“The Survivor’s Dilemma ©”

 

 

Have you ever had to make a series of split second decisions that affect whether you live or die?  If you had only 60 seconds to choose just four things to help you survive in the arctic wilderness after a plane crash, what would you choose?  And more importantly, why would you choose them?

 

To explore this, we are going to use a single person, four item, adaption of the, a team-building exercise developed by Patrick Eady and J. Clayton Lafferty, in consultation with the men and officers of the Para Rescue Specialists, in 1973.  The original “Subarctic Survival Problem” allowed you, as a team of four survivors, to save 15 items from the plane.  But for this simulation, you are the sole survivor, and you are only able to grab four items, before the plane sinks.  Rank all 15 of the items that you could recover, while remembering that only the four items highest ranked items were saved from the wreck, to help you survive until rescuers find you.

 

The Situation and Problem

As you read through the survival problem above, note the following:

 

    ·       It about 2:30 pm in the afternoon and the Sun will set at 5:45 pm, just over 3 hours from now!

    ·       You and your party have returned early, it is October5th and according to your flight plan, you weren’t expected to return until October 19^th.  This means that no one will be looking for you until you are overdue by 24 to 72 hours, and unless you can signal passing aircraft, you will have to survive on your own until sometime after October 20^th!

·       And lastly, it is below freezing and moderately breezy.  At about 30^oF (-1^oC) and the wind is blowing at 13 to 15 mph (21 to 24 kph),producing a wind chill of about 19^oF (-7^oC).

 

The area around the crash site on the edge of the lake is tundra, arctic swamps, covered with snow covered grasses, small scrub, and small spruce trees, with trunks only 1-½ to 4 inches (4 to 10 cm) in diameter).  Scattered throughout the tundra are low hills with bald rocky tops and long narrow lakes running northwest to southeast.

 

Rank the following 15 items in “Step 1” and write down your reasons for your decisions in “Step 4”.  Decide which four items will help you the most to survive the snow and cold, until rescuers realize you are overdue and come looking for you.  But don’t worry, you will only have to survive on your own for 15 days or so! 

 

To print out the worksheets, click HERE.

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “The Survivor’s Dilemma -- Experts Say...©”, where we will discuss what the experts say are the four best survival items and see if you lived or died!

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Sources

 

Lafferty, J. C., and Eady, P. M.; “Subarctic Survival Problem”, Experiential Learning Methods, [Grosse Pointe, MI 1973]