The first in "Greg Davenport's Books for the Wilderness" series, "Surviving Cold Weather" covers the techniques and equipment necessary for surviving in ice and snow. Photos and drawings illustrate gear and techniques. The book covers the five survival essentials--personal protection, signaling, sustenance, navigation, and health--as they relate to the cold.
Topics include:
- How to dress for winter
- How to create a campsite and what to use as shelter
- How to keep warm
- How to signal for help with aerial flares, smoke, mirrors, and whistles
- Finding and purifying water
- Finding and preparing food
- Protecting yourself and your supplies from wildlife
- How to use a map and compass
- How to travel on snow and ice with snowshoes, skis, and crampons
- How to avoid and deal with avalanches
Published: January 1, 2003
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 0811726355
Book Review
Lindsay W. (Anchorage, AK)
The best part about this survival guide is Davenport's descriptions of "improvised" items. Most people don't plan to be in a survival situation in freezing temperatures, and may not have the proper equipment. He teaches you how to use survival items you have purchased and may have with you (such as an avalanche beacon or a signal flare), but also what to do in a situtation in which you don't have what you need (improvising snowshoes, stick and shadow compass, etc). The section on constructing emergency shelters gave detailed instructions for many options depending on what resources are available - trees, ice, and/or deep snow. He even provides pictures as proof of his methods. The information on how to obtain food, especially berries, and how to navigate without a map or compass was also extremely helpful. The only disappointing thing for me in this book was the information on animals.
I bought this book because I live in Alaska and was hoping to learn something that would keep me from becoming one of the many people that do not survive in the wilderness out here because they are unprepared! I bring it with me when I go backpacking or camping, because you never know. I recommend reading this book if you spend time outdoors in cold weather, whether you put yourself in risky situations or not. You'll learn not only how to be prepared but how to stay alive if you are lost or find yourself without adequate transportation, food, or shelter.
Educational Seminars on Wilderness Medicine, Outdoor Safety, and Survival.
