Academia, Bizarre, Environment, Society

The Stark Truth: A Step-By-Step Guide on How You Die From Hypothermia

I saw this article on Reddit and found it so well-written and informative I could not put it down. It is how you die (or possibly survive) from hypothermia. It is written by Peter Stark, a contributor to Outside and author of Driving to Greenland.

One of the most fascinating parts of Stark’s article in Outside Magazine is the part on “rewarming shock” where rescued individuals die after warming too quickly. In one case in 1980, 16 shipwrecked Danish fishermen were recused after an hour and a half in the North Sea. They were able to walk across the deck of the ship, go below, and drink warm drinks. They then promptly died . . . all 16 of them.

BTW, there is another snow storm supposedly heading to D.C. This article is a lot like reading Jaws before a summer beach trip. I may just stay inside and wait for Spring.

For the article, click here.

44 thoughts on “The Stark Truth: A Step-By-Step Guide on How You Die From Hypothermia”

  3. Phil,

    In a research ethics seminar I learned about the very accurate tables we have about what happens to a person undergoing hypothermia. They were obtained by the Nazis throwing jews into icy water and watching them die (data about the effects of hypoxia were gathered in a similar fashion). The question, of course, was is it ethical to use this data? Obviously we do use them, but I’ve never been satisfied that it is ethical for us to do so.

  4. Slart I don’t have much time right now but I should this afternoon around 4 or so. Got to go here shortly.

    Food for thought while I’m gone. The IPCC retracts statement on melting Himalaya glaciers. Admits it wasn’t peer reviewed. Came from a little known scientist who reprinted an article. Now the little known scientist from India is on Pachuria’a payroll at the Teri Institute. There is a bunch that has come out over the last two weeks that I’ll catch you up on. Alot of this stuff has not been peer reviewed as the IPCC has claimed. Oh the Amazon.

    Do a bing search or yahoo on Himalaya IPCC and Amazon IPCC, don’t use google. Google is surpressing info. I’ll get back with you.

  5. During WWII Hitler experimented with different means to warm pilots who had crashed into the water during frigid conditions. One of his methods was to have the soldiers cuddled by naked women whose body heat warmed them slowly. It seemed to work!

  8. bdaman I guess we don’t need to watch the weather channel. We get Fox’s favorite weather reporter Joe Bastardi via bdaman.

  11. wasatchcragwrangler,

    Thanks for the advice and the story. I hope I never need to use it.

    I might add. An emergency solar sleeping bag is so small, and can be a lifesaver as some emergency situations cannot be planned. I always keep one of those, a machete, a fire starting kit, water treatment tablets, and a collapsable bucket, in my car. They don’t take up much room.

  12. One more thing I would mention is if you are in a scenario where you have decided to hibernate for the night in your car in a tent made from materials on hand and you do end up needing to cut up your fine Corinthian leather then you will likely want to remove the padding material from the seat. This will make a great foundation for your makeshift car tent and can also help as filler for your layering efforts.

    Great article. I plan on using it as a basis to explain to my girlfriend why I’ve gained weight.

  13. Interesting article. I read it and having taught wilderness emergency survival for mountain rescue want walk out scenarios just a couple of comments. First, this guy made every possible mistake other than perhaps attempting to improve the countries gene pool. This guy was his own worst enemy from the onset. Here’s some do’s and don’t do’s that I recommend.

    First don’t drink alcohol. I know he didn’t but I see a comment advising it. Most likely the comment is joking but the fact is alcohol thins the blood and that’s not a plus in a hypothermia situation. Water is ok but it can cool your body so if you don’t have a hot thermos of coffee of cocoa I’d drink only enough to keep hydrated.

    Second, never set off in a direction because you “think” something lies just over the horizon or because the map shows what think is a gas station 10 miles ahead. This is a common mistake for some reason. Its like people are still trying to make good time on the trip or something. Don’t do it. The best direction to go if you’re stuck in the snow as the individual in this story was is back in the direction you just came from.

    First and foremost the direction you came from you know what’s there. You know the road conditions, you know where the last exit, rest stop, diner, gas station, etc is. You know where you last saw things lit up. Even if the map shows a gas station 10 miles ahead and the last place you saw was 20 or even 30 miles back, you’re better off going in the direction you came as you know that place is there. You don’t know if the place up ahead on the map is still even in business. The last thing you want is an out of business gas station (no electricity, no heat, etc). Unless you’re 100 percent positive of what’s in front of you then go back the way you came. That’s a sure bet and a sure bet in a life or death situation is always the one you want.

    Additionally the way you came will have another advantage on an isolated stretch of road. Remember you’re the only car there right? Otherwise you’d be flagging down help. That means the road behind you is going to be clearer than the road in front of you. Less snow to trod through since your vehicle just drove over it. The path will be effectively marked. Up ahead snow drifts may conceal the road and you may wander off. Even in a heavy storm the path behind will still be clearer than the path ahead if you’re the only vehicle on the road.

    The other important thing to remember is to keep moving. The mistake the guy made in this article was trying to ski there. Under normal conditions skiing is fine but in life or death survival situations where you are along, skiing opens you to further injury as we saw in this article. You’re likely to ski into something and injure yourself and an injury is the last thing you want. So if you’re going to head out then head out slow, steady, in a direction you know and keep moving. That’s the key. As the article correctly points out core body temperature rises dramatically when walking through snow.

    Keep dry, keep your head and face covered, fold your fingers inside your gloves to keep them warm, and walk at a steady even pace. Don’t push. Don’t doddle. Just walk at a steady even pace keeping your heart rate up but not taxed. Most average people can walk great distances if they maintain a moderate steady pace. Even though you’re not in the shape of your average Eskimo, what works for him will work for you. The key is keeping warm and dry. Push too hard trying to make a given location and you risk sweating too hard to make your clothing an efficient insulator. Walking too slow and you won’t generate enough heat. Keep it steady and moderate and you’ll likely be fine. As long as you don’t get lost which you probably won’t if you head back the way you came.

    Additionally if you’re very far away, say 100 miles or more from anything in the direction you just came from it is still advisable to head in that direction for the reasons mentioned, primarily the road being clear enough to not get lost. If you find yourself in that situation where the last place you passed is too far to away to reach then your goal won’t be that place but instead will be the dawn. Making it till morning likely means passing some other motorists at one point and possibly a warming sun. If the storm however is predicted to continue (and you shouldn’t be out driving not knowing weather conditions) and you do not predict traffic passing you then you’re left with a decision that you’ll make based on your fitness. Some people can walk for great distances and some people cannot. If you think you cannot go on then staying with the vehicle assuming its running is probably your best bet. Keep the lights off, interior light off too unless you’re signaling a passing motorist, run the engine only long enough to warm the vehicle slightly. Keep snow cleared from the rear and try to keep warm. You’ll find this unusual but one way if you’re by yourself (better if there’s more than one person) is to strip naked, then use your clothes, jackets, whatever you can find as blankets. Eskimos often use this method. Clothes against your body do not warm you as much as clothes piled on top of you. Your body generates a lot of heat and if you can trap that heat effectively you might not be cozy but you can survive in some pretty cold temperatures. Car seats (especially leather) can provide a nice top layer if you don’t damaging your own vehicle. Just remember to make your cuts wide. Don’t make little strips. Try to get enough to make a few layers of leather blanket. If you have extra clothes (what are you doing out in the middle of a storm without extra clothes) then by all means get them out and make that layer huge. Stripped down to your underwear you’ll be able to trap a lot of your body heat between you and the primary layer (hopefully you were smart enough to bring a down sleeping bag).

    I once made the mistake of getting stuck in a storm in Wyoming in the middle of the night. I made it to a gas station in my Uhaul truck only to find it was no longer in business. I was probably 100 miles through treacherous ice frozen roads to the next stop and it was just not doable as the ice continued to freeze on the road. I was low on fuel and had enough to probably easily make it to the next gas stop but not if I ran the truck all night. So I moved to the back of the vehicle where I had enough room to lay out my down sleeping bag. The temperature outside was approximately 17 below and it was so cold that your snot just froze to your face. In the back of the Uhaul I made a bed out of clothes, stripped down to me undies and climbed in and slept pretty well for most of the night. By morning the sun was out and I was able to get on my way. No holiday in but it got me through the night. The key is just keeping as warm as possible and not panicking which is what the guy in this article did. In a nutshell assess the situation first before heading out. If you can survive the night then daylight is always preferable if you have to head out. You’re much more likely to happen across someone during the day and temperatures are likely to (but not always to be)be warmer. Also visibility will help keep you from getting lost.

    Don’t ski out unless you have a partner. If you get injured like this guy did you’re screwed. So remember if you’re alone, speed is your enemy. Skiing might get you there faster if you have skis but it also might get you injured. A twisted ankle on the basketball court is no big deal. A twisted ankle in 4 feet of snow 30 miles from the nearest truck stop can be the end of you. And if you do stay, strip naked, crawl under a few dozen items (even rubber floor mats can help add layers to your nest of coverings) and try to stay warm until help arrives.

  14. So what is the problem exactly. I have been married to the Ice Princess of the North for years. I haven’t died as of this writing. I keep all distilled spirits in the freezer just in case need to warm up slowly.

    Drink lots of liquids I tell you, they will warm you like no other mother.

  15. Talk about it being a small world!

    Just last night a person posted an inquiry on a fetish group about the practicality (NOT grrr the safety) of doing ice bath submersion in a form of sensory deprivation. At least that is the group topic – name.

    I responded with all sorts of cautions – warnings – etc. and NOW, Jonathan, thanks to your blog I shared this article with the group.

    Thank you

    Mrs. R A-W

  18. WARNING:

    When I look at the picture and read the article, I start to think of Global Warming. We all know what happens to threads when they start me thinking this way. Get your comments in before I hijack it.

  20. I think Alan Alda did some shows about the effects of thawing, and how the restored flow send the still-chilled blood back into the system resulting in death.

    It was probably part of Scientific American.

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