This weekend we’re running our Winter Survival Weekend Course at the folk school in New Hampshire. It’s a short course designed to teach the fundamentals of living in the winter woods. We’ve been running it for more than a decade, and I think that it has provided a basic skill set to a lot of people over the years.
As usual, if we’re running a course, there’s likely to be a severe weather event, and this weekend won’t disappoint. There’s a wind chill advisory for tomorrow morning (20 mile per hour winds and static air temperatures below zero F), but with gradual warming until Sunday afternoon, when it will be just above freezing and a half inch of rain is forecast. An odd mix of weather, but it will give us a variety of temperatures to work with, which is better for learning than a weekend of nice weather.
My approach to teaching this course has been the same for a long time. We start with information, move to skill acquisition, and finally use the information and skills in a scenario. The focus is on what you need to know, what you need to do, and what you need to carry. Specific skills covered include fire building, knife use, axe use, improvised shelters and physiological needs of the body.
The course has been full for a few weeks, but if you’re reading this and want to jump on board at the last minute, shoot me an email as we can make room for one more. If you’d like to listen in the survival lecture, check out our Principles Of Wilderness Survival podcast.
