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The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)

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Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)

#81

Post by kaiuhl »

andyl wrote: post #74

I teach search and rescue people how to travel on skis or snowshoes and live in winter mountains. If you are prepared, you can stay out in sub-zero for days and days very comfortably. A key skill is constant regulation of your body temperature. You never want to become too hot/sweaty or too cold. If too cold - get into shelter, drink something hot, eat carbs, add clothes, move faster. If too hot - remove clothes, or…

I agree with all of this advice.

The article describes one type of winter danger (extreme cold), but there's another equally dangerous condition it doesn't deal with — temperatures right around freezing.

A friend and I ended a snowcamping trip a day early yesterday because temperatures were ±32º morning and night. The result of the temperature staying just below or at freezing is that you get very wet. You get very wet just doing mundane tasks like shoveling snow because your body heat needs to shift the temperature of snow on your clothing by just a few degrees to melt. Being slightly unprepared for a night in these conditions is just as dangerous as being in the arctic (where you may be cold, but you'll definitely be dry).

Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)

#82

Post by smosher »

andyl wrote: post #74

I teach search and rescue people how to travel on skis or snowshoes and live in winter mountains. If you are prepared, you can stay out in sub-zero for days and days very comfortably. A key skill is constant regulation of your body temperature. You never want to become too hot/sweaty or too cold. If too cold - get into shelter, drink something hot, eat carbs, add clothes, move faster. If too hot - remove clothes, or…

The one time I fount myself at risk of hypothermia was because I had overestimated the cold. I put on too many layers which kept me nice and warm. But exertion in that warmth caused me to break a sweat. By the time I got where I was going things were just bad enough to make me feel like I had learned a lesson.

Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)

#84

Post by sanotehu »

gonzo wrote: post #54
sanotehu wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they are indeed. As a medical student I had the privilege of seeing a heart valve being installed. They are a witness to how far medicine has progressed since the days of barber surgeons. The blood is taken out of your body through the femoral vein (under the skin between your hip and your nether regions), taken through the perfusion machine and pumped back into the femoral artery. Because at this stage the hear…

As a medical student you'll appreciate that I have a 3-4" stint replacing a section of my aorta, starting about 1mm away from the aortic root. This to repair an ascending aortic dissection that terminates in my left iliac. I walked out of the hospital, but the recovery was a PITA. My core temp got down to 18C (65-66F) for over an hour. (According to the surgical notes I was on the heart lung machine for over 4 hours,…

I think it's a testament to modern medicine that we can do these sorts of things. Glad to hear you got through the recovery alright. With the operation I saw, they packed the patient's head with ice bags as well as cooling the blood. I remember thinking to myself that I'd hate to be that guy waking up! Something like a large hangover ;)

Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)

#85

Post by sanotehu »

UnFleshedOne wrote: post #72
shaydoc wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazing, the knowledge acquired, distilled and shared to enable this is just wanted immense. My father had a major bypass op 6 years ago and I remember him saying how he felt when he first awoke after the surgery. He mentioned feeling cold!

I felt very cold waking up after surgery for lung collapse (as in, shivering uncontrollably, not really hypothermic I guess). I don't think they specifically lowered my temperature. Maybe that is a common effect of general anesthesia? Those heated blankets they have in post-surgery rooms are very nice...

Shivering is a common side-effect of general anaesthetic. I've not seen enough post-op recovery to know exactly how common, but it's high on the list of side-effects we have to tell people.

WRT the hypothermia, you may have been slightly hypothermic as a result of having so much of your body surface exposed to the air. People don't realise that ambient temperature (18-22C) is actually quite cold in relation to body temperature (36.7C) - it's only the fact that we wear clothes that means we don't feel it.

Nowadays we have heated blankets in theatre too, to offset this heat loss.

Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)

#86

Post by doktrin »

waterlesscloud wrote: post #37
freehunter wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 tem…

I wonder if it's physical or at least partially psychological. I live in Los Angeles and my brother lives in Flagstaff. Every year at the holidays, I go spend a week with him and his family. In Flagstaff there can be entire days below freezing and the nights can easily reach single digits F. When I'm there and it's 25 F, I'm fine. Toodle along like normal. Come back to LA and it's 50 and I shiver. Same outfits even.…

I had the same experience while in SF this fall. The temperature reading rarely dipped below 50, but the evenings felt brutally cold. When I returned to the east coast, temperatures 5-10 degrees below those in SF felt warm and cozy.

Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)

#87

Post by cullenking »

One thing I have started doing when I go on any outdoor treks, even just a day of snowboarding, is carrying a portable amateur radio. I program in the local repeaters if there are some (not always an option depending on area) which greatly extends range if necessary. Not as good as a PLB in some ways, but superior in others. For example, I can call for help without bringing in the whole cavalry.

Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)

#88

Post by freehunter »

staunch wrote: post #17
freehunter wrote: post #8

Living 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?

I've actually been saving up for a winch. I'd need to get a new bumper to hold a winch though, or mount a hitch to the front end.

Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)

#89

Post by justin66 »

30thElement wrote: post #29
46Bit wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you die from fumes inside your car? Provided the air intakes and exhaust pipe were clear of snow, I was under the impression it wouldn't really build up.

Assuming the exhaust pipe is clear isn't the best assumption when you're in a ditch in the middle of a blizzard. Even if the pipe is clear, rust from the all the salt on the road or damage from going into the ditch could easily put a hole in your exhaust.

Keeping the exhaust clear would be worthwhile even if it means going out in the snow and doing some work. You should be doing that anyway: your best chance of being found is brushing most of the snow off the top of the vehicle so someone passing by or overhead is sure to see it.

Re: The Cold Hard Facts of Freezing to Death (1997)

#90

Post by barrkel »

freehunter wrote: post #58
astral303 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The conditions you describe are tough. Going off the road in an ice storm sucks. Love your CB and snow suit suggestions. The following is not commentary on your situation, but tips to reduce chance of getting stuck: 1. I strongly recommend running a set of good snow tires, no matter whether you have an AWD Subaru or a 4x4 truck or a FWD Corolla. Yes, truck snow tires exist. The reason is that the rubber compound is m…

For truck snow tires, many times "reasonable" MT (mud terrain) or AT (all terrain) tires are also rated for snow. I say reasonable because MTs can get pretty extreme in their tread pattern, which will really hurt your stopping distance on ice. Extreme MTs have very little rubber touching the road. On my truck I have Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmor tires, which are rated for on/off-road and extreme snow. I wouldn't reco…

I had a spit-take when you suggested 30k was extremely quick wear, as I'm used to motorcycle tyres, where 5k is a fairly long life!
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