An Avid NH Hiker Forced to Test His Cold Weather Survival Skills

Six hours from the trailhead and two hours past his turn-around time, avid hiker Alex Theissen was at the edge of panic as storms began filling in from the valley. What had started as a fairly ordinary spring hike in the White Mountains was quickly going south for Theissen — causing him to test his cold-weather survival skills.

Spending the night exposed to the elements with plummeting temperatures and only a bit of hard cheese and a foil blanket in his pack was becoming a distinct reality. His impending panic is familiar to any hiker who has found themselves stranded somewhere less than ideal, like on a windward shore with a gale coming on.

In many cases, what happens next is the crux moment — either survival or full-blown disaster ensues. For Theissen, survival started with the acronym S.T.O.P.

Sit … Think …Observe … Plan.

Rather than giving in to his natural human panic response, Theissen took stock. His measured actions and cold-weather survival skills are likely what saved his life. It’s a lesson applicable to hikers, hunters, survivalists, canoeists, and any others who find themselves unprepared in falling or already frigid temperatures.

Shelter and Warmth

Remember, exposure can kill you in frigid temperatures before anything else has a chance. In Theissen’s case, getting below the treeline was his top priority. Then, he could focus on finding or creating shelter and then (finally) on creating warmth.

Fortunately, our hiker Theissen found a root cavity that provided both shelter and tinder. He sealed it as wholly as possible with packed snow and insulated himself using evergreen boughs. Once protected, Theissen managed to nurse a fire which — while it never quite took — provided a certain degree of comfort.

Finding Your Route

While there was no way Theissen could find the way back to the trailhead in the impending white-out, he was not lost and planned to keep it that way.

Route finding depends on visibility; thus, traveling in a white-out, in the dark of night, or in heavily wooded terrain exponentially increases the chances of becoming lost.

It is doubly important to think, observe, and plan in these situations … and to acknowledge that it’s not always prudent to act. It’s often better to stay put rather than flounder around, risking further disorientation and even serious injury.

By marking his route from the ridgeline and traveling only as far as needed to ensure shelter, Theissen knew that once the weather improved, he would be able to find his way back to the trailhead.

Creating Visibility

Theissen hoped all that would be needed was for him to hole up for the night in his makeshift shelter and then walk out the following morning. If unable to get out on his own, his next step would be to create the conditions to be found. Experts agree that three elements increase the chances of a rescue party locating a lost hiker: visibility, positioning, and mobility.

• Visibility – creating smudge fires, markers, signals

• Positioning – on ridgelines, open riverbanks, at the treeline

• Mobility – stationary targets are easier to find

Had Theissen been lost, he would have returned to the ridgeline and created visibility by stamping a signal in the snow, anchoring his foil blanket, or building a smudge fire.

Maintaining Hydration

If you’ve got a fire, the ice and snow you’re surrounded with are a viable source of hydration. If you can’t get a fire lit, there are other sources.

Depending on the cold, flowing water is frequently available under the snowpack at the bottom of creeks. Animals and birds often keep patches of ponds or lakes free of ice. In some areas, solar radiation can be powerful enough to create ice melt against dark rock faces.

Nutrition

Nutrition needs to figure heavily in your self-rescue plan. Cold weather requires more calories to keep the body going, and while it is possible to live weeks without food, hunger is debilitating. It lowers the body’s resistance to cold, and extreme hunger will affect clear thinking making it more likely you will make deadly mistakes.

There is a good reason frozen landscapes are frequently described as arid … there’s not much alive and not much to eat. As flippant as it seems, getting out sooner than later is an excellent plan. One dies of starvation more quickly in winter than in summer.

As it turns out, Theissen’s storm passed in the night, and by 3 a.m., the White Mountains were brightly lit by a shining moon. Theissen had enough light to return to the ridge line and find the descent by dawn. While the previous day, he had stupidly decided to ignore his turn-around time, getting him into a sticky situation, every decision after that was the right one. By the next afternoon, he was back at his car hungry, cold, and tired … but alive.

Even if you aren’t an avid hiker, improving your cold-weather survival skills is always a good idea. You never know when you may be stuck out in the elements — learn more about coping with the cold.