I know that even in the supposedly warm climes like Afghanistan the temperatures can drop to killer levels of cold. Now, imagine how cold it can get in places that are actually traditionally considered to be cold places. Then add in some wet clothes. And you have a recipe for disaster. Unless you’re this guy:

Heimaey is the largest of the Westman Islands, an archipelago south of Iceland mostly inhabited by puffins. On Stórhöfði peninsula, at the southernmost point of Heimaey is an outcrop that juts into the Atlantic Ocean. The local weather station here claims to be one of the windiest places in Europe.

It was here, in the early hours of March 12 1984, that 23-year-old Guðlaugur Friðþórsson stumbled towards salvation. His bare feet were bleeding from deep cuts caused by the volcanic rock hidden beneath the snow, his clothes soaked in seawater and frozen to his body. He should have already died several times over, but something deep inside Friðþórsson propelled him forwards.

An interesting article that explores the mechanics of freezing to death and, interestingly, the mechanics of not freezing to death. I did find this part very illuminating:

“When you come out of the water you get evaporative cooling,” says Tipton. “This is a really potent way of losing heat from the body.” Ordinarily you would want to strip off and put dry clothing on, but in the absence of that, climbing into a large plastic bag will reduce evaporative cooling and convective cooling.

“If you get someone wet at 4C and they have got a litre of water in their clothing; if all of that water evaporates they are going to have a fall in body temperature of 10C,” says Tipton. “If you put them through the same scenario and then put them in a plastic bag they can use their body to heat up that water. It is contained in the bag so it cannot evaporate away. Those people lost half a degree, so they were 20 times better off.”

Seems like everyone in hunting camp carries those deck-of-card-sized thin mylar ‘space blankets’. Turns out, according to this article, that you might be better served with a big ol’ contractor-grade garbage bag. Personally, I rather like these. But what I’m a bigger fan of is a gigantic conflagration that lights up the countryside like some sort of flaming hellscape. Problem is, of course, that if you wait until you’re freezing to death to build a fire you’re going to freeze to death because your manual dexterity and clear-headedness went out the window a few seconds after you fell through the ice. That’s where things like these come in handy. In practice, I go way overboard on flammables when it comes to packing stuff for wandering through hills….flares, fuel cubes, lifeboat matches, waxed dryer lint, and, if I have room for it, a tiny fuel bottle of kerosene. Except for the small fuel bottle, everything fits in an M4 pouch which means there’s no reason to leave it behind anytime you step off the pavement. Whatever you wind up packing, make your choices with an eye towards having hands that are so frozen you can barely manipulate your fingers… big, clumsy, fumbling movements will be the order of the day when need a fire now..plan accordingly.

But, back to the article at hand, freezing to death (or hypothermia, if you want to get technical, I suppose) apparently doesn’t have to be your fate if you can keep a clear head, a little extra poundage around the abdomen, and make good decisions. Of course, dressing for the occasion also comes in handy…wool, synthetics, etc.

And don’t let the calendar fool you….lotsa people die of hypothermia in August. All it takes is a fast summer thunderstorm, a steady blowing wind, and maybe some cool temps at a high altitude and you are in big trouble.