Top 6 Winter Survival Skills May Make The Difference Between Life And Death

An individual without any home will find it really challenging to lead a life without any struggle. Moreover, during the wintertime, it becomes really troublesome to spend the night on the streets.

The situation can become even worse if it is required to spend several nights outdoors in wintertime. It would be a real life or death scenario. Especially since he will not have any resources at his disposal.

Fortunately, there are several methods which can be adopted in order to survive these situations.

In the subsequent paragraphs, we mention 6 essential winter survival skills.

Beef up your insulation

When you are trapped in the extreme cold weather, make it a point to enhance the insulation value of the clothing that you are wearing. Try to make some loose balls by crumpling up some type of paper materials and stuff them inside your garments. You can put them inside your trousers, your shirt or even down your sleeves.

Besides this, try not to sleep on the bare ground. Cardboard is a fantastic insulator.  You can try to stack up several layers of this material to sleep on.

Lastly, you can even prepare a makeshift sleeping bag by stuffing a big trash bag with any insulating material that is available. In this way, you can protect yourself from the bitter cold as well as the wind.

Prepare a warm shelter

This particular survival skill is crucial for almost any situation.  Most particularly in winter conditions. It is imperative for you to keep yourself warm and dry during winter.  Therefore it is advisable to spend time in building a shelter. Try to construct the shelter in a flat place protected from the wind and falling snow.

These trees will also offer the natural resources for preparing your winter shelter. It would be better if your shelter has a natural covering like the boughs of a tree. You may dig around the tree’s trunk below the lowest boughs.  This will get you protection from the wind and snow by the branches which are spread above. In that case, you will receive extra protection from the snow walls and it might also be ideal for you to make a fire.

Use snow goggles

Although the majority of us use sunglasses during summer, there is a possibility for us to get blinded by the ice and the snow during winter which can reflect the sun’s rays back to the eyes. In case you do not have any goggles with you, make it a point to learn how to prepare them by yourself from natural resources.

You can prepare goggles easily from birch bark. This material is ideal for snow goggles since it is possible to remove them from the trunk of a tree in sheets.

Although it might appear to be rather simple, these goggles will definitely offer protection to your eyes during the daytime.

Make a pair of snowshoes

It is advisable to choose the best winter boots while you are stranded outside in cold weather conditions. While you are putting on a pair of snowshoes, your weight will be distributed over a larger area and this will prevent your feet from sinking completely into the snow. You perhaps realize how exhausting it is to walk through a forest during winter months without any snow shoes.

These types of shoes will definitely save you plenty of energy and time. In case you do not have any snowshoes available to you, try to make one by yourself. It is possible to make such types of shoes with the help of boughs which are tied together and then lashed onto your feet. It will take much more time and effort to prepare other types of traditional snowshoes.

You have to find out a long and flexible stick which can be bent and tied at the end and following this you need to crisscross the inside of the snowshoe with some more sticks or vines.

Remain active

It is advisable to stay active so that your heart rate remains normal and also there is a proper circulation of blood within your system.

However, take care not to overexert yourself. In case you perspire excessively, the moisture will be responsible for sapping the warmth away from you.

Consequently, try to perform your activities at a moderate pace whether you are preparing a shelter or even hiking. You may remove your clothing layers to maintain your temperature which will help you to keep warm and not hot. Also, you must take a breather at regular intervals so that your energy is not completely burnt out.

Keep your mind clear

Finally, you must try to keep your mind free from all anxieties and tensions since this can distort your thoughts and also prevent you from making proper survival decisions. In case you feel lonely and monotonous, it will be very difficult for you to survive in these types of challenging conditions.