backcountry survival courses?

[llloyd]

Anyone know of backcountry survival courses in vancouver? or bear safety for that matter. I know silvercore offers the bear safety but no dates listed.

I've been reading Outdoor Safety and Survival in BC's Backcountry and the author seems to really recommend it. I've certainly never regretted any first aid, avalanche safety etc courses I've done in the past.

[knockturnal]

If you have an iPod touch or iPhone, check out an app called SAS survival. If you don't have eaither, well, you are SOL

[leatherlungs]

Great app. Thanks for the info and it's on sale right now as well.

[MB_Boy]

If you have an iPod touch or iPhone, check out an app called SAS survival. If you don't have eaither, well, you are SOL

Ya....no iPhone.....no survival in the backcountry! :razz:

For bear safety it recommends throwing your iPhone at the bear and running for your life. :wink: No iPhone.....then the bear is surely to eat you.

[llloyd]

are you extra safe then with an iPad? no survival kit complete without one!

[srupp]

I used to teach outdoor survival and survival first aid..even got called in to teach courses in High schools....was apretty good course,,

watched Survivorman take 15 NHL athletes into the wilderness for 24 hours..made em make a couple decisions along the way..pretty scarey some of the decisions..and for only 24 hours..lol

Not sure where a course is in vancouver..

steven

[knockturnal]

Haha. It's a good app to have just to read when you are bored. For instance, I just learned how to poision a water hole so the fish die. The poision is only effective on cold blooded animals though.

[northof49]

Anyone know of backcountry survival courses in vancouver? or bear safety for that matter. I know silvercore offers the bear safety but no dates listed.

I've been reading Outdoor Safety and Survival in BC's Backcountry and the author seems to really recommend it. I've certainly never regretted any first aid, avalanche safety etc courses I've done in the past.
Hunt with a buddy...cuts your odds by 50%. Even better odds if you trip him while running away!:mrgreen:

[jhausner]

Hunt with a buddy...cuts your odds by 50%. Even better odds if you trip him while running away!:mrgreen:

Like I always like to say with my buddies, you only have to be the second slowest when running with friends from a bear. :mrgreen:

When in doubt, use your bear spray on your friends and run.

j/k of course. :) As for wilderness survival, http://www.themountainschool.com/hiking-survival.html has some training courses. Not sure as to how good they are but really you have to think what do you need to know in BC for survival.

Typically it comes down to:

1. Shelter building techniques
2. Water purification and gathering techniques (so you don't get sick)
3. Starting a fire in all weather conditions (hyper/hypothermia provention techniques)
4. Gathering food (hunting, trapping, bug gathering, book of BC plant identification)
5. Bush first aid
6. Mountaineering and navigation techniques

That's about it. The rest is experience. I'd really suggest not relying on a course specifically but gathering a few friends and going out for some practice camps. Do the following:

1. Get a few friends together that want to camp and learn with you
2. Head out into the bush (crown land, non-park land) and set up camp at a location
3. Get some basic survival supplies together and hike out 2km or so away from your camp and set up a survival camp site
4. See how long you can last with minimal supplies at that survival camp site and slowly over time start exclusing things like a rifle/shotgun, matches/lighter, etc., until you're comfortable with your self sufficiency

The friends help get over the solitude issue so you can focus on technique. The main base camp 2km away is far enough that you can't just run over a hill to safety but close enough that in an emergency, you aren't completely cut off from everything in a real survival situation. And the crown land vs non-park land because most BC parks have very strict rules which makes 'survival' situations difficult without breaking the law which we all don't want to do. :cool:

[sawmill]

Hey JH you forgot the most important thing........
Learn to enjoy the taste of bugs.Lots of protien.:mrgreen:

[Ltbullken]

Everything I learned about back country survival came from watching Survivorman and Mantracker. All you need to know, look no further!! It sure is a bitch though carrying all that camera equipment around though!! :icon_frow

[jhausner]

Hey JH you forgot the most important thing........
Learn to enjoy the taste of bugs.Lots of protien.:mrgreen:

And no short supply. Once you eat a few the rest get easier and easier. I still think finding food in BC is pretty easy, and water is not that difficult either if you're smart. I always try to hunt and camp in areas not hugely far from water sources just in case.

[llloyd]

So I was talking about bear safety and camping with a friend and he was saying that you should be hanging your backpacks from a tree at night. I've always thought you just hang your food / stinkies but the pack itself can remain in camp. Theres $20 a stake here.

[sparkes3]

if your hanging your food why not your backpack. if there is any odors of food in there the bear will smell it and there goes your pack. i dont personally but if there are lots of bears around its probally a good idea to take all the precautions you can to avoid a encounter with yogi.

[Big Lew]

So I was talking about bear safety and camping with a friend and he was saying that you should be hanging your backpacks from a tree at night. I've always thought you just hang your food / stinkies but the pack itself can remain in camp. Theres $20 a stake here.
It's prudent to take whatever you need for the night from your pack, and then hang it up with your food etc. If a bear, or others,(porky, wolf, coyote, etc.) finds it interesting, they might steal it or rip it into shreds.

[Big Lew]

I used to teach outdoor survival and survival first aid..even got called in to teach courses in High schools....was apretty good course,

watched Survivorman take 15 NHL athletes into the wilderness for 24 hours..made em make a couple decisions along the way..pretty scarey some of the decisions..and for only 24 hours..lol

Not sure where a course is in vancouver..

steven
My Brother and I took survival courses from a guide/outdoorsman 46 years ago, can't remember his name, still remember eating all types of bugs and grubs. I then did as you, lectured at recreation/summer playgrounds, but few, if any, are interested anymore, and I don't know of anyone offering this type of program.

[ytlogger]

Whatever courses or programs you take, make sure you put in lots of time practicing what you learn. If you go out and do the stuff it will stick with you and many things will become second nature. You will find that you become more observant of possible hazards, potential emergency equipment and food sources and so on, before you actually need them. Do your practicing in safe places, at least initially and be sure that you have an 'escape' if you do this. Someone responsible knows where you are, what you are doing, when you will return and who to call if they don't hear from you and make sure you check in with this person when you are done.

You can probably do a lot of book learnin' if you take this approach because you will teach the practical side to yourself, the best way to really learn, I believe. As for bear stuff find a copy of Shelton's Bear Encounter Survival Guide. Read it and put yourself in scenarios where you might have to act to defend. I don't mean go looking for bears to encounter, but you can practice the awareness and avoidance walking through Stanley Park.

Cell and sat phones are a great resource but, can you really rely on them everywhere you might go?