How to Survive: Check out these winter survival kits to help you get through any emergency
Nationwide attention was brought to winter survival because of a stalled vehicle tragedy in 2006.
by Leon Pantenburg
The genesis of SurvivalCommonSense.com began after two fatalities in Central Oregon in late 2006.
Click here to buy survival kits
A survival situation can start with a vehicle sliding off the road in bad weather. (Pantenburg photo)
In November, veteran snowmobiler Roger Rouse, 53, of Bend, died of hypothermia in Deschutes National Forest, about 10 miles west of Bend. He and his son had intended to only be out for a morning ride when a fierce snowstorm overwhelmed them. (To read the complete story, click here.)
Less than a month later, in December 2006, Californian James Kim, 35, died in the Rogue River Wilderness after leaving his wife and children to get help. The family car was stuck in snow on a remote road. (To see Larry King’s coverage of the Kim tragedy, click here.)
Shortly after the Kim tragedy, the editor of The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon, asked me to put together a practical winter survival guide.
“Talk to (Deschutes County) Search and Rescue, find out what the trends are, and what gear people need to take with them,” the editor said. “Then, come up with a practical survival kit for our readers, based on the experts’ recommendations. This is an investigative assignment. Check out all sources, and test everything.”
The survival guide was received very well, and got a lot of attention. At that point, I figured out that there needed to be more practical survival information available, and I started the SurvivalCommonSense website. Now, more than a million views later, we’re pleased to continue our common sense approach to wilderness survival.
As a public service, The Bulletin is reprinting the winter survival series.
Thank you, Bulletin! Here is the original survival guide.
For more information, click on making your own survival kits!
Next step: Get a full-blown car kit. Minnesota winters are nothing to take lightly.
I enjoy reading your info on this website. This winter I went to Minnesota. There was a lot of snow and the temps were in the teens. I took along the survival kit that you made for Andy. We didn’t need to use it, thank goodness,but I felt more confident just having it in the car. Thank you Leon.