It's All About The Cold.

In surviving a cold weather environment, it comes down to your preparedness and ability to cope with some key factors. These include: temperature, wind and humity (this trio is responsible for a lot of misery and can easily team up to cause your demise). Calories used and replaced is another problem, in the cold, food precurment is more difficult (many cold environments have a great deal less foraging opportunities). In the cold, your body uses a lot of calories to stay warm, if not replaced you are in trouble quickly. A third factor many don't consider is hydration. Without it all functions of the body suffer, including heat distribution throughout the body. The circunstances that have you out in the cold will determine your level of gear, but not necessarily your level of preparedness. Forethought and learning how to work with what nature provides, like wind breaks to reduce the chilling effect of the wind. Using a heat reflector to get the most you can from your fire. Having the correct clothes, in multiple layers to stay dry. Tools to collect sufficient wood to stay warm, cook food and create safe water are all essential. Knowing the local animals and how to trap or hunt them is important too, this will give you a renewable source of energy. Learn what plants provide valuable minerals and vitamins, where to find them and good ways to prepare them. Nature can provide for your needs if you take the time to educate yourself to her ways. As a species we survived with only what nature provided and our ingenuity.

 

How difficult is long distance travel in these conditions without vehicles mordern or primitive?

 

That depends on a few things, like how far, the weather and the terrain. To be honest, I do work out in the cold weather, I used to work outdoors for 10-14 hour days. The temperature is relatively easy to adjust to with the correct clothes and mindset. If you were to be attempting to move a lot of supplies, or travel angreat distance, it would test you - physically and mentally, but it can be done. Use of sleds to haul larger loads, snow shoes or cross country skis make it much easier as well. But compared to the modern conveniences we are so used to, it would take a major adjustment in planning and execution.
Prairie Dog

 

I was actually about to post a thread similar to this, asking for advice about survival in snowy conditions. We are moving in the next few months because of my husband's career and we will be somewhere that has brutal winters - which we are not used to at all. I appreciate the tips - there's a lot that we are going to have to adjust for in terms of survival, our emergency preparedness supplies and so forth. As they say though, knowledge is power...so the more I can learn in advance, the better!