Winter outdoor emergencies: cold water, getting lost in snow, whiteouts, and staying warm until rescue¶

Winter outdoors is beautiful and unforgiving. A fall through lake ice, a sudden whiteout on a ridge, a sledding crash on an icy slope or a wrong turn at dusk can become life threatening within an hour, because cold takes away strength, judgment and heat all at once. Most people who survive winter emergencies do three things well: they stop and think before they act, they protect themselves from cold and wind, and they make it easy for rescuers to find them.

This guide covers cold water immersion, getting lost in snow, hiking in a whiteout, sledding and skiing accidents, building a shelter and signaling, staying warm until rescue arrives, and the preparation that makes all of this easier. It builds on wilderness hypothermia and cold, caindo no gelo e lost while hiking or camping.

Faça isso agora¶

1. Stop moving if you are lost, disoriented or in a whiteout. Do not keep walking in the hope of finding the way. Sit on your pack or an insulating layer, out of the wind.
2. Call your local emergency number (911 in the United States and Canada, 112 across the European Union, 999 in the United Kingdom) if you have a signal, or send a message with a satellite messenger or personal locator beacon. Text messages sometimes go through when voice calls do not. See números de emergência para outros países.
3. Put on every dry layer you have, including a hat, gloves and a windproof shell. Get out of the wind and off the snow, and insulate yourself from the ground.
4. If you have fallen into cold water, follow the steps in the cold water section below: control your breathing, keep your head above the surface, and get out and warm as fast as you can.
5. Eat and drink something warm and sweet if you have it. Your body burns food to make heat.
6. Make yourself easy to find: stay in one place, use a whistle, put bright items in the open, and keep your phone warm and switched to low power mode.

Cold water immersion¶

Cold water kills in stages, and the first stage is not hypothermia. The sudden shock of cold water causes an involuntary gasp and fast breathing, which can lead to drowning in the first minute. The widely taught "1-10-1" rule from Canadian water safety groups gives a good picture of how events unfold in water around 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) or colder.

Times vary with water temperature, clothing, body size and fitness, so treat them as a guide and not a guarantee. People have survived much longer in cold water, and others have died in less. A lifejacket greatly improves your chances, because it keeps you afloat when your muscles stop working.

If you fall through ice¶

1. Do not panic. Expect the gasp reflex, and control your breathing by staying calm for the first minute.
2. Turn toward the direction you came from, since that ice held you before.
3. Place your forearms on the unbroken ice and kick your legs to bring your body flat to the surface.
4. Kick as if swimming, and drag yourself out onto the ice with your arms, then roll away from the hole. Do not stand up until you are well away from the broken area.
5. Crawl or roll back to shore along the path you came from.
6. Get to shelter and start warming up, even if you feel fine, because cold continues to drain your body heat.

For ice safety, rescue techniques and ice thickness guidance, read caindo no gelo. Ice thickness is never certain. Many agencies advise at least 10 centimeters (4 inches) of clear, hard ice for walking, but rivers, springs, currents and snow cover can make ice weak in places, so check with local authorities and avoid ice you do not know.

If you cannot get out¶

Stay still in the HELP position (Heat Escape Lessening Posture) if you have a lifejacket: hold your knees to your chest and your arms tight against your sides. This keeps heat in the core. If you are with others, huddle together. Do not swim long distances, because swimming speeds heat loss. Swim only if a boat, shore or a floating object is close.

Rescuing someone else¶

Do not run onto the ice. Call your local emergency number first. Then, if it is safe, reach with a long object such as a ladder, branch or rope from solid ground, or throw a rope, ring buoy or something that floats. Keep yourself low and spread out on the ice if you must go on it, with something to spread your weight. Many rescuers become victims, so do not put yourself at risk.

After you are out of the water¶

1. Get out of the wind and into shelter, a car, a building or a tent.
2. Remove wet clothing, which takes heat from your body, and replace it with dry layers. If you have no dry clothes, wring out wet items and wrap yourself in a blanket, space blanket or sleeping bag.
3. Wrap the body, head and neck, and insulate from the ground.
4. Give warm, sweet drinks if the person is awake and can swallow. Avoid alcohol and caffeine.
5. Handle the person gently. Rough movement can trigger heart rhythm problems in a very cold person.
6. Call your local emergency number for anyone who has been immersed, even if they seem fine. Water in the lungs and a falling temperature can show up later.

For full steps, see hipotermia e congelamento. If the person is unresponsive and not breathing normally, start CPR and continue until help arrives. Cold victims can recover after a long time without a pulse, so do not stop early. See RCP.

Snowmobiles, ATVs and vehicles on ice¶

Vehicles break through ice far more easily than people. If you ride or drive on frozen lakes, check ice thickness and conditions locally, wear a flotation suit, carry ice picks around your neck, and avoid riding at night. For what to do after a breakthrough, see snowmobile or ATV broken through lake ice. For boats and open water in winter, read boating capsizing and cold water survival.

Getting lost in snow¶

Snow hides trails, flattens landmarks and covers footprints, and short winter days leave little time to correct a mistake. Cold and tiredness also reduce clear thinking. The aim is to avoid making things worse.

Use the STOP method¶

• Stop. Do not take another step. Sit down, drink, eat and breathe.
• Think. Where did you last know your position? How long ago? How much daylight, food, water and clothing do you have? Who knows your plan?
• Observe. Look at the weather, terrain, wind and your battery. Check your map, GPS and phone. Note any shelter nearby.
• Plan. Decide whether to stay or go, and what to do first. If in doubt, stay put.

Stay or go¶

Most search and rescue teams advise lost people to stay in one place unless they are in danger or know exactly how to reach safety. A stationary person is easier to find and uses less energy. Move only if:

• You know with certainty where the nearest safe place is, and you can reach it in good time and safe conditions.
• Your current spot is unsafe, for example in an avalanche path, under a cornice, on thin ice or in a flood zone.
• You have to move a short distance to reach shelter from wind or to find an open area for signaling.

If you move, mark your route with sticks, rocks or brightly colored items so you can return, and leave a note if you are leaving a vehicle. Follow your own tracks back when you can see them. Do not follow a stream or a ridge unless you know where it leads, and avoid steep slopes and cornices in poor visibility.

If you have phone coverage¶

Call or text your local emergency number, give your location in detail, and say that you are lost in snow. Share your coordinates if your phone can show them, and keep the phone close to your body so it stays warm, because batteries die fast in cold. Send brief messages instead of making long calls. Turn the screen brightness down, close other apps and use airplane mode between messages if you want to save power. In some countries you can send an emergency text. If you carry a personal locator beacon or satellite messenger, activate it and keep it in the open with a clear view of the sky.

Whiteout and poor visibility¶

A whiteout occurs when blowing or falling snow and flat light remove depth and contrast. People lose their sense of up and down, and they walk in circles or off a drop.

O que fazer¶

1. Stop at once if you cannot see your feet, the horizon or the person ahead. Do not move toward a place you cannot see.
2. Stay together. Rope up or stay within touch of the group if conditions are severe, and count heads often.
3. Put on layers and a face covering. Take shelter from the wind behind a rock, a tree or a trench in the snow.
4. Use your map, compass and GPS to check where you are, and do not trust your sense of direction in a whiteout. People walk in curves without realizing it.
5. If you must move, choose a safe line, move slowly, and probe the ground ahead with a pole or ski pole. Avoid slopes, edges and open water.
6. Follow your tracks back if they are still visible and the route is safe, or wait for a break in the weather.
7. Do not leave the group or send one person ahead to scout alone.

For driving in blizzards and blowing snow, read ground blizzard, blowing snow whiteout and shelter rope tether lines. If you are in a car, stay with the vehicle, and see avaria do carro.

Snow blindness¶

Bright snow can burn the eyes within hours, even on cloudy days. Wear sunglasses or goggles with full UV protection. If vision blurs and eyes feel gritty, cover them with a damp cloth and rest in the dark. See snow blindness.

Sledding and skiing accidents¶

Sledding, skiing and snowboarding cause thousands of injuries every winter, most from falls and collisions. Head injuries and spinal injuries are the most serious. Children and beginners are at higher risk, and sledding on roads, near trees or on icy slopes is especially dangerous.

Preventing injuries¶

• Use um capacete projetado para esportes de neve ao esquiar, praticar snowboard ou andar de trenó. Os capacetes de bicicleta não cobrem os mesmos impactos.
• Sente-se ou deite-se com os pés primeiro nos trenós e evite cair de cabeça.
• Choose slopes with a clear, gentle run out and no trees, rocks, fences, roads, water, or parked cars.
• Avoid icy or crowded hills and do not sled at night without light.
• Keep a safe distance from others and look before you start.
• Do not tow sleds behind vehicles.
• Match the activity to your skill, and take lessons.
• Check conditions and any avalanche warnings in the mountains. If you plan to leave marked trails, carry the right training and gear, and travel with trained companions.

After a crash¶

1. Stop and check the scene. Make sure that you and the injured person are out of the path of others, and mark the spot by crossing skis or sleds uphill of the person.
2. Call for help from ski patrol or your local emergency number. Give the exact location.
3. Do not move anyone with possible head, neck, or back injury. Keep the person still and warm, and support the head in the position found. See lesões na coluna.
4. Check breathing and begin CPR if the person is unresponsive and not breathing normally.
5. Control bleeding with firm pressure, and treat for shock by keeping the person warm and lying down.
6. Insulate the person from the snow with a pack, a coat or a sleeping pad, and cover their head and neck.
7. Watch the person for signs of head injury, such as confusion, vomiting, drowsiness or worsening headache. See ferimentos na cabeça.
8. Treat broken bones by splinting in the position found when you must wait a long time. See ossos quebrados e entorses.

For more on slope injuries and what to do, see skiing, snowboarding and slope accidents. For the particular danger of falling headfirst into snow around trees, read tree well immersion and deep snow suffocation.

Avalanche terrain¶

Avalanches kill people who travel in steep backcountry terrain without training. If you leave controlled areas, check the local avalanche forecast, take a course, and carry a transceiver, probe and shovel, and know how to use them. If a companion is buried, switch to search mode and begin the search at once, since survival chances drop rapidly in the first 15 minutes. This guide does not replace avalanche training.

Shelter and staying warm until rescue¶

When rescue will not come for hours, shelter becomes your first priority. It stops wind, keeps you dry and reduces heat loss. Do this before you are exhausted, and before dark.

Choose a location¶

• Pick a spot out of the wind, away from avalanche slopes, cornices, cliffs, flood zones, and dead or heavy laden trees.
• Look for natural windbreaks such as a large rock, dense evergreen trees, a hollow or a drift. Avoid tree wells, which are dangerous pits around trunks.
• Stay visible if you want to be found, for example at the edge of an open area rather than deep in the woods.

Build a quick shelter¶

1. Insulate from the ground first. Snow and cold ground take heat faster than air. Sit or lie on your pack, foam pad, spare clothes, a layer of evergreen branches or any dry material.
2. Make a windbreak. Use your tent, a tarp, a space blanket or a wall of snow blocks. Even a simple wall helps.
3. Dig a snow trench. In deep snow, dig a trench slightly longer than your body, cover it with a tarp or branches, and pile snow on top. Leave a vent.
4. Build a snow cave only if you have training. It takes hours and wet clothing, and you must keep a ventilation hole open and the entrance below the sleeping platform. Do not seal yourself in.
5. Use um saco de acampamento ou cobertor de emergência. Um saco de acampamento mantém o vento e a umidade afastados. Um cobertor espacial reflete um pouco de calor, mas funciona melhor dentro de uma bolsa ou sob uma jaqueta.
6. Compartilhe o calor. Sente-se perto dos outros, de costas um para o outro ou lado a lado, com a pessoa menor no meio.

Fique aquecido¶

• Camadas de desgaste: uma base absorvente, uma camada intermediária isolante e uma concha à prova de vento e à prova d'água. A lã e os tecidos sintéticos permanecem quentes quando úmidos, enquanto o algodão não.
• Mantenha a cabeça, pescoço, mãos e pés cobertos. Calce meias secas e mantenha as botas soltas para que a circulação não fique bloqueada.
• Evite suar. Tire uma camada antes de começar a trabalhar duro e coloque-a de volta quando parar.
• Coma pequenos lanches com frequência, especialmente gorduras e açúcares. Beba líquidos quentes sempre que possível e beba água mesmo que não esteja com sede.
• Não coma neve quando estiver com frio. Reduz a temperatura corporal. Derreta-o primeiro em um recipiente usando um fogão, ou sob a roupa em uma garrafa fechada, se não tiver fogão.
• Evite álcool e tabaco. O álcool dilata os vasos sanguíneos e acelera a perda de calor.
• Mova os braços e as pernas e tensione os músculos em rajadas curtas para gerar calor. Não faça exercícios até a exaustão.
• Mantenha seco. Limpe a neve e seque as luvas ou meias perto do corpo.
• Use bolsas térmicas dentro das roupas perto do núcleo, não diretamente contra a pele.

Fogo¶

Se você tiver isqueiro, fósforos e material seco, o fogo dá calor, um sinal e um impulso moral. Construa-o em uma plataforma de troncos verdes ou pedras sobre a neve, mantenha-o pequeno e protegido e mantenha-o longe de seu abrigo e de galhos de árvores que deixam cair neve. Nunca acenda fogo dentro de uma caverna de neve fechada sem ventilação e nunca use um fogão dentro de uma barraca fechada. Veja monóxido de carbono.

Sinalização para resgate¶

A regra de três é o padrão internacional de socorro: três apitos, três gritos, três disparos ou três clarões. Use-o e ouça uma resposta, que pode ser dois sinais.

Reconhecendo lesões causadas pelo frio¶

Verifique você e seus companheiros com frequência. O frio prejudica o julgamento, então uma pessoa sonolenta ou confusa pode não saber que está com problemas.

Veja hipotermia e congelamento e wilderness hypothermia and cold for treatment steps. Do not rub frostbitten skin, do not use direct heat, and do not let a frostbitten foot thaw if you must walk on it and risk refreezing.

Decision flow when something goes wrong outdoors¶

flowchart TD
    A["Winter emergency outdoors"] --> B{"In water or on broken ice?"}
    B -->|"Sim"| C["Control breathing, float, kick to the ice edge<br/>and get out then warm up"]
    B -->|"Não"| D{"Injured or unable to walk?"}
    D -->|"Sim"| E["Call for help, insulate the person<br/>and keep them still"]
    D -->|"Não"| F{"Lost or in a whiteout?"}
    F -->|"Sim"| G["Stop, think, observe and plan<br/>stay put unless unsafe"]
    F -->|"Não"| H["Check weather and daylight<br/>and head back early"]
    C --> I["Shelter, dry layers, warm drinks"]
    E --> I
    G --> I
    I --> J["Signal with a whistle, light and bright gear"]
    J --> K["Conserve energy and heat<br/>and wait for rescue"]

Preparing before you go¶

The best winter emergency is the one that never happens. Preparation costs little and makes everything above easier.

Plan and tell someone¶

• Check the weather forecast, avalanche bulletin, ice reports and daylight hours. Turn back when conditions change.
• Leave a trip plan with someone reliable: route, group size, vehicle description, expected return time and what to do if you are late.
• Travel with others where possible, and keep the group together.
• Choose routes that match the least experienced person's ability.
• Start early, set a turn around time and keep to it.

Carry the essentials¶

• Map, compass and a charged GPS or phone with offline maps. See offline smartphone survival if you want a phone based option.
• Extra insulating layers, a hat, gloves, and a waterproof shell
• Emergency shelter, such as a bivy sack or large heavy duty bag, and a foam pad
• Headlamp with spare batteries
• Whistle, mirror and a personal locator beacon or satellite messenger for remote areas
• Food and a hot drink in an insulated bottle, with more than you expect to need
• Fire starters, a lighter and waterproof matches
• First aid kit with a space blanket and heat packs. See first aid kit.
• Knife or multitool, and repair items
• Sun protection and goggles
• Ice picks or rescue spikes if you travel on frozen water

Keep spare batteries and your phone inside a warm pocket. Lithium batteries last longer in cold than alkaline cells. Store essentials in a pack that you carry, and not in the car.

Match gear to the trip¶

For vehicle travel, keep a winter kit in the car. See vehicle winter blizzard survival kit e kit de emergência para carro. For going out on foot, a day pack with the items above takes only a few minutes to prepare.

Checklist before a winter outing¶

• I checked weather, ice and avalanche information.
• Someone has my plan and return time.
• I carry map, compass and a charged phone, plus a power bank.
• I have extra layers, hat, gloves, and a shell, plus an emergency shelter.
• I have food, a hot drink, a whistle and a headlamp.
• I have a lighter and fire starters.
• I wear a helmet for snow sports, and ice picks if I will cross ice.
• I know how to treat hypothermia and frostbite.

Perguntas frequentes¶

What should I do first if I fall into freezing water?¶

Keep calm and control your breathing for the first minute, because cold shock causes gasping that can lead to drowning. Keep your head above water, turn toward where you came from, place your arms on the ice and kick to pull yourself flat onto the surface, then roll away from the hole. Get warm quickly and call your local emergency number even if you feel fine.

Should I stay put or keep walking if I am lost in snow?¶

Stay put in most cases, since a person who stays in one place is easier to find and loses less energy and heat. Move only if you know for certain where safety is, if your position is dangerous, or to get out of the wind. Make a shelter, insulate yourself from the ground, and signal with a whistle, bright items and your phone.

How do I stay warm until rescuers arrive?¶

Put on dry layers, cover your head, hands and feet, insulate from the snow, and get out of the wind. Eat small snacks often and drink warm fluids, avoid sweating and alcohol, and huddle with others if you can. Keep moving your arms and legs in short bursts, and keep your phone warm so that it works.

What are the warning signs of a serious sledding or skiing injury?¶

Treat any head strike with loss of consciousness, confusion, vomiting, severe headache, neck or back pain, numbness or weakness, or a bent limb as serious. Keep the person still and warm and call ski patrol or your local emergency number. Do not move someone with a possible spinal injury unless they are in immediate danger.

Fontes verificadas¶

This guide was checked against the National Weather Service (United States) winter weather and wind chill pages, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (United States) guidance on hypothermia and frostbite, the National Park Service (United States) winter safety advice, the American Red Cross winter safety and first aid pages, the Canadian Red Cross and the Lifesaving Society of Canada cold water guidance, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (United Kingdom) cold water shock advice, the National Health Service (United Kingdom) hypothermia page, the Met Office (United Kingdom) winter weather advice, Mountain Rescue England and Wales guidance on lost and stranded walkers, and Health Canada winter safety pages. Where agencies differ on times or distances, the more cautious figures are used.

Aprenda primeiros socorros¶

A hands-on first aid course gives you the practice that makes a real difference in the cold, when fingers are numb and thinking is slow. The Red Cross, St John Ambulance and local providers teach wilderness first aid, CPR and hypothermia care. Take a course before winter and bring a friend.

Guias relacionados¶

• Hipotermia e frio na região selvagem
• Caindo no gelo
• Perdido durante uma caminhada ou acampamento
• Hipotermia e congelamento
• Skiing, snowboarding and slope accidents