Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
TACOMA, Washington (AP) — A snowshoer who was lost in a blizzard for two days on Washington state’s Mount Rainier said he stayed alive by digging out a snow tunnel and burning dollar bills for warmth.
Yong Chun Kim, 66, of Tacoma, said he carried a lighter and other emergency supplies and burned personal items: extra socks, Band-Aids, toothbruash, packaging, and lastly $1 and $5 bills from his wallet.
Kim, who served in the South Korean military in the Vietnam War, told KOMO-TV in Seattle that skills he learned as a soldier helped him survive. He said he wasn’t scared. He kept waiting for the sounds of the helicopter — though severe weather conditions prevented park officials from using one to search for Kim.
“I’m a lucky man, a really lucky man,” he said in an interview Tuesday afternoon from his home.
Nice article with a happy ending. Two things jump out at me here….
First, this guy kept his head together. It sounds like he didn’t panic and, most importantly, he didn’t give up. He simply accepted the situation and figured he was just going to wind up being really late. Attitude, as we all know, makes a huge difference. None of his comments in the article sound the least bit defeatist…this is a guy with the classic ‘positive mental outlook’ and he made it just fine.
Secondly, important pieces of gear need to be secured. He lost his radio in a subsequent fall. I don;t want to Monday morning quarterback but a critical piece of gear like that, especially once he realized he was lost, should have been secured with a lanyard or in some sort of pouch that would have kept him from losing it.
I’m betting next time he does this sort of thing he’ll carry some different gear, maybe something with more emphasis on fire/fuel, but this could have been a lot worse and it sounds like he did pretty well for himself.
