Being cold and being deathly cold are two different things.
I've only gotten mild frostbite once, but I'd never want to have it again. The skin blackens and peels, and itches like nothing I've ever experienced before.
The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)
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Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)
#12This bit about how certain groups of people have somehow developed different responses to cold is fascinating:
Were you a Norwegian fisherman or Inuit hunter, both of whom frequently work gloveless in the cold, your chilled hands would open their surface capillaries periodically to allow surges of warm blood to pass into them and maintain their flexibility. This phenomenon, known as the hunter's response, can elevate a 35-degree skin temperature to 50 degrees within seven or eight minutes.
Other human adaptations to the cold are more mysterious. Tibetan Buddhist monks can raise the skin temperature of their hands and feet by 15 degrees through meditation. Australian aborigines, who once slept on the ground, unclothed, on near-freezing nights, would slip into a light hypothermic state, suppressing shivering until the rising sun rewarmed them.
You have no such defenses, having spent your days at a keyboard in a climate-controlled office. Only after about ten minutes of hard climbing, as your body temperature rises, does blood start seeping back into your fingers. Sweat trickles down your sternum and spine.
Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)
#13Somehow this reminded me of this excellent story: http://www.signandsight.com/features/852.html
Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)
#14This bit about how certain groups of people have somehow developed different responses to cold is fascinating: Were you a Norwegian fisherman or Inuit hunter, both of whom frequently work gloveless in the cold, your chilled hands would open their surface capillaries periodically to allow surges of warm blood to pass into them and maintain their flexibility. This phenomenon, known as the hunter's response, can elevate…
You can notice this effect in your life as well. I don't know where you live, but I know here in the north, 40F is "freezing" cold in November for many people. And when March rolls around, 40F is cause for breaking out the t-shirts. Your body will adapt to the cold to a certain degree. I think I saw it explained on a reddit "ask science" post some time ago, but I cannot remember the physiological details of these temporary adaptations to climate patterns.
Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)
#15I spent the whole article translating those temperatures into Centigrade. Kind of broke the flow.
Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did you read what you linked? "Because of Mr. Kim's background as a technology analyst, observers speculated that the family had used online mapping to find their route. However, Mrs. Kim told state police that they had used a paper road map, an account supported by the Oregon State Police, which reported that the Kims had used an official State of Oregon highway map."
No I didn't, I the original search for him and his family and the immediate aftermath that there was a great deal of discussion about them getting lost due to following a bad GPS route.
I don't think they used GPS though. But here is another story where the GPS was misleading (Disclaimer: It was pointed out to me by another hn reader, although I don't know exactly who):
http://www.usaprepares.com/survival/husband-died-just-six-mi...
Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)
#17Living in Michigan, this is one of my biggest fears. Due to the massive lakes that surround us, we frequently get a blast of warm, wet air that causes rain, and of course that warm wet air is being pushed off the lake by a cold front, causing high winds and sub-freezing temps. This combined with large stands of farmland and no trees for windrows means wind blows right across the road and freezes the rain instantly, s…
Get a winch?
Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)
#18That was a fantastic read. Incredible journey to hypothermia and back.
The description of the feeling of burning is unreal! What is even better is the incredible knowledge of how to revive a patient from this state.
I belief these techniques are used in heart bypass operations ?
Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
No I didn't, I the original search for him and his family and the immediate aftermath that there was a great deal of discussion about them getting lost due to following a bad GPS route.
I don't think they used GPS though. But here is another story where the GPS was misleading (Disclaimer: It was pointed out to me by another hn reader, although I don't know exactly who): http://www.usaprepares.com/survival/husband-died-just-six-mi...
I might be mixed up on it. Gosh it's hard to imagine that was six years ago.
Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)
#20How old is this article? It seems to use the old Fahrenheit temperature scale. I'm sure my grandfather would understand those temperatures but for myself I had to convert each one into modern units. Eventually I couldn't be bothered and stopped reading.