Hello and welcome to the Second Landrock Survival Training Newsletter,
Competition
I would like to start by congratulating Mr Colin Bannister for winning the Wilderness Survival Weekend on 11/12 June. There were over 150 entrants in total and in the interest of complete fairness the winner was picked using the random number generator at www.random.org.
News
Keen Facebook and Blog readers amongst you will have seen an article I put up about a Canadian couple who were lost in the Nevada Desert after taking a detour from a known route. After 7 weeks, the wife was recovered (having lost 32lb in weight). She'd survived on trail mix and water while walking about in the vain hope that someone would find her. The husband has yet to be found. Even from just the newpaper article it was clear that fundamental errors were made in the planning (there was none), the execution and the immediate 'survival' phase. A single afternoon of learning and practicing skills could have had them out of the woods and back to civilisation within a few days, not weeks. If credit can be given, however, it must go to the woman's Will to Survive. 7 weeks solitary in unknown environments is a tough place to be yet she managed it.
You can read the full article at the LST Blog, here: http://landrock-training.blogspot.com/2011/05/canadian-woman-lost-found-in-nevada.html See the COMMENTS for a little analysis.
Courses
Courses have been a little thin on the ground recently. This would appear to be mainly because of the poor weather that we have had after such a scorching April. As one student once put it, "we come on these courses to learn to survive, not to ACTUALLY survive!". Fair enough.
We did have one course, however, and this was an overnighter for six 13 year olds. Photos can be found at: http://landrock-training.com/gallery.html
The course took place in Buckinghamshire (remember, we can come to you if you can find the place to do it!) in the haunting ancient beech woodland, Colemans Wood, close to Holmer Green. They arrived at 2pm at the local pub (Bat & Ball) for a quick kit check before we headed off to the wood. Once in, we had a lesson on safe knife handling and then sat down for talks around the fire on the kit and equipment they might find useful in a survival situations as well as the neumonic PLAN - Protection, Location, Aquisition of Water & Food and Navigation. On completion of that, and on a lot of begging by some, we went through the contents of the survival tins that they each received. We explained and demonstrated how each item met one or more of the PLAN requirements and looked at extra bits and bobs that could be stored in there to make you life easier, should you need to. The course came alive proper thereafter when it was time to build shelters. They broke down in to 2 3-man groups and built a group A-Frame each. This was to prove more difficult than they had imagined with the exceptionally shallow soil and prevalent flint. In the end, one group shelter was completed while the others constructed a tent from a tarpaulin and paracord. Needlesstosay, noone ended up cold or wet. I slept in a very pleasing 1-man igloo-style construction. Due to the very shallow soil and excessive flint, there was to be only one fire but every man completed the weekend having endlessly practiced the art of fire-lighting using flint & steel, a technique used even when the skies open and the heavens pour down! Next up was the lesson on Location - how to make yourself locatable; the use of ground-to-air signals, ground-to-ground signals, noise and light. Before bedding down for the night, we took a walk about to see stars and conduct a spot of astral navigation. Alas, although we managed to find the Big Dipper and the North Star, the light pollution from London put paid to much else - something to always be aware of. Although there was no moon that night, we also demonstrated the use of the crescent moon to find south. Everyone was up early on Sunday and ready for breakfast. Disappointingly, despite well-placed snares and many morning hours looking for game, no rabbits or squirrels were to be had on this occasion but as soon as breakfast was cleared aware it was time to move on to Water & Food acquisition. Each group made themselves an improvised water filter and was able to demonstrate it working. We looked at other methods of water procurement and the purification/filtration of water for drinking. Not surprisingly, their interest was already heading towards the snares and lines laid out. They were all given the opportunity to construct and put in to practice either a Tooth & Peg or a Figure-4 trap having been tested on the 'Dangle/Mangle/Strangle/Tangle' properties of traps and snares. Before meandering their way back to their families, that final lesson was on Navigation. Thanks to the sun, we were able to demonstrate 4 or 5 methods of finding the cardinal points of the compass as well as looking at natural features such as the wind, cloud movement, plant growth and other natural aids to navigation.
The next course is on 11/12 June in Stallcombe Wood, Devon and is currently a bargain at £100 per person (down from £150). There are further discounts to be had for groups of 2 or more!
Lesson
Each edition, I hope to add a little something in to the newsletter that might be of some use. This time, we start right back at the beginning with the Principles of Survival. Specifically, PROTECTION.
Principles of Survival
I mentioned in above article about the 4 Principles of Survival - PLAN. If you have a working, and practiced, knowledge of these principles then no situation should be unsurvivable.
Protection
This is the broadest of the 4 and encompasses the before, during and after the event.
BEFORE the event should be Preparation. Good preparation alone will go a great deal to ensuring your survival. If you are going somewhere in any way hazardous then get in to the habit of telling someone. Let them know where you are going, your likely route and specific timings for when you will contact them or for you return. If necessary, give them a route card so that they can retrace your steps in the event of an emergency.
Look at the clothing you are wearing, is it suitable for your event? Trainers and a T-Shirt are not good for a mountain yomp. Try to keep to the 3-layers principle if you can.
Always, always, always carry a map (and a compass!). More importantly, ensure you can use it. Too many people believe they know how to read a map because they have a roadmap in the car. The two are not the same. Do not rely on mobile phones or GPS. Batteries die, electronics get wet. In 1991, hikers throughout the world were left stranded when the US Military encrypted the GPS network in preparation for the invasion of Iraq. This was to stop Iraqi's having the benefits of GPS. It is a US Military owned system and is prone to being 'turned off'. The same happened in 2003. The link here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/05/11/nevada-chretien-search-rescue.html highlights the incident above (Canadian Woman Lost) and the use of GPS. A GPS is a backup device only. Learn how to navigate using natural features and how to improvise a compass should the unthinkable happen.
Look at the area you are going to. Where could you get water, what is the flora and fauna like? How has the weather been recently compared to its seasonal average? Learn about your intended destination so that you have an edge if you are suddenly stranded.
DURING (or just before) the Event - Are you in the best position to survive should something happen? If you are on a plane, where are the exits and how to they operate? If there a really large person next to you that might block your chances of escape? Make your chances of survival as high as possible by learning about your immediate situation. Where was that last petrol station? What is that cloud just peaking the mountain that you're climbing?
AFTER the Event - Get yourself away from immediate danger. Assess the situation and then help others. Do not just dive in blind without understanding the ongoing danger. No hero is any good if he's dead. Protect yourself from further danger. Conduct first aid. (In the preparation phase, GET first aid training!). As the situation calms down, what can be of use to you? Don't just head straight for the ration bin and trough the food. Shelter and fire might be your important factors now so prioritise what needs to be done and what you need to do it. Understand what type of shelter is useful when and where. Know how to construct your camp to maximise your chances of rescue.
Next Time, LOCATION - How to make yourself as locatable to rescuers as possible.
Next Course
The next course is a Wilderness Survival Weekend held at Stallcombe Wood in Devon. This purpose-built facility is tailor-made to cater for novices and professionals alike. See our courses page at : http://landrock-training.com/course_explain.html for more details.
A timely and seasonal sale puts the price at a bargain £100 per person, including your survival tin and food. We meet at Cotswold Outdoors, Darts Farm, Topsham at 9am on Saturday and the course finishes at 5pm on the Sunday.
