[pct-l] Hypothermia Killer of the Unprepared

[Will M]

Hey David,

That sounds kind of like a film I saw last year at a Sierra Club Snow
camping class.  The film I saw featured two couples out on a hike when the
weather turns.  Slowly they succumb to Hypothermia.  It was kind of corny
but I remember having seen it in a hunter safety class back in the 70's.

I'm not sure if I remember it correctly but I think thats where I first
heard the expression "cotton kills"

If you want to find it, try contacting the Sierra club snow camping group in
the Bay Area.

Jalan Jalan



On Thu, May 29, 2008 at 9:06 AM, David Hough on pct-l <
pcnst2001 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Shortly after I started hiking around 1971 or so I
> attended a meeting of the Cal Hiking Club featuring
> a SAFECO film Hypothermia Killer of the Unprepared.
> I later read a Mountaineers pamphlet of the same name.
>
> For the next thirty years I always hiked in heavy wool
> clothes and mountain boots.    Finally one
> record-breaking
> day in July (at Rancho San Antonio for south bay
> locals)
> it occurred to me that perhaps in an urban area I
> could lighten up a bit.
>
> But I will repeat the point that others have made:
> the first principle of ultralight gear is ultraheavy
> preparation.    Back in 1971 "proven on Everest" was
> a typical claim made by backpacking gear from North
> Face, Ski Hut, Sierra Designs, or REI... and people
> bought that even though they didn't go to Everest.
> Now what was proven on Everest was actually that any
> gear will fail eventually when taken outside its
> envelope and you might have to do a self arrest
> through
> the tent floor.    You didn't leave your ice axe
> outside the tent did you?
>
> Mountains don't care, and they go through their
> weather
> cycles on their own time with no concern about hikers.
> Expeditionary climbers have to sit there and take it,
> but recreational backpackers can choose to get out
> of the way, as most do.
>
> I have looked a little for a DVD of that hypothermia
> film, without success, but maybe somebody else knows
> a source.    It would be a very good program addition
> to ADZ, PCTA, and ALDHA-West meetings.     It might be
> that somebody somewhere could get a hold of an actual
> piece of celluloid and a projector with sprocket
> wheels... that technology is rarely seen nowadays.
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