Cold-Weather Survival Firemaking Challenge
This is something I do with my students in my winter survival classes and quite frequently in my backyard when the snow is coming down. It is -1 degrees today in Flagstaff so it seemed like a good time to practice. It's one thing to start a survival fire under controlled conditions during a camping trip or when your body is in good shape but quite another when you are dealing with hypothermia and the reduced motor-skills that accompany it.
1. Place your hands in the snow for 2 minutes then 2) grab your different firemaking tools and try to ignite your tinder. Simple as that. 99% of the time the spark rod is my tool of choice as it requires gross motor skills unlike a lighter or matches and works when wet. Good luck trying to get a lighter going when you're all thumbs. Tinder is in the top pics. For my friends in Phoenix, get a bowl of ice cubes!
