Folks, DO NOT EVER DO THIS. Stick with the vehicle. People tend to wait until they are too cold and weak to make it out before they leave, and a car WILL be found, people often aren't.
We had one of these a couple of years ago. The dad didn't make it.
Words to live by, though.
Another point: pack a "go bag" in the back of the car. Food, water, space blankets, matches, signal mirror, first aid kit, maybe a tarp and some tinder (dryer lint works great). Then you can set up camp, light a fire, and keep warm while you're waiting to be rescued.
What do you mean ? Do you mean you shouldn't wait until you are too cold and weak to go out and seek help, or should not leave the vehicle at all ?
Smart advice, though the natural instinct could be to take some sort of action yourself.
A car is shelter. People go stupid when tired, cold, and physically worn out.
In Minnesota we always had blizzard buckets in the car - blankets, candles, food, matches, shovel. OK, it did not fit in one bucket, but we kept all that and more in the car. We did run off the road more than once. We were stuck more than once.
And always keep blankets, candles, matches, water, trail mix/chocolate, flares, etc. in the car at the very least for emergencies.
Excellent advice.
One of the episodes was a skier Dad and his son got caught in a white out at some resort in Turkey. This happened about 3 P.M. and their initial plan of trying to ski down the run next to the chair lift soon went awry and they got themselves thoroughly lost, and on the back side of the mountain to boot.
Dad and his 12 year old boy found a cave and sought shelter there for the night (it gets dark quickly in the mountains anywayhs). Meanwhile Dad's other 8 year old boy was at the base waiting for his dad and brother as the buses are getting ready to take off. By now its pitch black.
The resort left the chairlift music blasting all night, and the snow grooming machines also had the speakers going with music in the hopes that the lost couple would hear the sound and be able to make their way to it. Needless to say they were on the other side of the mountain inside a cave and didn't hear any of that.
The next day it became apparent that there was no telling between a snow drift and a tree covered in snow. 6 or seven days later the search teams disbanded. Only a team of 15 U.S. Special Forces remained engaged on the search. The Colonol of the unit visited the husband's wife and show here hundreds of arial photos of the surrounding area, and told her that we've all but given up hope, and the hope that remains is that of finding a needle in a haystack.
It was at that time that Dad realized they both were going to die in that cave, and so he chose to hoof it down the mountain (leaving his sone behind). At the end of a full day's travel the dad came upon a cabin and decided to hole up there for the night. He took his ski boots off and made a fire in the fireplace. Except that he had frostbite in his feet. And by the next day it was clear to him he wasn't going to be able to get his feet back into his ski boots. He spent another two days and nights in the cabin by himself (his son alone in the cave several thousand feet avove and miles away from him).
On the third day he crawled to the front of the cabin and sought to gather some snow in a coffee pot and a pan in order to make drinking water. As he struggled on the front porch doing this, he heard a commotion from some ways off, and he seen a couple 4-wheeled drive vehicles in a pretty stuck situation, the occupants trying to deal with their predicament. He began to yell, and clang the pot and pan together. All the guys, stood there, mouths agape, and stared. But they knew instantly who he was. He and the boy's plight was major news all over the networks nationwide. The guys was a group of loggers that were returning to their camp after being evacuated because of the snowstorm. After telling them what happened, they hiked up the mountain.
Many many many many many many many hours later the guys returned carrying a huge bundle wrapped in hundreds of blankets. His boy, weak, dehydrated, hypothermic, frostbitten, and hungry, was very glad to see his father again.
The pair were reunited again 12 days after the ordeal began. Nobody would've found either one of the two (probably for years), if but for Dad hoofing it out to go get help. This theme was reiterated several times on Thanksgiving.
The rules for survival are explicite: STOP
Stop, Think, Observe, Plan.
There are only a few fundamentals to wilderness survival. You must maintain your body temperature at or near 98.6 degrees (fahrenheit). Too cold (hypothermia) or too hot (hyperthermia) and you can die. You need to conserve energy. Don't waste it by "doing" before "thinking." Water is vital for your body and mind to function properly. You need both working as good as possible. Finally, remember that your only responsibilities are to stay alive, and if at all possible, make yourself easier to find by actively working at attracting attention to yourself. Shelter comes before fire, fire comes before water, water before food. Nevertheless, and that notwithstanding, sometimes the situation is SO dire, that remaining motionless is certain death. I for one will do ANYTHING whatsoever, so as to avoid a perceived certain death through inaction.
That being said, I believe that prayer would be prudent. As an aside, I believe that the man probably is well equiped: he set out on snowshoes. I don't think he took off in a bathing suit on snow shoes. People dont take up snowshoeing without some sort of training and experience. I believe that what Dad needs at this time are some serious prayers to Jesus, that the Lord's will be done on Earth (as it is in Heaven) and that he will be found before too long. It is my hope that he's not already dead, and that if he's freezing, I pray that the Lord grant him strength not to go to sleep before he is found.
Burn the tires on clear days so the smoke can be seen from far away. I'd even burn the car before giving up.
The biggest "DO NOT EVER DO THIS" is don't take short cuts on back roads in bad weather. Really, really stupid thing to do. Which is what this guy apparently did...