Survival is difficult everywhere, but in severe cold environments that difficulty increases. 

In this article, I’m going to share three extreme cold survival strategies with you so if you are ever in a situation like this, you can give yourself the best chances of getting out alive.

Starting a fire will aid you a lot in fighting the cold weather, and the good news is, it is not necessarily harder to build a fire in extreme cold.

It's more challenging when it's rainy and/or windy, but if it's just really cold without those other elements, it shouldn't be too much more difficult than starting a fire in any other conditions.

If the ground is wet or has snow, it is a good idea to make a layer of dryness.

So instead of building your fire directly on the ground, get some dry wood or rocks and put that on the ground first. Then just construct your fire on top of this dry layer as per normal.

Another great way to stay warm is to dress using the layer system.

A basic layer system starts with a thermal as your base layer. 

On top of that you put a middle layer to trap heat, such as an icebreaker or a fleece. 

Finally, you have your outer protective layer to stop wind and rain from penetrating, such as a gortex jacket.

But what if you find yourself lost in the woods without all these layers?

It may have been a nice day when you started your hike, so you didn’t feel the need for your fleece, but as night falls it may start to get cold. 

As a good survivor, you can improvise. For example, gather a bunch of foliage, such as dry leaves, and shove them between the layers you do have to keep you warm. 

My last tip for cold weather survival is to construct a shelter. If you do this well, it will trap heat and keep all the elements off you at the same time. 

The type of shelter you will construct is highly dependent on your location. If you were in the Arctic, you may construct an igloo or perhaps a snow trench for something less permanent. Do what the natives did. They survived for millenia so follow their example. 

If you know you will be entering extreme cold weather, it is a good idea to put together a winter weather survival kit. Failing that, keep with a survival mindset to give you the best chance of getting out alive.

Other things you can do to keep your body temperature up is to eat, because your body requires more energy to keep you warm. 

The most important thing is to avoid hypothermia since once it sets in, it can be very dangerous. Keep moving, keep your energy up, and hopefully, you'll be rescued before things get too bad.

If you want to learn more about cold weather survival or survival in general, check out ‘Evasive Wilderness Survival Techniques’ here: https://www.survivalfitnessplan.com/evasive-wilderness-survival-techniques

Safe Training :)

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