“He Should Have Died At Least 81 Times!”

(Part I of IV)

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He Shouldn’t Be Alive:  Here’s a TRUE Alaskan wilderness survival story that should have been made into a Hollywood movie.  First let me give the stats on this lone survivor, his crew and their aircraft:

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1^st Lt. Leon Crane Stats:

• Name: Leon Crane
• Duty: Test Pilot
• Rank: First Lieutenant
• Age: 24
• Height: 05’ 11 3/4”
• Weight: 170 pounds
• Branch: Army Air Forces
• Station: Ladd Field, Alaska
• Higher Education: MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
• Initial Military Training: SROTC & Private Pilot
• Degree: Aeronautics Engineer
• Date of Crash: 21 December 1943 (Tuesday)

SROTC = Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps

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B-24D Liberator Stats: 

• Plane: B-24D Liberator Bomber (No. 42-40910)
• Name of B-24D: Iceberg Inez
• Military Role: High altitude bomber
• Armament: 03 .50 caliber light barrel machineguns and 04 .30 caliber machineguns (M1919s)
• Ordinance: 08 800-pound bombs
• Engines: 04 Pratt & Whitney R-1830-33 Twin Wasps
• Engine Horsepower: Each engine 1,200 horsepower
• Plane Total Length: 67-feet
• Plane Total Wing Span: 110-feet
• Take-Off Speed: 110 miles per hour
• Cruise Speed: 200 miles per hour
• Top Speed: 303 miles per hour
• Maximum Range: 1,600-miles
• Maximum Ceiling: 28,000-feet AGL (Above Ground Altitude)
• Gross Weight with Bombs: 38,000 pounds
• Total Rivets: 313,000
• Price: $297,627
• Date of Completed Construction: 31 May 1943
• Number of B-24s Built: 18,000 from 1941 – Sep. 1945
• Plants: Consolidated San Diego, Michigan Willow Run, Texas Plants, Oklahoma Plants
• B-24 Planes Built Per Day: 10
• Date B-24D Iceberg Inez Reported to Ladd Field: 19 Nov. 1943
• Airmen Nicknames for B-24: Flying Boxcar, Flying Coffin, Flying Brick, Pregnant Cow,…
• B-24 Combat Crew: 10
• Crew of Iceberg Inez: 05

1. Pilot: 2^nd Lieutenant Harold Hoskin
2. Co-Pilot: 1^st Lieutenant Leon Crane
3. Radio Operator: Staff Sergeant Ralph Wenz
4. Crew Chief: Master Sergeant Richard Pompeo
5. Propeller Specialist: First Lieutenant James B. Sibert

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Book:  I highly encourage you to get this Survival Book – “81 Days Below Zero” by Brian Murphy with Toula Vlahou

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92 1^st Lieutenant Leon Crane Survival Tricks And More!

The following are 1^st Lt. Leon Crane’s survival tricks while surviving 81 days in the deep Alaskan wilderness.  Also annotated are other Alaskan and international survival tricks worthy of your attention.

Let’s start with Hot Gear.

But first, let’s go back in time and learn how the 05 Airmen crew of Iceberg Inez ended up their extreme survival tragedy.

On the morning of 21 December 1943 (Tuesday) at approximately 0730 hours, the 05 Airmen crew of the Iceberg Inez were preparing to deploy in their B-24D Liberator bomber on a “weather experimental mission” from Ladd Field (near Fairbanks, Alaska) into the Alaskan interior.

At approximately 0940 hours, the Iceberg Inez taxied towards the runway.  Minutes later it took off at 110 miles per hour, departing Ladd Field.  The Iceberg Inez increased its speed and climbed skyward.  It’s initial heading was to the southeast.

The Iceberg Inez headed 60-miles to the southeast to Big Delta.  Big Delta was a small air base.  The ceiling (dense clouds) was low.

Climbing to 10,000-feet, the crew donned their oxygen masks.  The mission of the Iceberg Inez was to conduct propeller tests.  And they wanted the Propeller Specialist – First Lieutenant James B. Sibert to view the 04 propellers while conducting their tests.  But they had to have clear visibility.

At approximately 1030 hours, the Radio Operator – Staff Sergeant Ralph Wenz radioed-in their current location, ’40-miles southeast of Ladd Field.’

At fifteen thousand feet, the Iceberg Inez was still in thick clouds.

At approximately 1108 hours, the Radio Operator – Staff Sergeant Ralph Wenz radioed-in their current location, ’65-miles southeast of Ladd Field.’  SSG Wenz carried-on with “About 10-miles east of Big Delta.  Looking for a break in the clouds for prop tests.  Over.”

Pilot 2^nd Lieutenant Harold Hoskin and Co-Pilot 1^st Lieutenant Leon Crane steered the Iceberg Inez to the east making wide left & right sweeps searching for clear skies so they could conduct their propeller tests.

It was almost 12 noon, the pilots Hoskin and Crane knew they had to find some clear skies real soon.  At this time of year, sunset was at 1441 hours, less than 03-hours away.

Searching the skies ahead, they observed that the clouds were bright, meaning the sun was shining on the other side and no clouds.  They flew into a column cloudless blue sky.

The crew of the Iceberg Inez needed to do the propeller tests at 15,000-feet, 20,000-feet and at 25,000-feet.  They planned to do the propeller tests at 25,000-feet first.  The Iceberg Inez was put into a corkscrew climb to get to 25,000-feet.

Reaching 20,000-feet the crew conducted the feathering tests.  The feathering tests were conducted when an engine is dead and the other engines must be properly manipulated to avoid dangerous strain that could kill the remaining engines.

The feathering test went OK but their instruments acted-up but recovered and the Iceberg Inez corkscrew climbed to 25,000-feet for propeller testing.

At 23,000-feet, 1^st Lieutenant Crane recorded the airspeed and altitude in his notebook.  Suddenly his notebook was dragged from his hands.  The Iceberg Inez went into a severe spin.  The G-forces pinned the pilots to their seats as the Iceberg Inez plunged downward.

Both pilots reached for their controls.  The plane must have stalled causing the spin.  The airspeed gauge read 300 miles per hour.  At least 01 engine was dead and both pilots tried to control the spinning plane by getting it to level-off.

Their instruments were blinking in and out.  The Iceberg Inez broke through the clouds.  Both pilots slowed the spin somewhat but their plane was still spinning and diving towards the ground.

Now the Iceberg Inez started spinning in the opposite direction and the nose was almost pointing straight down in a deep dive.

1^st Lt. Crane shouted “Open bomb bays.”  He slammed down on the crash alarm switch which signaled for everyone to bail out the plane.  Once the bomb bay doors opened, the air temperature dropped to a KILLER 70-DEGREES BELOW ZERO FAHRENHEIT.

Crane screamed to 2^nd Lt. Hoskin to bail out.  Crane hurriedly donned his parachute and to do this he took off his winter mittens.  Crane bailed out the plane.  On his way out the plane, he noticed the Radio Operator – Staff Sergeant Ralph Wenz was gone.

He observed the Crew Chief – Master Sergeant Richard Pompeo bail out.  He turned around and observed 2^nd Lt. Hoskins fumbling with his parachute.  He wasn’t sure about the Propeller Specialist – First Lieutenant James B. Sibert.

Crane bailed out of the diving plane.  Instantly Crane’s lips froze.  His lips ‘cracked like old plastic.’  The wind chill factor was a KILLER 100-DEGREES BELOW ZERO FAHRENHEIT.

Crane pulled his ripcord and his parachute was pulled out and inflated.  Approximately 02-miles away, he observed his plane spinning, falling and on fire hurdling towards the ground.

The Iceberg Inez slammed into a slope of Spruce trees and loose rock and immediately exploded into a fire ball with black smoke.

Approximately 01-mile away, Crane also observed another parachute.  Was it 2^nd Lt. Hoskins or was it Master Sergeant Pompeo?

Crane impacted in the snow with a thud.  He shouted out the names of the other crew members.  No response.

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The following are survival applications, techniques and tricks used by 1^st Lt. Leon Crane during his 81-days of lone survival in the deep Alaskan wilderness.

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01) Hot Gear:  Hot gear is a military term meaning the clothing and gear worn for protection from cold temperatures.  Lt. Crane wore the following Hot Gear that surely kept him alive.

• Thermal Underwear: He was wearing thermal underwear.  I assume he was wearing the standard issue thermal wear called long-johns.
• Arctic Boots / Mukluks: Shin high rubber boots designed for cold weather.  His boots were composed of rubber, layers of burlap and lined with felt.
• Flight Suit: 1^st Lieutenant was one of the 1^st US military personnel to be issued a Eddie Bauer down-filled flight suit.  Feathers from geese and ducks are super insulators and are the main component for down-filled flight suits.
• Winter Parka Jacket: On top of his thermal underwear and down-filled flight suit, he was wearing his down-filled winter parka jacket with hood.
• Mittens: Crane left his winter mittens in the plane when hurriedly donning his parachute.
• Wool Socks: He wore 03 pairs.
• Flight Helmet:

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02) No Hot Gear:  The Crew Chief, Master Sergeant Richard Pompeo wasn’t wearing the new Eddie Bauer down-filled flight suit.  He was wearing a light blue ‘electric’ flight suit that was hooked into a rheostat.  It was like wearing an electric blanket.

The unplugged electric flight suit offered absolutely NO PROTECTION against the killer Alaskan super freezing temperatures after he bailed out.  In my humble opinion, MSG Pompeo died of hypothermia within a few minutes after he bailed out.

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03) Silk Parachute:  1^st Lt. Crane’s parachute turned-out to be his life-saver.  His mittens were left behind in the out-of-control B-24D bomber.  He used his silk parachute to help keep his hands and fingers from literally freezing.  He also used his parachute to protect him from the blasting snow storms.  He used his parachute as a sleeping bag by wrapping himself in it.

In 1942, a man named Adeline Gray made the 1^st parachute jump made from nylon.  Dupont invented nylon.  Dupont started its Research & Development (R & D) on nylon as far back as 1927.

1^st Lt. Crane and the crew of the Iceberg Inez all had silk parachutes.  But nylon products were already being mass produced.  For example:

• 1938 – bristled toothbrushes
• 1940 – women’s nylon stockings (64 million sold in 12-months)
• 1941 – Military parachutes and parachute cord
• 1941 – Military tents

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Why is silk / nylon such a great insulator?

Nylon is designed after silk.  Both are great insulators simply because of trapping the body’s warm air.

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Why is nylon such a popular product?

• Super lightweight
• Very strong material
• Rip-resistant

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MOST IMPORTANT NOTE:  Most of my military career, I had a camouflaged poncho liner.  The poncho liner was supposed to be used in conjunction with the military poncho.  I don’t know what the poncho liner was made of but it kept me warm.  Even when I was soaking wet, it helped to keep me warm.  It had some white fluffy stuff that poncho liner.  I think the poncho liner only weighed about a pound or less.

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04) S O S:  S O S stands for Save Our Souls.  The letters S O S is a known international distress signal.  1^st Lt. Crane formed an S O S signal on the snow.  He cut 10-foot long Spruce boughs and formed the letters S O S.  The dark 10-foot boughs spelling S O S stood-out against the white background of white snow.  1^st Lt. Crane also used boughs forming an arrow pointing in the direction of the Iceberg Inez crash site.

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05) Survival Bearings:  The last radio transmission from the Radio Operator Staff Sergeant Ralph Wenz to Ladd Field was:  “About 10-miles east of Big Delta.  Looking for a break in the clouds for prop tests.  Over.”

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06) Guaranteed Death:  1^st Lt. Crane knew if he twisted his ankle when he landed, it was Guaranteed Death.  Any injury, even frostbitten fingers in this killer cold climate would bring on more problems which would mean a Guaranteed Death.

1^st Lt. Crane was on his own with no survival skills, no survival gear and the search party are looking in the wrong area according to their last radio transmission.  Lt. Crane made decisions so to AVOID possible survival threats.

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07) Boy Scout Knife:  The only survival tool 1^st Lt. Crane had in his possession was his Boy Scout Knife.  He used his knife to make the S O S signal, dress small game,…  His Boy Scout Knife was employed many times during his survival.

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08) Matches:  Before taking off, 1^st Lt. Crane knew the lead pilot, 2^nd Lt. Hoskin smoked pipes.  So 1^st Lt. Crane purchased 02 packs of stick matches.  A total of 40 stick matches.  The invention of these stick matches of sulfur, potassium chlorate and red phosphorus would save Lt. Crane’s life many times.  These matches would help keep him alive as long as he was able to light the matches and as long as he kept his fingers from getting frostbitten.

1^st Lt. Crane knew his matches were so important to his lone survival in the unforgiving killer cold Alaska.  He protected his matches from the elements and kept count on how many matches were left when he used them for emergency fires.

Note:  During the Vietnam War, ‘humidity-proof’ book matches were developed and issued to American GIs in their accessory packs in the C-Ration Meals.  These same ‘humidity-proof’ book matches are also part of the current military MREs (Meals Ready-To-Eat).

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09) Parachute:  I believe this is correct, but the American parachutes used during World War II were made from silk – silk parachutes.  Silk is a natural fabric originating from the silk worm.  Later, parachutes were fabricated from nylon.

Nylon is not a natural fabric but designed after silk.

1^st Lt. Crane’s silk parachute saved his life many times by protecting him against the super freezing elements.

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10) Suicide:  1^st Lt. Crane trapped in the huge vastness of the Alaskan wilderness, yelled out the names of his fellow crew members multiple times.  But there were no replies.

Due to the extreme cold temperatures, his hands were already turning a pasty white.  He knew if his fingers and hands became frostbitten, he was a dead man.

1^st Lt. Crane already knew if the end came, he wanted to see the end on his terms.  The blade of his Boy Scout knife was plenty sharp.  Sharp enough to slit both wrists.  But thoughts of suicide was just a quick thought and nothing more.

Note:  The minute 1^st Lt. Crane stepped off the transport plane, reporting to Ladd Field, the medics and commanders at Ladd Field repeatedly told him and all personnel about the importance of protecting their hands & fingers from the freezing cold.

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11) Starving:  The body needs constant food and water to maintain peak performance.

In my own (author) experience and that of 1^st Lt. Crane, the feeling of hunger will be a constant nagging pain.  But it will fade and go away.  With no food intake, the body will start to eat its own glucose reserves and fat reserves.

You must see:

• 30) Squirrel Vittles
• 31) Ptarmigan Vittles
• 34) The 3 Threes

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Alaska Department of Public Safety, State Troopers SEARCH AND RESCUE

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15 Emergency Killer Cold Survival Tricks You Gotta Know!

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How To Survive Snowstorms!

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Cold Weather Survival!

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Winter Storm Will Kill Hundreds Of Thousands!

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12) Emergency Fires:  The first night [21 / 22 December 1943 (Tuesday – Wednesday)] in the super freezing Alaskan wilderness, 1^st Lt. Crane knew he was a dead man if didn’t get a warming fire started.  An emergency fire was now Priority #01.

He wisely gathered his firewood (driftwood), made his firepit of a bed of spruce branches & a cone (T-pee) of driftwood and gathered his finer fire-starting fuel – driftwood shavings and spruce needles.

Remember, the killer cold temperature was currently estimated to be 20-DEGREES BELOW ZERO FAHRENHEIT and may drop to

40-DEGREES BELOW ZERO FAHRENHEIT before sunrise.

1^st Lt. Crane’s hands and fingers were exposed to the freezing elements.  It could only take seconds to permanently disable his fingers to lose all feeling and movement.

In other words without his fingers to grab, manipulate, press, tie, scrape, swipe,… in the freezing killer Alaskan wilderness, his fate is set.

1^st Lt. Crane’s fingers were already going numb.  He took his

• 1^st match to ignite the spruce needle – nothing. STRIKE 01
• 2^nd match to ignite the spruce needle – nothing. STRIKE 02
• 3^rd match to ignite the spruce needle – nothing. STRIKE 03
• 4^th match to ignite the spruce needle – nothing. STRIKE 04

1^st Lt. Crane just used 04 of his 40 matches.  Only 36 matches left.  Then he remembered his father’s letter in the pocket of his parka jacket – PAPER!!!

He took his letter and placed it among the driftwood shavings and spruce needles.  He lit his 5^th match to the paper and it lit and ignited the driftwood shavings and spruce needles – FIRE!!!

The letter he saved from his father SAVED HIS LIFE!

MOST IMPORTANT NOTE:  I’ve been saying this since the early 1990s.  Emergency fire-starting using those prehistoric methods of rubbing 02 sticks together IS NOT AN OPTION.  Those prehistoric fire-starting methods are EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to get to work in warm weather.  And in a cold weather environment and when you’re truly hypothermic – NO BLOODY WAY!

If 1^st Lt. Crane didn’t have those matches and relied on rubbing 02 sticks together that 1^st night, in my humble opinion, it’s a 110% FACT, he’s a DEAD MAN!  See 5^th Note.

1^st Note:  I was wondering, instead of using 01 match at a time to start an emergency fire, I suspect using 02 matches at a time would bring MORE HEAT to fire-up the driftwood shavings and spruce needles without using any of the precious paper.

2^nd Note:  If he had to use the letter, use just a tiny portion of it while using 02 matches at a time.

3^rd Note:  Folding paper in an accordion manner burns faster which produces more heat which gives a better chance to ignite the driftwood shavings and spruce needles.

4^th Note:  I believe 1^st Lt. Crane’s clothing had available and very ignitable fine tinder.  Using his Boy Scout knife, he could procure the fine tinder.  The problem with this method is exposing his fingers to the super cold elements to work and gather the super fine tinder.

5^th Note:  Are your fingers so cold they feel like wood?  No feeling in your fingers?  Can’t move your fingers?

I designed an EMERGENCY FIRE-STARTING TRICK CALLED “RUB YOUR SHOE ON A ROCK!”  You literally “RUB YOUR SHOE ON A ROCK FOR AN EMERGENCY FIRE!”

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YOU MUST SEE:

Save My Life… Survival Program!

at

https://www.survivalexpertblog.com/save-my-life-survival-program

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Now let’s take a quick break from 1^st. Lt. Crane survival and let’s look into Poon Lim Survival so You’re Ready Anytime Anywhere!.

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13) Poon Lim Survival:  World War II (WWII) wartime magazines and newspapers were stacked with military news from the 02 front war – the war in Europe and the war in the Pacific.  Also included were fantastic international survival stories like the Poon Lim Survival.

On 23 November 1942 (Monday), a British merchant ship, the SS Ben Lomond was located in the Atlantic Ocean.  It was torpedoed by a German U-Boat U-172.  A 25-year old Chinese steward named Poon Lim, jumped from the sinking ship.

Climbing into a 08-foot wooden lifeboat, the lone survivor, Poon Lim floated southward for 133-days.  Poon Lim was lucky because the wooden lifeboat had some supplies onboard but not nearly enough for his 133-days of lone survival in the Atlantic Ocean.  Poon Lim resorted to catching rain water for drinking water and catching fish & seabirds to eat.

Poon Lim was a poor swimmer.  What he did was smart.  To insure his safety, he took a rope and tied his arm to the lifeboat.  In case a fell overboard, all he had to do was pull himself back into the wooden lifeboat.

On 05 April 1943 (Monday), Poon Lim was rescued near the coast of Brazil by Brazilian fishermen.

Here’s another true survival story – one of the crew members of the Iceberg Inez – MSG Pompeo Survival.

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14) MSG Pompeo Survival:  02 winters prior in January 1942, Crew Chief Master Sergeant (MSG) Pompeo and another airman made a forced emergency landing on a frozen river.  The hard landing knocked-out their radio.

Following protocol, both airmen waited next to their plane for search and rescue personnel to find them.  They waited for 02-days before deciding to walk out.

The airmen got super lucky and ran into native trappers.  The distance to safety was so great, the trappers handed-off the 02 airmen to other trappers who handed them off to more trappers till the 02 airmen reached Fort Yukon.  The multiple dogsled rides totaled approximately 50-miles.

Both airmen were eventually transported to their home base without a single injury.  Both airmen were credited for their “resourcefulness, fortitude and soldierly qualities.”

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15) Letter From Home Life-Saver:  1^st Lt. Crane had a letter from home secured in his winter parka.  And that letter probably saved his life.  No, the letter didn’t have any cold weather survival tips in, the letter was used for emergency fire-starting.

The first night of 21 December 1943 (Tuesday), the killer cold temperature was currently estimated to be 20-DEGREES BELOW ZERO FAHRENHEIT and may drop to 40-DEGREES BELOW ZERO FAHRENHEIT before sunrise.

1^st Lt. Crane already used up 04 matches but he couldn’t get the spruce needles and shavings to catch fire.  He then remembered the letter from home.  Using the paper, the 5^th match started the shavings and spruce needles to flame-up from the burning paper.

Adding more fuel to the fire, he was able to counter the killer cold temperatures that could have froze him to death that first night of lone survival.  The Letter From Home saved his life.

See 12) Emergency Fires.

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16) Spruce Tree Survival Facts:  Before I tell you about some Spruce Survival Facts, let me tell you something.  I’ve said this for the last 20-some years.

Odds are you will never go into the wilderness areas of Africa, Mid-East, Far East, Central America, South America, United Kingdom, Canada, Greenland, Alaska, Russia, China, Australia,… you got the idea.

But you will go into wilderness areas in your county, state, somewhere in the US of A to hunt, camp-out, hiking, fishing, skiing, scuba diving, rafting,…  And you’ll keep going to the same areas again and again.

It’s a dang good idea to learn about international survival.  You’re getting a fantastic base of solid all-around international survival.

And it’s also a super dang good idea to be a SURVIVAL EXPERT in your specific area.  Say for example, you’re always going into the Nantahala National Forest out of North Carolina.  This is the same wilderness area where the fugitive Eric Robert Rudolph successfully evaded and hid from law enforcement agencies for 05-years.

Be a SURVIVAL EXPERT in the specific area you continually frequent.  Do some research and learn about:

• Sources of drinking water
• Sources of edible aqua life
• Edible plants
• Edible trees
• Edible insects
• Edible small game
• Edible big game
• Threats of small game
• Threats of big game
• Threats of aquatic life
• Aquatic threats
• Linear terrain features (navigation)
• Cliffs
• Caves for shelter
• Topographic Maps
• Satellite Maps
• Weather conditions / threats
• Temperature threats
• Terrain
• Terrain threats (cliffs, arroyos, gullies, quicksand,…)
• Time of Sunrise and Sunset
• Cell Phone within range of towers
• History of survival tragedies
• You got the idea…

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Now let’s talk about Spruce Tree Survival Facts.

There are more than a few species of evergreen Spruce Trees (35 species).  Spruce Trees are found throughout the Northern Temperate Zone (North America [Alaska], Europe, Russia, China, northern India).  Spruce trees are evergreen.  They’ll shed their needles every 04 to 10 years and grow new needles.

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In general, Spruce Trees provide:

• Inner bark can be eaten as an emergency food source
• Spruce outer bark can be used for fire, first-aid,…
• Spruce needles are edible to eat and make a tea
• Spruce needle tips in the Spring Time are a tasty food source
• Spruce needles can be used for a fuel for fire
• Spruce tree roots can be used as twine
• Spruce tree roots are rot resistant
• Spruce boughs can be used as bedding, shelters, SOS signals,…
• Spruce trees offer spruce sap and spruce resin (pitch). Like pine sap and pine resin, both are HIGHLY FLAMMABLE.  And both spruce sap & resin can be used for other survival uses like first-aid,…

Note:  In my humble opinion, 1^st Lt. Crane should have collected a large bundle Spruce needles.  It’s extremely lightweight.  Alaska is a dry climate.  As each day passes, those Spruce needle will become dryer and dryer and make a great fire-starting fuel with a single match stick.

With a large bundle of drying spruce needles, 1^st Lt. Crane would have a several weeks supply of fire-starting fuel.  The collected bundle of spruce needles (boughs) can also be used as bedding, windbreak,…

Again, spruce sap and spruce resin (pitch) are highly flammable.  Collecting it is an option for emergency fire-starting.

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17) Cold Steel:  Temperatures were so cold in Alaska, all personnel were continually warned to wear their cold weather gear prior to going outside and that includes their winter mittens.  A Ladd Field mechanic lost most of the skin off his right hand when he grabbed a pipe with his bare hand.  The super cold pipe instantly attached itself to the skin which was immediately frozen.  The only remedy was to cut the fused skin from the hand.

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18) Lung Frosting:  Another warning because of the super cold air, to all personnel stationed at Ladd Field was injuries to the lungs.  If you breathed to deep, it could cause Lung Frosting.

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19) Caribou Fog:  The temperatures were so cold, a herd of caribou can create their own dense fog from their breath.  Their hot breath rises and forms dense fog just several feet above.

And the same thing applies to multiple planes taking off on a clear super cold day.  The exhaust from the multiple planes taking off would create their own dense fog over the runway causing visibility problems.

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20) Eating Snow:  In a snow-laden environment, snow is obviously an abundant water source.  However, eating snow is a bad idea.  When I was a kid growing up in Colorado, I ate plenty of snow just for the heck of it but always in small portions.

1^st Lt. Crane was surrounded by snow 24/7 but instead of eating snow, he always found water coming up from frozen ice in the frozen river.

Why is eating snow as a primary source of water a bad idea?

• Damage sensitive tissue inside the mouth
• Increases thirst
• Bring on painful cramps
• Speed up killer hypothermia

Only in very desperate times will northern North American Native tribes turn to eating snow.  See 29) What The Heck To Eat.

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21) Cold Weather Protection Manuals & Medical Files:  All military personnel reporting to Ladd Field were issued Cold Weather Protection Manuals.  The manuals taught cold weather survival and the sanitized medical files taught ‘lessons learned’ that caused cold weather injuries.  It was a ‘Lessons Learned’ to AVOID cold weather mistakes from those that made them.

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22) Sleeping Mat:  NEVER sleep on the bare ground even when it’s warm.  1^st Lt. Crane wisely stayed off the snow when sleeping.  He made a bedding of Spruce boughs.  Every little bit helps.  Sleeping on the Spruce boughs aids in fighting hypothermia.  Wrapped-up in his very insulating silk parachute, 1^st Lt. survived dozens of nights in super freezing temperatures where many other would have perished long ago.

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23) Water Sources:  1^st Lt. Crane used the frozen river to CAREFULLY travel across the frozen Alaskan wilderness (see 70) Checking For Thin Ice).  He used the following sources of water:

• Water flowing up through a small opening in the ice
• Water flowing up at the edges of the frozen river
• Melted snow puddled-up next to his emergency firepit

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“Alaskan Wilderness Survival Part 1, II, III & IV” are annotated in the Survival Book below to include “179+ Emergency Cold Weather Survival Tricks And More!”

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Paperback Book—————Kindle E-Book

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