Mountain Survival
Mountain survival is about preparation and will to live. Many people who have no training at all but refuse to give up make it safely through impossible situations. Adding the element of preparation to the mix gives you and your family the best chances of making it through a disaster or collapse of order.
It is highly valuable to learn how to survive in difficult places and climates. Take the family out on some family camping trips to practice. The mountains can provide natural shelter and will yield just about everything you need to survive provided you have the skills and remain at an appropriate altitude.
Two unique dangers to mountain survival are Falling and wild animals. You may believe that you have to worry about large predators such as bears and mountain lions; while it is good to move carefully through territory where they live these are not the greatest threats. You can avoid large animals by keeping your eyes open and not leaving food and garbage lying around. More dangerous are snakes, leeches and stinging insects. When you have to cross water make sure that you do so quickly and check your body for leeches afterwards. Never drink water that has not been boiled or chemically treated as swallowed leeches can produce sores. These sores can quickly become very infected. The best policy for snakes is to just leave them all alone. Do not worry about which snakes are poisonous, consider them all dangerous; use precautions to avoid bites. When you are walking step onto logs as opposed to over them and use a stick whenever you need to turn a log over. Look before you reach to pick fruit and always use caution when you are walking around water. Wear boots and check all clothing and bedding before picking it up. Stay calm if you encounter a snake and give them plenty of room to escape; most prefer to flee as opposed to attacking.
Mountain survival will certainly involve climbing; it is hard work so be prepared physically and emotionally. You will most likely need more water and food when you are ascending. Use your legs when climbing, saving your arms primarily for stability. You also need to prepare yourself emotionally for the hard work and isolation. Mountains are the most physically demanding of all the different terrains. Before you are put in a situation where you will need to survive start an exercise program.
Being prepared will give you the survival mind (or psychological edge) that you need to survive.
Priorities:
- Shelter - Protection from rain, snow and extreme cold makes shelter a priority for mountain survival. Be creative. Your key elements should be some kind of thatch roof to keep you dry, some type of raised bed or insulation (thatch) between you and the ground, and a wall to block wind and reflect the heat of your fire.
- Fire - You have to remain warm and dry in the mountains. Take a flint and striker and a waterproof container full of dryer lint. If you don’t have these then you will be making a fire bow or saw to get some friction going and get some embers to light your kindling. Gather dry wood of all sizes well before sundown as it gets dark quick in the mountains.
- Water - The best source will be to find streams or rivers in the valleys. If it’s flowing strong especially over rocks it will be good to drink as is. If it’s pooled in a pond purify it with a filter system, tablets, or boiling. Check out survival water for more tips.
- Food - Mountain survival burns considerable amounts of calories. If you remain in the wood line berries and wild game should be available. Learn your berries where you hike and simple traps for small game. Also, fishing in the streams and rivers will be a good source of calories and protein. One technique: If there are shallows you can dam upstream and downstream and take a medium sized stick. Approach the fish from downstream and try to hit them with the stick. If you miss the shock will stun them for a moment and you may be able to sling them up on the bank.
- Navigation - Getting lost in the mountains is very dangerous. You can find yourself further and further from civilization. If that’s not what you want then knowing the basics of land navigation is important. First, you need to know where you are, second, the direction you want to go and third, where north is. I can’t help you with where you are. Don’t get tied up in specifics generalities is all you need when trying to find civilization. Know your surroundings i.e. make a mental note of roads, rivers, railroad tracks, etc and always keep maps (preferably topography maps so you can read the terrain) of your hiking/recreational/mountain survival spots. There are many ways to find north the easiest of which is going off the sun. If you have a watch with hands line up 12 o’clock with the sun and split the difference between that and hour hand; and that is close to north. Lastly, remember that all rivers go to the ocean.
- Signaling - Find an open area and lay out any and all colorful gear you may have. Then gather a lot of wet wood and put on a smoke fire. If a plane is flying over head or a search party is out they will see you.
