition is made of the need to have an insulating pad for protection against hypothermia from the direct conduction of cold should one inevitably have to sit or lie for hours on snow or wet ground.

No admonition is made to carry a flashlight!

No suggestion is made that it is possible with light and strong plastic snow shovels to dig a safe snow cave, but only if designed properly with the entrance below the sitting area. And only if used with an insulating pad - no you can not substitute pine branches without a saw or an axe or find dry duff in 10 feet of snow!

The SAR emphasis continues to be on a compact "Emergency Kit" and not on the traditional Ten Essential Systems and how to use them. (A Deschutes County SAR representative, speaking to a group recently, publicly scoffed at The Mountaineers "The Ten Essential Systems" and provide his own list based on his own personal experience.)

We also note the suggestion that one simply "tell a friend or neighbor or relative" about your adventure. Experience tells us that you must confirm with a Responsible Person that you are depending upon him or her to call 911 for SAR assistance at a specific time if you have not returned, say 4 pm rather than 9 pm!

We offer the above suggestions here with some concern, lest we personally offend employees of the County Sheriff's Department and certain of the volunteers who selflessly support the Deschutes County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Unit.
--Webmeister Speik
Copyright© 2008 by Robert Speik. All Rights Reserved.

TV Sports Commentator Bob Woodward's "Emergency" Kit

On Saturday night, January 12, 2008, Bob Woodward, a TV spokesman for outdoor stores in Bend, showed the public what he carries for Winter "Emergencies".
Here is his list:
-Extra hat and mittens
-A foil packaged hand warmer
-Sun screen and wind protection with an "oily base"
-2 Cliff Shots for a snack
-Tiny wrenches that tighten specific nuts on his skis
-A bit of duck tape wrapped on a wine cork
-Two tiny wood screws and steel wool in a plastic container
    (The screws hold critical parts on his skis, the steel wool is thought to bind the screws when they are replaced in their worn holes)
-A Leatherman Multi Tool to tighten the tiny screws (This item can weigh in at 12.5 ounces!)

Bob Woodward does mention a bottle of water, but not a map, compass or $99.00 GPS
Bob Woodward, shame on you!
Copyright© 2008 by Robert Speik. All rights reserved.

Do not buy or assemble a personal "Emergency Kit"
it will give you a false sense of security
- each must carry the personal "Ten Essential Systems", sized to the individual, in a day pack!"

The Mountaineers was organized as a Club in Seattle in 1906 to meet the needs of men and women in the Pacific Northwest who hiked and climbed in the North Cascades. Their standard text for these activities is Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, now in its 7th edition. The Mountaineers became active in introducing people to the Wilderness and they began offering their annual Climbing Courses in the 1930s. It was soon determined that each participant in their activities must have certain essential equipment. This equipment became known as The Ten Essentials. It is now known as THE TEN ESSENTIAL SYSTEMS.

As a teaching aid in Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills the traditional Ten Essentials were listed as follows:
1. Maps of the area; 2. Declination adjusted compass; 3. Flashlight, extra batteries/bulb; 4. Extra food and water; 5. Extra clothing; 6. Sunglasses and sun screen; 7. First aid kit; 8. Pocket knife; 9. Waterproof matches; 10. Fire starter. Across the nation, over the years, hikers, backpackers, climbing club and outdoor program participants, by the countless thousands have memorized this list. The traditional Ten Essentials have been listed and discussed in countless books and magazine articles.

What it comes down to is that all members of an outing’s group must be individually prepared for the inevitable unexpected situations. Extra individual clothing layers don't fit in a Kit and can't be carried by a Leader The pooling of individual equipment such as the foot square insulating summer "shorty pad" or bandages may help save the life of a member of the group. This gear is seasonal, sized to the individual and is weather and trip dependent. It is light weight but bulky and will not fit in a "fanny pack" or a "hydration pack"! Carry this gear in a light weight day pack, sized for the season.

TEN ESSENTIAL SYSTEMS
Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills©, 7th edition, 2003, by The Mountaineers
(I have added my own comments on the actual gear)

1. Navigation
Added to the essential $7.00 topo map of the area and the $25.00 declination-corrected base plate compass must be the ability to use them together. This requires learning a specific skill and practice. Navigating with a map alone is also a necessary skill. Serious navigators will add an optional $100.00 GPS receiver and learn to use it with the UTM grid on the right topo maps.

2. Sun Protection
Sun glasses and a sunscreen are an obvious addition to a pack. Sun protection should come from SPF 35 sun screen lotion, dark glasses approved for altitude and reflective snow fields, and long sleeves and hat rated for strong sun. Remember your SPF Lip Protection. Have a sun skirt on the hat or wear a bandana under the hat and over your neck and ears.

3. Insulation (extra clothing)
This brings us to extra clothing - the most essential of the list. In Central Oregon, the weather can change in a very short time, leaving people shivering in shorts and vulnerable to rain, sweat and wind induced hypothermia. Hiking fast may keep your body heat up, until you "bonk" or "run out of gas" (glycogen), or have to hike slow with others, go slow to find your way or have to stop and tend an injured companion. 

Cotton clothing, soaked in sweat, rain or melted snow, has caused the death of too many people. Layers of polypropylene, pile and Gortex are the equivalent to the wool underwear, pants, shirts, sweaters and coated closely woven jackets of the 70s and before. Polypro, pile, softshells and Gortex had not been invented when Everest was first summited. However, they all used layers to 1. wick body moisture, 2. to insulate and 3. to cut off wind and rain. Remember, layers must be “pealed” to avoid sweat soaked clothes!  All of this essential seasonal personal clothing and equipment must be accommodated in a sturdy day/summit pack large enough to hold it. Garments or equipment tied to the outside are likely to catch on something or get wet/lost.

Remember, you must have an assortment of hats for protection from sun to storm. A larger day/summit pack is needed for the light but bulky pile or wool insulation layers in the winter.

4. Illumination
A small flashlight can assist in finding a lost or injured person. Also, many hiking groups have returned to the trailhead after dark. Headlamps now weigh in at 3 oz.
OK, carry a signal mirror for those sunny summer days - use an old CD if you must signal.

5. First-Aid Supplies
A first aid kit sized to the trip is a must. First aid supplies can fit in a Ziploc baggie and should deal with cuts and scrapes with small and large Band-Aids, Neosporin and mole skin. In June and July, add mosquito repellent for the woods.

6. Fire
Waterproof matches and a fire starter can be combined in an adjustable propane pocket lighter. Remember, when you most need a fire, it will be windy, wet and cold. Do not depend on being able to start a fire. You can't find fuel in deep snow. Learn how to stay warm without a fire. Don't try to be a survivalist.

7. Repair Kit and Tools
A small knife should be light and sharp - a tool kit knife is heavy and of little use. I carry the smallest Swiss Army knife and six feet of duct tape.

8. Nutrition (extra food)
Extra food should be in the form of easily digested quick acting fat-free fig newtons, jelly filled breakfast bars or ClifBars which have a bit of protean to aid utilization. Glycogen (sugar or starch) is the one essential fuel that must be replaced during a hard hike or climb or an unexpected cold wet night under a tree  - most people have ample stores of the other essential fuel: fat. Protein Bars or jerky are dangerous. A small package of ten ClifBars contains 2,300 calories, with only 300 calories of (unneeded) fat and a small amount of protein to slow utilization.

9. Hydration (extra water)
Add extra water or the equipment to obtain it (stove for snow or a filter for summer), to your list. In the summer you may need to drink a gallon or more. In the winter you may be able to get by with quarts if you are careful not to sweat. Use electrolyte replacement powder such as Gookinaid or Gatorade.  Remember that only two quarts of water weigh almost four pounds plus 12 oz. for the two Nalgene bottles!  Use Nalgene or Platypus plastic bags that weigh one ounce per quart. I am not a fan of bladders, but they are popular at this time. (The body purges liters of fluid from the blood in the early stages of hypothermia; if this occurs it is necessary to aggressively hydrate with electrolytes.) Carry a small filter. Tablets will not work for hours in very cold water. StriPens are expensive gadgets for tourists!

10. Emergency Shelter
Emergency shelter can range from a 9oz. Emergency Bivy Sack sold by Adventure Medical Kits for about $30. to a four season Gore-Tex $200. bivy bag, an ensolite pad and 20 degree sleeping bag. You can not shelter on snow without an insulating pad such as the Cascade Designs RidgeRest three-quarter length, 9 ounce ensolite foam pad, strapped to the side of your day or summit pack. Note that as of October 2007, the 9oz Bivy Sack described above has morphed into the "Thermo-Lite 2 Bivvy", 6.5oz. and $33. For summer, just carry the "Heatsheets Emergency Bivvy", 3.5oz. and $15. from the same Backpacker award winning company. Don't forget your light and strong plastic snow shovel for that cave. You can't dig a snow cave without it! Carry the shovel broken down in your light day pack. Or just carry a four season,  two pound single wall tent from Black Diamond.

Bring your cell phone turned on, and available in an emergency! Consider the possible agonizing alternatives. Have the option to call for help when you break your leg on Saturday morning and not have to wait until the end of the weekend for that 911 call by your Responsible Person and for SAR to mobilize and travel to your original trail head. In very cold weather, I carry my 4 ounce digital cell phone in a top jacket pocket where I can keep the batteries warm and where it can see the cell towers. I want to reach the phone if I crash. Attach a whistle to your compass lanyard, always around your neck. Perhaps, carry a $149.00 SPOT-2 emergency satellite communicator on more "interesting" trips.
--On Belay! Bob Speik
Copyright© 1995-2011 by Robert Speik. All rights reserved.

What essentials do I carry in my own lightweight winter day pack?

What I carry in my "winter day pack" depends on the length, elevation gain and technical class of the hike or climb, the time of year, the forecast weather, who my companions are and a lot of other things, I guess. It is always packed in the winter; I pull things out and leave them in the car, depending on conditions.  I add more or different things in the fall or winter to the essentials I carry in my summer daypack.

Lets start with a four-mile round trip snowshoe trek to a Snow Shelter from Swampy Snowpark near the Three Sisters Wilderness.

In the winter, I always wear a long sleeved Patagonia Capalene silk weight under shirt, a Patagonia R-1 regulator fleece shirt, Patagonia poly boxers and Koch XC 3SPFpants and vest. I wear my OR Rocky Mountain (Gore-Tex) long-gaiters. I add TNF Gore "Windstopper" gloves and light "Windstopper" hat and a poly scarf and light generic balaclava and goggles depending on the weather.   (I leave my very light Gore-Tex pants and jacket in my pack since it is not snowing and my Koch XC 3SPF pants and vest are wind-proof up to about 30 mph.)

This boot is light and breathable with a waterproof/breathable Gore-Tex liner. Periodic touchups with Nikwax aqueous liquid will restore water repellency. The Nikwax will take care of light scuffs that may appear to wet out a little and it is designed to not obstruct the breathability of the Gore-Tex membrane. I use the standard double sox combination. The boots are not so tight as to impede my circulation causing cold injuries.