March 17, 2021
Today, we returned to CSS for the first time after finishing our quarantine and got right back into the swing of survival training on our own campus. We started by having small groups build fires before moving onto shelters. Without the ability to cut down trees, we were not able to make lean-to shelters and instead strung up paracord between two posts and used blankets we had with us to create a wind barrier. In an actual survival situation, this shelter would not have been effective because it was not waterproof. Surprisingly quickly, we found that we had used all of the firewood we had been given for the day and were forced to get creative with finding low hanging sticks and using that to sustain our fire. Next, we all gathered together to continue our discussion on the book Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales, learning more about the role of preparedness, experience, emotion and luck in survival situations. Our group concluded that the ability to adapt to one’s environment, keeping a positive attitude and using your knowledge of the environment are all crucial skills that we will continue to use throughout the rest of ECS and in the future whenever we go into the backcountry. Throughout the rest of the day, we continued to review all of the skills we learned and began practicing creating traps to catch rabbits and squirrels with just a rock, two support sticks, paracord and a trigger stick. Throughout the rest of the ECS, we will all continue to use all of the skills we have learned as we go into the backcountry to learn more about avalanche danger and safety.
