Mike Brewer

Okay, by request from Treelizard:

You're on a helicopter on your way to a ski expedition in the backcountry when the helicopter experiences a fuel pump malfunction and has to autorotate to the ground. You do not crash, but you make a very hard landing, which results in two injuries, one to the pilot and one to you. The pilot smashes his head on the forward canopy, lacerating his forehead and possibly giving him a mild concussion. You feel sharp pains in your back, but in all likelihood, it's just a compressed or blown disc. The back injury is non-life-threatening, but it prevents you from carrying even moderate loads or moving more than a mile away from the crash site.

You were planning a day trip, so you didn't pack any sleep gear. You are dressed for the weather, however, and unless the temperature drops well below what's expected, you should be okay - barring any unforseen acts of chaos. The supplemental gear you have with you includes the following and NOTHING else. I know several of you would likely have other gear on board if this were you in real life, but it isn't. This scenario is about adapting and improvising in the face of disaster.

There are eight people, including the pilot (injured) and the co-pilot. You have a non-life-threatening injury, however the injury is slightly debilitating. You have:

1. Aerial Charts of the area, with the flight route mapped.

2. Compasses - 2. One is a personal compass, and one is the on-board flight compass that was undamaged by the crash.

3. Personal walkie-talkies. The range on these is less than a mile at best, and battery life is roughly eight hours on standby, one hour under heavy use. The on-board radio was torched by an electrical fire in the helicopter.

4. Signal Flares (3), and a pen launcher.

5. Snacks to last one day for each person

6. Skis, 6 pair, with poles

7. 1 pack of cigarettes and a lighter

8. Flashlight, 1, on-board the helo, with 36 hours of battery life

9. 6 nalgene bottles of water, 1 quart each

10. 2 small, multi-bladed pocketknives

This is all the gear you get. This scenario should be easy in and of itself, so I'll throw you some curve balls:

1. Before you left for this trip, you saw a weather report that said a front was going to be hitting the area within two days, dumping a serious blizzard and -30 temperatures on our area. Thinking you'd be home long before then, you will not be prepared for that level of cold. Also, you're a minimum of four days walking distance away from any civilized areas, and that's if you leave the wounded behind to fend for themselves. You'll have to find a way to ride out the storm, which is expected to last three to four days. The cloud cover will not allow for very effective signalling, so don't waste your flares during the storm.

2. The GPS rescue beacon on the helo was knocked out in the same electrical fire that fried the batteries, radio, and console. No one knows where you are, and in all probability, would not even begin to look for you for another 24 hours at a minimum, putting them in danger of being caught up in the storm. You will have to survive without aid for a minimum of six days in very hostile climate before your signals will even be seen, and that's if they are in the right place to see them.

3. In all likelihood, the steady light snowfall will cover any signs of the crash before the big storm hits, but once it gets there, you can expect two feet or more of snow, covering anything and everything that is left unprotected.

4. The terrain you are in is high mountain (around the 10,000 foot mark) and in late November/Early December. Very few ground plants are to be found, but the trees are a diverse selection of evergreens including lodgepole pine, juniper, and cedar. Bear in mind that at 10,000 feet, oxygen is very scarce and heavy activity will bring on asphyxia and altitude sickness in a hurry.

5. Your pilot is showing signs of going into shock. He is also complaining of nausea, although you detect no stomach injuries at all. His skin is somewhat clammy to the touch, meaning he is perspiring slightly in spite of the cold, and his pulse is faint but still palpable.

6. There are no caves or obvious deadfalls from which to make hasty shelters.

7. There is a moving stream near the site of the crash. Also near the site of the crach is a fairly steep face (about 60 degrees) that you saw from the air and thought about skiing - if it weren't such an obvious avalanche hazard...

8. The highest peak in the immediate area is roughly two miles away, and in the direction you were travelling - away from civilization. It would be easy enough for two fit people to climb, assuming they could beat the weather. You could set up a signal pyre on top, but anyone getting caught up there in the weather would surely die as temperatures would dip past -50 at the top.

Here's the exercise:

You've got a good account of the situation, and you are aware of your gear. You know you need to plan for roughly a week of isolation, and that you'll have to find a way to shield against such natural dangers as temperature and wind, avalanches, and even rapid floods due to snowmelt if you're too close to a stream and it warms up unexpectedly. You have injured team members, limited mobility, and a strong potential for hypothermia if you can't do something soon to shield yourselves from the incoming weather. That danger is increased if you rely on snow for your hydration needs, unless you take some steps to bring it closer to body temperature before drinking it. You also have some medical concerns, one of which is life threatening. The other (your back injury) could become life threatening if it is allowed to limit your survivability in terms of making shelter, moving when/if you need to or simply taking common actions like collecting firewood. You have no real medical supplies to fix that problem. There are other dangers to be sure, but these are the obvious ones.

Now, hopefully everyone is thinking, "There would be no problem if we'd prepared better!" True enough. That's why well-prepared folks rarely have "Emergencies." This is a "worst case scenario" and it will require that you allow for the idea that in your enthusiasm for the ski trip, you overlooked even the most basic preparation essentials only to find yourself, well, stranded out in the cold.

Best of luck...

treelizard

Determine if pilot is in shock or does he just have ASR? Nausea may be because of altitude sicknes... Monitor closely. Treat for shock.

I would also want someone to see if I have a spinal injury--check for pain and tenderness along the spine, check for motor/sensory--is there numbness, tingling, or loss of sensation?

Hmmm... Build fires for everyone, make firebeds for everyone, find insulation, etc.

Make sure to take advantage of the fire to heat your drinking water so you can drink it warm, and also heat some snow and boil some creek water.

Insulative clothing? What will get you off the ground and give you shelter from the wind? Head, neck, torso

It will be important to conserve energy unless gathering firewood, etc. Since I am injured, I won't be able to exercise so will need to sit closer to the fire...


Food: pine needle tea, inner tree bark...any grass around?

Would talk to other team members and see if any of them want to get help (split into groups or send the two most experienced hikers out, giving them whatever gear they need.)

Just some really really basic ideas to get us started here...

Tom Yum

We could travel as a team, first to the nearby creek to put water in the nalgene bottles. As the second in charge, I would pull out the map and compass and attempt to approximate our location, given the time of flight, direction etc and figure out which way we need to head to civilization.

We have water and snacks.

As we head toward civilization, we let our pilot, going into shock, to smoke a cigarette to try somehow to ease his burden. Perhaps the nicotine will make him slightly alert or positive.

We rip out one of the seats from the crash, tie a couple of skis to the bottom of it with tension from an engine belt, ease the pilot onto it and take turns in teams of 2 or 3 pulling him.

Last, but not least to survive chilly nights, we all sleep huddled together so that our body temperatures stay somewhat warm.

Gotta run for now, but I'll come back with some more thoughts.

__________________

Love it, leave it or fix it.

Mike Brewer

Good thoughts, and great start!

Some additional elements to think about:

1. Food, although you have it isn't really a concern. People can go nearly a month without food, so you may want to consider saving what you have in case a rescue takes longer than you thought...

2. The seat on skis is an excellent idea for moving your casualty. As of right now, the pilot is showing signs of shock, but is more alert and coherent.

3. Does anyone have any ideas for shelter? The helo isn't well insulated, but it will block the wind. Huddling together for warmth is okay, but treelizards firebed idea is even better. Tree, maybe you should explain how to use the coals for that firebed for others who don't know what you mean. (I've slept on one of these in a 20 degree rated bag in weather that was -18 degrees - 38 degrees colder than the bag was rated for! It was so warm, I had to unzip the bag and hang my feet out in the cold to keep from overheating. Huddling together might keep you warm at 0 degrees, but you'd be miserable. It would do little if anything at the -30 temps that are expected with this storm. Just imagine what 62 degrees below freezing would feel like...

4. As for construction materials, you have deadfall trees and boughs, the helo rotor blades, panels, doors, and windshields, seatbelts, fan belts, wiring and other such materials for tying and lashing, etc. Get creative! You'll need either good shelter or a terriffic plan for hasty shelter in the event that you get caught in weather should you decide to travel. Be aware that travelling removes you from the construction amterials I just mentioned, and the storm will hit very soon. With fire and water covered, you guys need to (pardon the pun) weather the storm. I suggest spending the day getting your shelter plan together, because the cold, wind, and snow will be upon you soon.

treelizard

Yes, but people get cranky without food--and it's cold out. I guess I'd try to make everyone drink hot pine needle tea. Good vit. C too.

Firebeds: http://www.survival.com/art1.htm

Will think about the shelter thing...hmmm...

Tom Yum

I'd like to check for helicopter engine coolant as a possible de-icer and also make use of other fluids from the craft.

Ok, no travelling and we have a few days to build a safe shelter. We can stick the fan blades into the ground making 4 posts to set up a perimeter for a shelter. Length between posts should be approximately the same size as fallen trees. Since I'm still in good health, I and two of the other passengers can pick up the trees and stack them as make shift logs.

Tree lizard and another member can use the pocket knives to carve grooves into the logs to make them interlock and me and the other guys can stack the logs accordingly as high as they will go or using as many as we have. If logs are limited, we could use the helicopter as one of the lengths of our shelter.

We'll strip some of the panels from the helicopter and set them over the top as the roof. We can use medium size rocks as weights to secure the roof. The windshield can be taken out and used as a liftable door over the side of the helicopter and to limit the cold wind from getting in through the helicopter side of our shelter's perimeter. I can cover some of the logs with lubricant to make them less water friendly and to delay decay. Any other combustible fluids or lubricants from the engine can be recovered and used as a potential fuel source. We can help tree lizard use electrical wiring to secure the logs.

Now that our pilot is coherent, we can ask him questions about things he may remember, specifically where we were before the crash any particular landmarks that he may remember to update our maps?

After a 12 hour shift of lifting, stacking and tree lizards carving and tieing, its time to eat snacks and drink some warm pine needle tea and spend the next day resting up and waiting....

Garland

...You ever seen "Alive"?
About the Urugian rugby team stuck on the alps.....
started eating their frozen friends...survived for several MONTHS. (60 plus days)
then two guys hiked/climbed over the whole range in 10 days to get to somebody to help.

__________________
I kick you in da neck!
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homo homini lupus

Komm Susser Todd.

No, no...no no no...whatever you are drinking, you need much, much more...and then to sleep. - jubaji

medic06

What about the pilot? If he is legitimately sliding into shock he needs medical attention pronto. His life is measured in hours and not days if that's the case.

Mike Brewer

Yeah, the pilot is in need of some attention. And the storm is at hand tonight. Is everyone certain that the shelter will hold? There's going to be an awful lot of snow and wind - and it's going to get damned cold! Treelizard may have some ideas for treating the pilot...if we can find her...

treelizard

Well gosh, I TOLD people on hand to see if he has ASR or shock, but since NOBODY is even listening to me or checking to see if I have a spinal injury, I just went to gather the damn firewood by myself, since they always say "what's gonna kill you first" at tracker I figure if we don't have firebeds we will ALL DIE. Anybody want to HELP? Hello? Can anyone hear me? Oh shit, where is everyone?

Tom Yum

1. Rescue Tree Lizard and get her back to safety. If her tracks are evident, we can follow. If not, we can get out a flare so she can see where we are.

2. Test the makeshift cabin. Let's push on it on various points to see if it gives. If it starts to give, we'll have to reinforce those areas quickly with more sticks, more rocks...whatever we can use.

3. Get Tree Lizard to use her medical training to assist the pilot. In the meantime, we'll ask Medic (since he's here) to take a look at Tree Lizard to make sure she hasn't worstened her injuries.

treelizard

Yay, I've been rescued!! My back hurts! Can someone please gather firewood for beds? That cabin's not gonna be warm enough. we need to get a fire started.

Medic, how is my back doing?

Who wants to play the pilot? Let's keep him lying down. I'm going to assess for spinal injuries (too little too late, right?) and avoid elevating the legs because there is a head injury. What can we use for insulation underneath? Anything warm to put on top of him? Keep the head to one side so he won't choke if he vomits. Hoping it's ASR and not shock.

Now let's all fight over the cigarettes.

gregimotis

Sorry to rain on the parade, but that better be some serious shelter if it's going to take two feet of snow piled up on the roof in a couple days. If it collapses, you aren't going to be able to fix it in the middle of the snowstorm.

On the other hand, several hours of shoveling snow onto the heli would make it somewhat well insulated (igloos work good). Additionally, the incoming snow storm is going to bury it good with insulation. And, you know it won't collapse (sorry about the sentance fragment)

Thirdly, I'm kinda skeptical about this 'disassemble a helicopter in the backcountry' plan. Those panels are riveted on and not made for removal, the blades are pretty well attached as well

Finally, the firebeds are a good idea except that the ground in a snowy mountainous area is going to be frozen solid and almost certainly rocky. I once had to use gasoline and a shovel to dig a hole in winter soil - scratch with shovel, heat soil with fire, scratch with shovel... took two hours to get 12 inches deep by 12 or so inches wide (we gave up and got the backhoe). I'm not saying it can't be done, but I don't think you could do it for eight people.


Where is that avalanche slope again? I guess that could cover the copter good.... but maybe not the way we want.

None of these thoughts make the scenario any fun, but it's something to think about.



I also recommend suing the heck out of a backcountry heli-ski outfitter that doesn't keep track of it's helicopters well enough to know one is out too long.

__________________
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I am Tired. Tired. Tired.

Tom Yum

I knew all of my deadlifts and power cleans would pay off for real....I mean, once the pilot has been placed horizontal, I'm going to use the sleigh chair that I designed to head back out, gather firewood, pull seat belts from the chopper to tie the wood (if possible) and pull that big sleigh back with a good 300 lbs of firewood, sip on some pine needle tea and pray.

treelizard

YEAH, now we're talkin'!!! Give Tom Yum the cigarette!