This was Seeley Lake pilot Dan Woods' first winter survival course. He has been flying primarily in Florida since the early 1970s and started flying helicopters about 10 years ago. While Woods learned many tips for surviving a crash in the winter he also overcame his fear of spending the night in the snow and cold with the help of the other pilots and trainers.
Sven Yariv, of Germany, and Simantov Merget, of Israel, traveled from Redmond, Wash. for the training. Merget has taken the survival course twice, seven years ago and three years ago. They are using a manual chainsaw that Merget purchased after it was recommended in a previous courses. "It is a lot of work but it is amazing," said Yariv.
Instructors took advantage of Saturday's sunshine to let the group practice using their signal mirrors.
Jacob Schneller is in the Marine Corps and is currently studying in the Rocky Mountain College Aviation Program. He enjoys expanding his knowledge and being outdoors. He was ready for a night of winter camping in his spacious snow hut complete with candles and a small fire. "You never know what you can learn," said Schneller.
Lawrence Morrisroe (right), pilot from Dillon, Mont. and member of Beaverhead Search and Rescue said he knows how hard it is to find people. This course helped him understand how to make himself found. He was also fired up about building a fire and boiling water without matches with his partner Derrick Olheiser (left) of Helena. They learned various survival items to carry including zip ties that have multiple uses. Morrisroe built a quinzee by first piling branches, covering the branches with snow and then pulling the branches out. Olheiser hung a tarp and fortified it with snow around it. Olheiser said he would do the quinzee if it was cold or windy but felt with the temperatures only dipping into the teens Saturday night, that his tarp was sufficient. "Everyone in Montana is a backcountry pilot, whether you are in a big plane or not," said Morrisroe. "That is why people come from other states because only Montana puts stuff like this together."
Ibel Darkenwald and her father Dustin from north of Huston, Texas made an igloo/tarp house with snow walls. They quickly learned they needed to put supports under the tarp to keep the snow from sliding.
Nicholas McBride from Rocky Mountain College Aviation Program used the fuselage available during the training because he felt it would keep him out of the elements. While he recognized the training that the metal would absorb the cold and act like a refrigerator, he thought it would keep him out of the elements. While he made it through the night, McBride agreed it would not have been the best option had temperatures been colder.
SEELEY LAKE – Pilots train hard for a potential emergency landing. However, having the knowledge to survive after landing the aircraft in mountainous terrain during the winter season is a whole different skill set. More than 20 individuals learned and practiced their survival skills at the Surratt Memorial Winter Survival Course held in Seeley Lake Jan. 24-26. While everyone recalled different parts of the training stood out, the focus was clear - the best chance for survival in an emergency winter situation is to be prepared, with both knowledge and gear.
The Montana Department of Transportation, Aeronautics Division hosted the winter survival training. Instructors Rod Alne, Special Forces Survival Instructor and owner, and retired Army instructor Jim Collins from The Peak, Inc. led the classroom and field exercises.
"This is so important because of where we live and where they fly," said Alne. "Everybody goes out camping but not everyone goes in the wintertime - it is a different story. You [need to] have some basic skills on how to live in this environment and take care of yourself and your equipment."
Friday night, 28 participants from Montana, Washington and Texas including 11 students from Rocky Mountain College Aviation had a classroom session. They discussed emergency medical procedures and techniques for signaling, building a fire and making a survival shelter. "Those are the core of keeping you warm, dry and have the ability to be found," said Matt Lindberg, safety and education bureau chief with Montana Aeronautics Division. Lindberg said they focus on triple redundancy having three ways to signal and three ways to start a fire readily available.
Signals include personal locater becons, SPOTs, GPS, Strobe lights, flares, signal fires, signal mirrors, whistles, smoke generators, stomping out words or geometric shapes in the snow that are large enough and with enough contrast to be seen from the air.
"Anything that is a geometric shape sticks out in nature," said Lindbergh. "Search pilots will be more prone to pick out those unnatural disturbances in the terrain and will help locate you."
Other signal tips highlighted by participants included: wearing bright clothing and stand out in the open if an aircraft flies overhead; shine a cell phone light and leave a cell phone in regular mode so it can ping the satellites to help rescuers triangulate your location; use a different color of glow sticks than green since the green glow sticks can not be seen with infrared goggles.
When trying to get a fire started, charred cloth and Vaseline on cotton balls are easy to prepare ahead and carry that will quickly ignite a fire even in the rain. Since lighters don't often work, having flint or a magnesium strip to get a fire going are recommended for one of the three fire starters.
The course taught how to build shelters with what they have with them combined with the natural elements to stay insulated against the cold, wet and wind.
On Saturday, 22 of the participants learned techniques and practiced signaling and building a fire without matches. They put their new knowledge and skills to the test by spending the night in their self-created survival shelter independent of fire.
"There is a difference between surviving in comfort and surviving without heat," said Lindberg. "That is the focus of this. If you can't get a fire going, at least you can build a shelter."
They could only use the equipment they brought with them, what they can physically do or what they feel would keep them the warmest. The instructors critiqued along the way to ensure no one would freeze and they have safe structures. Everyone spent the night out and Sunday morning they critiqued and reviewed their experience.
Lindberg explained while not always available, a survivor of a plane crash would assume building a shelter using the plane's wreckage would be a good option. However using it as the sole shelter in the winter is colder than other options because the metal absorbs the cold and creates a refrigerator. Building a shelter with at least 18 inch of snow insulation will be much warmer. While warmer, a draw back of snow caves or quinzees are they are not always visible from the air. They also create a sound barrier so if rescuers are trying to contact the lost using a gun, whistle or aircraft are flying overhead.
Sunday morning the group assessed their structures and shared what they learned. Lindberg said everyone but two people made it through the night. Those that just used a tarp for shelter got a little chilly.
The big lesson from this course since temperatures were in the low 40's Saturday was how to stay dry. This included managing sweat, making sure clothing was dried on at the fire and bringing an extra pair of clothing especially socks.
The Winter Survival Course is offered in western Montana once a year in January as staffing and funding allows. Thanks to House Bill 661, there was a change in how fuel tax and aircraft registration fees are assessed and applied. This allowed the Aeronautics Division to offer the course after a two-year hiatus. Lindberg was grateful for the opportunity to offer the training in Seeley Lake with the support of the local Seeley-Swan Search and Rescue.
"Thank you to the Seeley Lake community for allowing us to come up here, for having the airfield, the area to do the field exercise, the Search and Rescue building and the restaurants and the lodging in town," said Morrisroe echoing Lindberg's praise. "It's perfect."
For more classes offer by the Aeronautics Division visit https://www.mdt.mt.gov/mdt/organization/aeronautics.shtml
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