Between a Rock and the Hardest Place (Cont.)

You Are Here:

Home >> Between a Rock and the Hardest Place (Cont.)

Today's Question
What should you do if you run into a cougar in the backcountry? answer

What is the number one backcountry skill people should learn? answer

Today's Question
What are the five best environmental movies of all time? answer

What are the greenest colleges? answer

What kind of dog will make me look manlier? answer
Is there a sport that safely combines my twin passions for guns and kayaks? answer
How come most of the world's cultures enjoy eating goat, but Americans don't? answer

Online Favorites

Special Issues

Photo Galleries

Outside Magazine August 2003

Page:

Between a Rock and the Hardest Place (Cont.)

FORTUNATELY, IT'S NOT JUST a matter of innate character or instinct.

"People absolutely can be trained to survive," says Frank Heyl, a retired air force officer and director of the Combat Aviation Survival School, in Helena, Montana.

"Everybody is born with the will to survive," says Heyl, "but it's like a muscle or a skill. You've got to nurture it, train it, build it up."

It's the fluky, once-in-a-lifetime accidents that keep us up at night, and the survivors' ingenuity that leaves the most lasting impression.

You can pick up the basics from any survival manual or basic wilderness-safety course: Never venture into the backcountry alone without leaving word of your intended route and return date. Always, even on a day hike, stock your pack with the fabled "ten essentials": knife, water, food, matches, map and compass, headlamp, cord, proper clothing, and sun protection. Heyl puts two additional items at the top of the list: "Your head is number one. It's the best survival tool there is. Number two: a basic med kit and the understanding of how to use it."

Then you've got to take this knowledge into the field. "It's all about hands-on experience," says Heyl. "Go into your local woods at night, in the wind, when it's raining, and see if you can build a fire. Go out in the winter and practice building a snow shelter. The more you practice survival skills, the better survivor you become." Ralston's SAR skills and his previous experience with close calls in the backcountry—his own and others'—are what gave him this mental preparedness.

Even for a hardened military veteran like Heyl, surviving isn't about being macho. "Men like to do things by the numbers. They like routine, but this kind of rigidity works against them in a survival situation. Women tend to be more flexible in their thinking, more adaptable, and this can make them better at survival," says Heyl. "It doesn't take Herculean strength to survive."

Page: