Things to do to improve your chances of survival if you get lost while skiing:
- Be sure someone will report you missing, with your planned itinerary, if you don't check in by a certain time. Before dark!
- Have these few things always in your ski jacket or pants:
- Lighter for fire starting.
- Whistle to attract searchers.
- Small mirror for signaling aircraft.
- Emergency food (such as energy bars).
- Wool stocking cap.
- First aid items in small ziplock bag.
- Pocketknife.
- As soon as you don't know where you are, stop and go back the way you came. Do not assume there is a ski lift or road down there somewhere! Don't keep on going down.
- If you can't go back up for any reason, look for a place you can get shelter from wind and possibly build a fire for warmth and as a signal to searchers. Blow your whistle. Three blasts signal need for help.
- Make some kind of large marker in the snow that can be seen from the air. Three of anything is the signal for distress. Stamp out a big arrow in the direction of your travel in case you must leave this location. Remember that searchers look for clues, not people. They will either be following your itinerary or your tracks.
- Don't eat a lot of snow. The body heat it takes to melt the snow will drive you closer to hypothermia, which is your single-greatest danger. Keep your head covered well.
- If a search aircraft comes nearby, you will be most visible by moving around or even lying on the ground and making snow angels. People standing still are very difficult to see. Use bright colors to be more visible.
- Build a shelter utilizing the available resources, such as branches, rotten logs, rock outcrops, snow. Try to stay dry and out of any wind. Snow caves may be dangerous if you are in a CO2 release area. Click Here for a real life survival story.
- Be calm. Your best resource is your ability to think clearly.
- Should you or your partner become injured, stop any bleeding with direct pressure. Use good judgment on whether to leave an injured partner and go for help. Seriously-injured people may require a constant companion. If you do go for help, make your partner as comfortable as possible, and be certain of the way out and of your partner's location. If you are alone and injured, and unable to continue, stay where you are and let help come to you.