> Unable to move far in the deep snow, his plan was to stay put, which under the circumstances was not a bad one.
It is almost always the correct decision, no matter what the situation. At his home he had access to all sorts of materials, and was clearly visible from the air.
And a shelter in the snow is pretty warm -- regardless of how cold it is outside it will pretty much stay at 0 C. The problem is that you can't be seen from the air (or by someone walking by!) when you're in the shelter and little sound will likely get through either. So you need to make a useful marker, which is slightly touched on in this article.
I have taught numerous people to make these emergency shelters out of material at hand (I'm a wilderness and snow survival instructor) and have been told that it has saved at least one life.
I think you have nothing better to do with your time and so should do both. Search and rescue pilots are trained to look for the V, but who knows who might be looking.
Destroy the signal when you are rescued of course!
> “The SOS signal is what most people know, but the downside is it is very curvy,” says Krebs. “Most of nature is curvy – it is rounded hills and lakes and streams, so curvy blends in.”
> In the military Krebs was taught to use the letter “V” to request general help or an “X” specifically for medical assistance. The long straight lines stand out on a hillside. It also takes less time to create two straight lines 30 feet long compared to two loopy Ss and one O, each 10 feet high.
It is almost always the correct decision, no matter what the situation. At his home he had access to all sorts of materials, and was clearly visible from the air.
And a shelter in the snow is pretty warm -- regardless of how cold it is outside it will pretty much stay at 0 C. The problem is that you can't be seen from the air (or by someone walking by!) when you're in the shelter and little sound will likely get through either. So you need to make a useful marker, which is slightly touched on in this article.
I have taught numerous people to make these emergency shelters out of material at hand (I'm a wilderness and snow survival instructor) and have been told that it has saved at least one life.