College Student found stuck in her snowbound car for nine Days. "She's very lucky,"

[Sonny]

student they discovered Wednesday stuck in her snowbound car for nine days ...

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45758570/ns/us_news-life/

Weinberg disappeared less than a week after an elderly New Mexico couple took a wrong turn and got stranded on a remote forest road in eastern Arizona. They survived two winter storms over five days before the woman collapsed and died as they tried to hike to safety.

Near-zero temperatures
Weather forecasters and authorities said her survival was remarkable, given the more than 2 feet of snow in the area and temperatures that dipped to near-zero some of the nights. Blair said Weinberg had a cellphone but the battery was dead.



! Oh Yeah! In case you hadn't figured it out,, She Stayed with Her Car!!

[Glockd]

Here, for your amusal, is another example of dumbass. Lets go for a drive, alone, in the winter, when its snowing, down a road we a completely unfamiliar with, carrying zero in the way of emergency gear, to include a simple fxxkin car charger for my fxxkin cellphone. I hate people like this. Just once, I'd like the story to read "authorities found him/her well prepared, with ample food and water, and state that other than a broken X that rendered the vehicle undriveable, he/she was in no danger".

I have a friend that used to fly cross country in a single engine T-34B that he rented from the Aero Club at Nellis AFB. He wore on each flight, even local joyrides, a complete survival vest with food, water, an emergency radio, pencil flares, a combination smoke/flare, emergency blanket, etc. etc. He also carried a parachute.

I never doubted that if he ever went down, rescurers would find him sitting next to a fire, under a lean-to, smoking a cigar and working on a nice pot of rabbit stew.

[Sonny]

But Glock, Can't you assign at least partial credit for her staying with her car instead of going on a walkabout?

I thought that was the only reason they found her at all.

at some point I'd have set the spare tire on fire..

[Glockd]

Yeah, she did good with that. Given her lack of preparedness though, it is just as likely that the decision to do so had little to do with smarts and more to do with "too cold to get out". Dumb luck.

[Sonny]

I agree, hence I put "She's very lucky," in the title..

definitely not our GI Jane..

[jane333]

Originally Posted by Sonny

....at some point I'd have set the spare tire on fire..

It would make a great signal fire.

[sandyd]

What did she have with her that she would have known to use to set the spare tire on fire with?

Yep, girls is LUCKY....luck plays a really big role in things...even survival.

[drummagick]

My daughter spent a winter driving to Portland, OR and back. My worst nightmare was her sliding off the road and not being found for a few days. This is what I packed in her car everytime she left.

Polypro long underwear, wool sweater, fleece pants, wool socks, snow boots, fleece gloves and snowboarding mittens, insulated watchcap, warm scarf

candy bars, granola bars, beef jerky, nuts, juice and water

flares for starting a fire or signalling, lightsticks, 2 flashlights, a small LED lantern and extra batteries. A few presto log type things

sleeping bag, wool army blanket, pillow, a bright red fleece sleeping bag liner that in a pinch, could be heaved up onto the road to maybe catch someones eye

roll of hot pink flagging tape, tie onto antenna if she was stuck in a snowbank by the side of the road in a blizzard to show people there was something there.

I'm sure there was more but I can't remember it. Her boyfriend in Portland used to make so much fun of her.

If the kids go on trips in the summer I load them up too. Some years ago a woman went off the road in the middle of summer and was in such a place she couldn't get out of the car. IIRC she wasn't found for over a week and almost died of kidney failure because she didn't have water with her and couldn't get out of the car.

eta: a couple rolls of toilet paper and a book. Something to read for those long hauls stuck in the car over an embankment.
a roll of paper towels and some plastic grocery bags for a 'potty' if necessary

[rryan]

Good for you Drum....that extra stuff not only can save your ass but it sure makes a few days stuck a lot more pleasant.

Biggest problem we have is keeping enough water in the winter since it freezes solid.

[ltow]

No matter what anyone says, flip-flops don't make very good snow shoes.

But they do keep you by the car!


(BTW - I am not saying she was wearing flip-flops.)