Knowing a thing or two about cold weather survival is one of your valuable arsenals to avert hypothermia and frostbite. Scroll down and find out the best things to do to survive a cold environment!
Cold Weather Survival Tips for Different Scenarios
Not having the necessary awareness in dealing with survival situations can put yourself in severe danger. Cold is a cruel threat because it hinders your ability to think. It's really important to be in a right state of mind when dealing with a life-threatening situation.
You can lay out what needs to be done as quickly as you can. If you have a bit of knowledge about cold weather survival, chances are high you'll live another day.
1. Burn a Rubber Tire
Start burning one rubber tire per day starting at daybreak, so the “black smoke” can be seen during daylight hours. But should your car tire burn out before nightfall, don't burn another tire and wait until the next day.
In the meantime build three separate wood fires about 100 feet apart from each other either in a straight line or a triangle as this means help is needed and will increase your chances of being spotted from the air.
2. Blast Your Car Horn
Like with whistles and gunshots, three blasts of a car horn and then a pause means help is needed. But don't keep blasting the car horn until your battery goes weak, just do it every so often. And if your car engine still works, start it every now and then to recharge the battery, so it won't go completely dead.
3. Use the Rear/Side View Mirror to Signal for Help
If it's a sunny day, remove the rear view mirror or one of the vehicle's side view mirrors, go to the nearest and highest terrain feature, and use it to signal for help.
You can face the direction where you see civilization or where you think civilization is located. If there is no nearby high ground or hill, then climb the nearest and tallest tree.
4. Improvise a Blinking Light
Just before sundown, remove the car battery, a headlight and some wires that don't have anything to do with the car's ignition system like the wires located in the truck section of the car. Carry these items to the highest and nearest mountain or hill, build yourself a nice warm fire, and then hook up the car headlight to the battery with the set of wires.
Start blinking the headlight in the direction of wherever you see lights and civilization — three blinks and a then pause means help. If you don't see any lights or civilization anywhere, then blink the light in all the directions.
5. Start a Small Forest Fire
Another option is to start a small forest fire. If you're not careful, this could backfire and become more hazardous and dangerous to yourself and others.
But if it's winter and there's snow on the ground and the trees around you don't have any leaves, then you might want to start a small forest fire as it might be the only way to get help — as a last resort, of course.
Your fire will need a dry platform, either natural or man made. How To Start A Fire In Rain With Wet Wood https://t.co/UgMB1hBNCQ
— Survival Life (@SurvivalLF) November 2, 2017
6. Waterproof Your Shoes
Wearing waterproof shoes can protect your feet from cold and wetness. Chances of developing blisters are high when they are wet. So, keep your feet warm and dry when you are faced with extreme winter conditions.
7. Open Up Your Jacket
When on the move to reduce sweat, take your time, and open up your jacket. Otherwise, your clothes will become soaked and be hard to dry out.
You won't be able to generate enough body heat to keep yourself warm when you stop moving.
8. Use a Barrier Between You and the Snow
When you stop and rest, always place something between you and the cold ground or snow, otherwise, it will zap all the body warmth out of you. You use a Mylar blanket or wool blankets or anything that can generate heat. As much as possible, keep yourself dry and warm to avoid hypothermia and other conditions that may arise in the cold weather.
9. Keep Moving to Generate Heat
If you feel cold, it's mostly due to not wearing the proper clothing and generating enough body heat. It can also be caused by sweating and or not having enough [food] calories to burn.
No food, no fire, then you'll have to keep on moving or you could succumb to hypothermia and die.
10. Avoid Eating Snow
Avoid eating snow and sucking on ice to quench your thirst. If you're thirsty, keep the snow or ice in your mouth until it melts entirely and is lukewarm before swallowing. If not, you'll risk cooling the inner core part of your body that generates heat to keep the rest of the body warm. It's better to feel a bit colder on the outside than to lose the inner core body heat. It will cause the entire body to freeze up and shut down entirely.
11. Wear a Headgear
Always wear a hat or something on your head as that's where most of the body heat is lost and escapes. Think of your body like it's a bottle of water. If there's no cap on top to keep the water inside when you walk and move, what will happen to the water? It will spill out of it, right? Well, that's what will happen to your body heat when you walk and move without a hat on too. Makes sense, doesn't it? Sure does.
Looking for more cold weather survival tips? Watch this video from Nature Alive and check out these hot tips for cold weather!
Not everything is readily available in an emergency situation, but one of these useful tips might come in handy when needed. What's also important is to calm yourself and avoid panicking. When you panic, you lose control and won't be able to think straight, thus, your chances of survival will get slimmer. Stay safe!
Do you know other cold weather survival tips in mind? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
UP NEXT: The Prepper’s Guide to Winter Survival
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The contents of this article are for informational purposes only. Please read our full disclaimer.
Editor’s Note – This post was originally published on December 31, 2016, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
