Woman found alive after 3 days in snow

HAMILTON–A 55-year-old woman who went missing Friday during a blizzard that buried southern Ontario is in critical condition in a Hamilton hospital, where she is undergoing treatment for hypothermia.

-snip-

Police said the snow's insulating effect kept her alive.

www.thestar.com...

Something to remember, but one should also make some sort of 'sign' for searchers to find, like tying a scarf to a tree branch, if at all possible.

Yeah shes lucky.
The snow covered her up and acted like an ice cave.
If the weather had have been different where the snow didn't cover her up like that then she could be a corpsicle.
People fail to understand the danger of cold weather.
It is very dangerous just like extremely hot weather.

reply to post by masqua


Why on earth did she leave her vehicle?

Stories like this simply amaze me. She lives in Canada, not exactly known for balmy winter conditions. She should have known better than to start wandering around. Also, where is her emergency kit? I live in a very harsh winter enviroment, I wouldnt think about getting into a car without some serious cold weather gear so things like this dont happen to me.

I'm glad shes alive, but I really hope that she and others living in areas where winters dont include grass and sun and warmth learn something from this and prepare themselves for the worst. Anything can happen once your leave your home, be it a mile away or 100. Never take your safety for granted in harsh winter conditions.

I'm also amazed that apparently she didn't have an emergency kit. I'm in an area that doesn't get all that much snow and I keep some emergency items in the car. This is in addition to my Get Home Bag.

I'm glad she survived this ordeal. I hope that she and others use this story to get a little more prepared. Of course I doubt that many will.

Nice story,but if your careful and wise you wont get yourself into such a situation in the first place.Anyway i think she will make it through this ordeal.

reply to post by salchanra

reply to post by fritzM



You're right!

The first mistake she made was leaving the vehicle. The news story doesn't state why the SUV was abanbdoned, but my guess is that she managed to drive it into the ditch and got stuck in snow.

The second mistake was going out into a blizzard that was forecast days in advance without a survival kit in the car. A blanket, candle, some food, cellphone, etc., would have gotten her out of that jam very quickly.

The important thing to take away from this story, though, is how she DID survive.

In a decent blizzard, someone shoveling their driveway can get disoriented and walk away from their home rather than towards it. It happens, and, when lost without any idea where the heck you are, blinded completely from any directional reference, it is easy to wind up in a life-threatening situation within minutes.

It's then that you have two choices... try to get as far as you can and hope you bump into something that you can follow to safety (like a road or a mailbox) or decide it's time to dig your way into a snowbank to get out of that bone-chilling wind.

Snow is a great insulator (or the Inuit would never bother to use it).

reply to post by Solomons

Sometimes a storm like this can come quite unexpectedly, as in lake effect snow causing 'streamers' of snow squalls to catch drivers totally unawares. There's been a number of occasions where I've left town on a brilliant sunny day and, within a few minutes find myself driving in total white-out conditions where I can't see anything past the hood.

To stop is unthinkable, especially on the highway, since a car or truck coming up behind you will not see you in time to stop. Snow on the back of your car covers the tail-lights so that even emergency flashers are useless. If you have a passenger, the best notion is to have them open the window, stick their head out and look for tire tracks or the edge of the road (been there, done that), or, if alone keep watching to see the snow banks at the side of the road.

If stuck, stay in the car and NEVER go for a walk. You're better off getting whacked by another vehicle, first, because they won't be travelling at speed (unless they're total idiots) and the crash won't be too bad, and, second, at least you've got company now.






[edit on 23/12/08 by masqua]

Originally posted by masqua

The second mistake was going out into a blizzard that was forecast days in advance without a survival kit in the car. A blanket, candle, some food, cellphone, etc., would have gotten her out of that jam very quickly.

Agreed, it only takes a minimal ammount of planning to load up your car and that time can easily save your life.

Cell phone or CB
Blankets
Heavy gloves/mittens
Heavy hat
Hand warmers
Candy or powerbars
Heavy boots
Bottle of water (either take one with you each trip or can thaw on the defroster)
Road flares to signal there is a problem

Even with this gear as in any life-threatening situation the most important thing is to use your head. Take stock of where you are and what you have and make the smartest decision. Aside from being in a car that is on fire or sinking, I cant really think of a reason to take a stroll like she did.

Agree on the snow, 1000s of years prove how valuable it can be to save your life.

I hate the fact that people get into situations like this, but I like to hear how they get out of it alive.

One thing I noticed was threads like this fade into Obscurity and ones like that cop one grow a life of there own. Makes no sense to me I guess both are about surviving this world but to me surviving a snow storm makes more sense in a survival forums.

reply to post by salchanra

Agreed, it only takes a minimal ammount of planning to load up your car and that time can easily save your life.

When I lived up north I carried all of that plus a complete change of clothes and a sleeping bag as well as blankets. My friends laughed untill we got stuck at work because of a blizzard

a couple bags of play sand: These are an absolute must As deadweight they give your tires a better grip and I used them ALL the time to get the idiot stuck in front of me moving.