One of the stupidest @#$%ing things I've ever done for a story...

IS the distinction between brave and stupid getting paid for it? Fine line there. I can't wait to read the article.

People keep mentioning keeping water as part of your winter emergency kit. How does that work? Last month when we went up to the Sno*Drift rally it was borking cold, but not as cold as you are talking about. Temps around zero and wind chill in the negative teens. I had two six packs of water that spent Thursday night in the car and all Friday. Obviously they were solid blocks of ice. I took them into the cottage we were staying at Friday night, it was warmed to a normal temp, high 60's. Next morning those bottle of water were still solid blocks of ice. What's the point of water when it wont be drinkable?

Adrian_Thompson wrote: ...What's the point of water when it wont be drinkable?

Also of note: if you want frozen water, there will be PLENTY of it laying around outside!

aircooled wrote:

Adrian_Thompson wrote: ...What's the point of water when it wont be drinkable?

Also of note: if you want frozen water, there will be PLENTY of it laying around outside!

Not necessarily. And if the survival pack is done correctly, you have the tools to make said water drinkable.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: ...What's the point of water when it wont be drinkable?

If you know it's going to be below freezing, bring water from the house to the car when you leave, and it won't be frozen. Or use the chemical hand warmers you should have to thaw the water out. Or put it in the engine bay for a little bit. Or put it on the dash with the heat vents on. Or put it inside your jacket. There are ways of unfreezing water.

Will wrote:

Adrian_Thompson wrote: ...What's the point of water when it wont be drinkable?

If you know it's going to be below freezing, bring water from the house to the car when you leave, and it won't be frozen. Or use the chemical hand warmers you should have to thaw the water out. Or put it in the engine bay for a little bit. Or put it on the dash with the heat vents on. Or put it inside your jacket. There are ways of unfreezing water.

Just put a couple drops of Ethylene Glycol in it.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Just put a couple drops of Ethylene Glycol in it.

Oh, cheap wine then. Remember this? I do.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_diethylene_glycol_wine_scandal

Half serious question: what about some of that potable RV antifreeze?

Haahaa... that was an edit by JG.

Coldest pee I ever did was in Alaska, somewhere around -40 (it reached -50 that night once the sun went down). I'm surprised I didn't have to snap it off.

I just put a can of pineapples in my car yesterday. I figure the pineapple juice will serve as water with its own drinkable antifreeze.

MadScientistMatt wrote: I just put a can of pineapples in my car yesterday. I figure the pineapple juice will serve as water with its own drinkable antifreeze.

That's brilliant... if you remember a can opener.

Lesley wrote: Haahaa... that was an edit by JG. Coldest pee I ever did was in Alaska, somewhere around -40 (it reached -50 that night once the sun went down). I'm surprised I didn't have to snap it off.

I just felt a localized twinge.

tuna55 wrote:

MadScientistMatt wrote: I just put a can of pineapples in my car yesterday. I figure the pineapple juice will serve as water with its own drinkable antifreeze.

That's brilliant... if you remember a can opener.

lots of brands come with pull tab openings

Greetings all. I was Lesley's partner in this exercise. If anyone considers trying it, I would strongly suggest otherwise unless you have the essential gear and some training in harsh environments. Lesley is about to publish an article about the experience and afterward I will post a video that shows the progression of how things went (it will be a tad over an hour long and will show how hypothermic we got). I had the video reviewed by a couple medical experts...their professional opinion wasn't good and they all said we needed to seek medical attention and aborted. I've dealt with this before though (I have a background different than most but I'm not going to talk about that here). Based on my background...I knew our limits and what we could handle. Lesley wouldn't have appreciated the extremes I could have taken her too though. We came close to needing help but personally I've suffered worse. We stretched this longer than was clinically considered 'safe' but I still had a few things to pull out of the bag if we really needed though.

just add enough vodka to your water supply to prevent freezing...

...or add enough water to your vodka so you can still use it for re-hydrating.

(BTW - I suspect all are aware that drinking alcohol in such a situation can be very bad since it actually reduces you body temperature)

Yeah, it can also cause dehydration, and impair your judgement.

Probably should have packed some canned habaneros and jalepenos... That'd raise the internal temperature a bit.

I wonder if that would actually be a good idea or not.

No. Just....NO.

Umm...no. Gas asphyxiation from Carbon Monoxide was enough of a concern thank you very much.

wbjones wrote: lots of brands come with pull tab openings

Exactly; I used a can with a pull tab.

sdejager wrote: Umm...no. Gas asphyxiation from Carbon Monoxide was enough of a concern thank you very much.

Sorry, I meant heat up your personal internal temperature--not create a lot of "wind". I always start sweating when I eat an habanero. Do peppers really make folks that gassy? Maybe I just eat enough that I don't realize it.

Lesley wrote: Yeah, it can also cause dehydration, and impair your judgement.

This bunch is already judgment impaired. I don't think you'd see a difference.

Lesley wrote: Haahaa... that was an edit by JG. Coldest pee I ever did was in Alaska, somewhere around -40 (it reached -50 that night once the sun went down). I'm surprised I didn't have to snap it off.

I am so so glad you are a woman making that statement. I bet every guy involuntarily squeezed their legs together and winced reading that line.

sdejager wrote: If anyone considers trying it, I would strongly suggest otherwise

That's good enough for me.

Here's a link to the piece I wrote:

http://www.wheels.ca/feature/stranded-would-you-be-able-to-survive-if/