Arctic Survival
Q. Could a man survive 12 daytime hours at -75 below degree weather? -Josh
A. Well, Josh, I am assuming that you heard someone claim to do this, and are skeptical. Right?
The answer is ‘yes’ he could, given a few conditions. Did he have warm clothes? Did he have food and water? Any shelter? Was the wind blowing?
You know if it is minus 40 to minus 50 and the wind is blowing at 30-50 mph, what we call the wind chill, makes it like it was a hundred degrees below zero! The wind does sometime blow like that, in places, in the winter.
When we lived in the bush in the 70’s, it once got 72 below where we were. I remember us arguing about who had to go out and check on the chickens and the geese, feed them and take warm water to them. That was COLD. Brrrr. I got a chill just thinking back on that.
If this man had on insulated underwear (long johns), then warm shirt and pants, couple pair of wool socks; then a parka, warm hat, insulated outer pants such as snow machine pants, and warm, insulated footwear such as Paks, or Bunny boots, or moosehide and fur mukluks, well, yes, I’m sure he could survive even 12 hours outside at that temperature.
An important thing would be some high calorie food in his pockets. The normal man gets by on something around 2,300 calories a day. To be out in that temp for that long, you would need to eat about 6,000 calories to stay safe.
In 1909 Ernest Shackelton and crew tried to reach the south pole. They got within 100 miles which was a feat even of itself. His journals record a day when the temperature was 70 degrees below zero, with a fierce blizzard blowing all day. They survived. So the answer to your question is ‘yes’ (but who would want to try?) I am thankful for my warm house I know that. Take care, and stay warm. -Bonnie J.