By Michael, on February 27th, 2009 
Extreme cold weather can be one of the most intimidating challenges that anyone can face. If you are caught out in extreme heat you are likely to survive at least for a while as long as you have water. However, if you are caught in extreme cold you can die quite quickly if you are not prepared and you don’t have the proper equipment.
The following four principles will serve you very well if you find yourself trying to survive in a very cold situation…..
Disaster By Nadja Garnet
#1) Keep Yourself Covered – If you do find yourself caught outside in very cold weather, it is important to capture as much of your own body heat as you can. Did you realize that you lose almost half of your body heat from an unprotected head? It is crucial to have your head, neck, wrists, and ankles all covered up in extreme conditions.
#2) Avoid Getting Too Warm – This may sound counter-intuitive, but if you get too warm you will start to sweat. If you sweat, the dampness will decrease the insulation quality of your clothing. In addition, as sweat evaporates, your body cools down and that is not what you need at this point.
#3) Wear Layers – This may sound obvious, but there is more to it than putting on a lot of clothes. Sometimes when people get really cold they want to put on really tight clothing. But this is a mistake. They key is to have lots of loose layers that have air pockets in between them. The air pockets act as insulation and keep you warm. In addition, clothing that is TOO tight can cut off circulation and actually make you colder.
#4) Keep Your Clothing Dry – This can be quite a challenge if you are in a snowy environment. But it is absolutely crucial. The damper your clothing is, the colder you will become. If your clothing does become wet, you need to try to dry it as quickly as possible if you can. In addition, if you have anything waterproof that you can wear, you should wear it on your outer layer so that it will keep the clothing on the inside layers dry.
In addition, one of the main things to remember in a cold weather survival situation is to keep moving and to keep active. If you sit still you will just get colder. Movement will get your blood pumping and your temperature rising.
Of course nobody can survive being out in extreme cold temperatures indefinitely. You will need to think about either getting to a shelter or building one as soon as you can.
