Your own savior

      Of course, having moved away and lost sight of his comrades when setting up a bivouac, in a treeless area, during a snowstorm, the participant finds himself in the most difficult situation, being least prepared for it: he is not dressed warmly enough (he dressed for work) and only by chance can he have some kind of handy tool with him. What to do? First of all, you must try to return immediately, strictly following your tracks. If the tracks are covered and it is not clear where to go, it is better to stop to slowly and carefully look around and listen - suddenly, in the breaks in the drifting snow, you will be able to see the tent and comrades or hear their voices. The most important thing here is to maintain calm and sober judgment, and cope with the approaching feeling of anxiety.

      Try to remember in which direction the wind was blowing when the group began to set up a tent and you moved away from it, approximately how many steps you took, moving away to the side. Having compared all this, we must once again try to reach our own people. If the group still does not turn up at the expected location, then it is best to stop trying to find a bivouac, otherwise you may move far from the camp.

      You understand that the search may drag on, that you will have to spend one night, a day, or maybe more, that no one will help and you need to do everything to avoid frostbite and freeze. Having understood the situation, we must act!

      First, you should warm up: putting on the hood and tightening it, tuck the jacket into the trousers and tighten the waist belt, pull up the shoe covers and tie them tightly so that snow does not fall on the boots, put on the mittens deeper and do not take them off unnecessarily.

      If you happen to have a hacksaw or a duralumin sheet with you, it will not be difficult to make a shelter out of snow or in the snow. The simplest shelter is considered to be in the form of a low rectangle with a hole in the end, made of snow bricks (Fig. 109, a, b). However, it is better to make something like a small pyramid in which you can sit and even stand up, stretch your legs, and move around to warm up. Don’t be lazy, carefully wall up all the cracks between the snow bricks and close the hole with a slab. Then the shelter will be warmer.

Rice. 109. Shelters for one or two people in extreme situations: a, b - snow huts; c - cave; d - snow shelter using skis as a cover; d and f - barriers made of polyethylene and spruce branches; g - a fire in a hole under a tree.

      If you encounter a blowing snow, the easiest and fastest way is to dig a cave. To make it easier to throw out snow, make the hole wider and fill it with snow bricks (Fig. 109, c).

      But you can’t sit motionless in a shelter, worrying about what happened, you have to constantly do something. Firstly, carefully shake the snow off your clothes - they won’t get so damp. Remember: the body cools down more slowly than the arms and legs. First of all, you should pay attention to their insulation.

      Your feet will start to freeze first. Without waiting for this, it is better to take off your shoes, put mittens on your feet and wrap both feet together with a sweater (they will warm up from each other), putting both shoe covers on them. Remember to constantly wiggle your toes and flex and extend your ankle. Warm frozen hands under your arms or on your stomach. Force yourself to get up at certain intervals and do a warm-up by squatting, bending your torso, swinging your arms, rubbing your face, legs, and body. You can sleep in such a shelter. Just give yourself, for example, this task:

      “I need to wake up in 30 minutes.” Long intervals threaten hypothermia. Waking up at a given time, you will believe in yourself, you will feel that not everything is lost - this will help you endure all the trials and survive.

      Well, what if you didn’t have anything with you: no saw, no duralumin sheet, no skis? Of course, it will be much more difficult, but even in this case the situation is not hopeless. The main thing is to prepare yourself for the greatest difficulties, then a wise law will come into force: the more difficult the conditions, the more fully the internal reserves of the body are mobilized, which you did not even suspect. You just need to show maximum willpower in the fight for life. Self-hypnosis contributes to this. Repeat mentally, for example, the following phrase: “The life of my comrades, loved ones and relatives depends on me alone!” Such self-hypnosis disciplines the psychological state and does not allow a feeling of doom to creep in. This is exactly what courageous people do when they find themselves in the most difficult situations. Remember: your life depends only on you. And these are not empty words.

      Still, a strong-willed attitude is not enough. It must be supported by meaningful actions: thoroughly insulate yourself, and then begin useful work. For example, walking aimlessly will be less effective than setting up a shelter. Check your pockets to see if you have a knife or, in extreme cases, a spoon, which will also be not at all useless. Using a knife or spoon, you can cut small snow bricks and build a wind barrier. True, this will take a lot of time and effort, but given the current situation, such work will distract from depressing thoughts. Do whatever you want, the main thing is to move, suppressing the desire to bury yourself in the snow - it’s so easy to fall asleep and freeze. In addition, it is difficult to find something covered with snow, especially in a snowstorm and in the dark.

      A hiker may also fall behind the group in a snowstorm while moving. This sometimes ends very unfavorably. But if you look into it, the person lagging behind (compared to the previous case) is not in such a difficult situation: with him is a backpack containing warm clothes, emergency equipment, a rug, maybe polyethylene or a sleeping bag, definitely an avalanche shovel or a duralumin sheet (every tourist should take them if the route passes through a mountainous area), as well as an electronic tourist beacon for searching in an avalanche.

      So, you're behind! The snow blinds your eyes, the wind tries to knock you off your feet. Creepy. What to do?

      First. While the tracks are visible, walk along the ski track, without leaving it and without trying to cut off its loops in order to catch up with the group. Otherwise, you will definitely lose the track, turn to the side and only complicate your search. When the ski track disappears, you need to stop and wait for your comrades, who, having noticed your absence, should return. To avoid freezing, dress warmly, wrap yourself in plastic and sit on your backpack with your back to the wind. At night, you need to turn on the flashlight and periodically “wink” with it; When falling asleep, turn on the radio - it will help you find someone covered in snow. Of course, you are supposed to pay close attention to your feet, constantly wiggle your toes, stand up and stretch.

      After one or two hours of waiting or with the onset of twilight, you should take care of spending the night. Let's assume that you don't have an avalanche shovel (a duralumin sheet, a hacksaw) with you. Don't despair - there are skis! With their help you can make a small snow hut (see Fig. 109, d). You can get comfortable in it at night thanks to a polyethylene foam mat, a supply of warm clothes and polyethylene. If you use them skillfully, then any frost will not be scary in your snow house. Before going to bed, put on a warm sweater and woolen sweatpants, a warm jacket (fur jacket, puffer). However, it will not become warmer if you put on all the warm clothes: with clothes that are tight-fitting and restrict movement, you are more likely to freeze. Some things need to be laid underneath to protect yourself from the cold snow. It is better to take off your boots and put on fur (insulated synthetic) stockings or wool socks, wrap your legs together with something and put them in a backpack.

      Of course, you have matches (the leader of the trip warned everyone to stock up on a box in a sealed package), and in your jacket pocket you found a piece of stearin candle (you used it to rub your skis when they got sticky). Wrap yourself in plastic, light a candle - the heat from it is enough to quickly warm up. Then turn it off, tie a hat with earflaps, wrap a scarf around your neck, pull up the hood of your jacket, put your hands in the sleeves - you can take a nap. No matter how much you want to relax, if it gets cold, force yourself to get up, rub your legs, lower back, and stretch. After this you can sleep again.

      If the separation from the group occurred not far from the forest, then you need to settle down there for the night, lighting a fire and setting up a barrier. Again, let’s assume that you have neither a hatchet nor a hacksaw, but only a knife. First of all, break some spruce branches and mark your path to the forest with it - this will help your group comrades find you. Then try to find a spreading spruce whose lower branches lie on the snow or are covered with snow. Under them, as a rule, there is less snow and it is loose; it can be crushed or rake using, for example, a bowl. Now the shelter is ready, but do not forget to shake off the branches, otherwise, when the fire flares up, the snow will fall and extinguish the fire or drip with frequent rain. For the rostra (see Fig. 109, g) you can use the lower dry branches, and to light it - wood moss, thin twigs and paper. Take the time to prepare enough firewood for the night and use it sparingly. In shelter it is better to sit with your back to a tree. Making a fire directly next to a tree is dangerous - the lower branches can burst into flames and the fire can spread to things.

      If such a tree is not found, then to protect from the wind you can create a barrier (Fig. 109, e): rake the snow (where it is less deep), stick skis obliquely into the formed roller (with the sliding surface away from the fire), and ski poles on the sides, tie polyethylene to the toes of the skis and poles. The lower edge should be sprinkled with snow. All that remains now is to lie down to rest by the fire on a bed of rug or spruce branches, turning to the fire either with your back or with your chest.

      If there is no polyethylene, then a barrier or hut can be made from spruce branches (Fig. 109, f). But spruce branches should not be covered with snow on top, since they usually do not stick to the needles and fall on clothes and moisten them.

      You can do this: light a large fire, and when the ground warms up, rake it so that there are no hot coals, cover the fireplace with spruce branches and lie down on it, covering yourself with polyethylene on top.

      In general, if you remain calm and reasonable, you will find dozens more ways to survive the blizzard and frost alone and get out of the difficult situation you found yourself in due to your frivolity and indiscipline.

      Here are some more tips to help you avoid trouble.

      When setting up a bivouac in a snowstorm in an open area, the group leader must remind everyone of the need to constantly monitor each other. Even if you lose sight of a comrade for a short time, you need to sound the alarm and under no circumstances delay the start of the search.

      If the place for preparing snow bricks is located at some distance from the place where the tent is pitched or the igloo is built, the path between them is marked with skis, sticks or a stretched rope.

      If you are forced to move in a snowstorm along the tundra, plateau or wide valley, then in order not to get confused, especially when moving in the wind, it is recommended to tie a rope to the guide and pass it through the straps of the backpacks of all other participants (as if stringing them on a rope). The latter ties the rope around his belt and, slowing down, holds it in a taut position. The rest, sliding along it, have the opportunity, without interfering with others, to regulate their movement. The speed is somewhat reduced, but there is a full guarantee that no one will get lost!

      On non-steep slopes you can move in the same way, but without skis.

      Mandatory rule: each participant must have emergency food supplies, matches in sealed packaging, a dozen dry alcohol tablets and an avalanche shovel.

      Those group leaders are right who, when preparing for a hike, spare no time in teaching their comrades how to build snow shelters for one person and organize overnight stays in extreme situations. This should become mandatory for all ski tourists and be reflected in their training programs.

P.I. Lukoyanov Winter sports hikes.