People underestimate how hard this shit is. Did a survival and evasion course in 2003 in Finnmark in the North of Norway. It lasted a week and we where chased by dogs for the last 3 days. I lost 9 kilos of weight and probably a few years of my life due to those dogs scaring the shit out of me in the middle of the night. Lastly, snow shoe movement training is key. Those things will do weird shit to your leg muscles unless you train with them regularly.
I use to do SAR in the Rockies it hard being the tracker even when your person wants to be found. Sometimes we’d help with fugitives fleeing as well. It’s physically demanding.
As a Heeresgebirgsführer (Army Mountain Guide) of the 23. Gebirgsjägerbrigade (231. Gebirgsjägerbattalion) of the Bundeswehr i think that even is an Understatement that People underestimate this! The Winter/Harsh Terrain Survival and Evasion Training we did had around 68% fail within the first 5 Days, which of course is not something to be ashamed of. Most failed during the certain "Surprises" the Leadership randomly throws in and which changes everytime which can include a simulated Kidnapping and very Icy Water. Definitely took me a while to recover from all of that I don't know what yours entailed but i'm sure it was similar! Prost & Cheers from the Snow-Covered Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps
Served in the army in northern Norway. I am by no means an expert on evasion (or escape as we called it), but I would love to share a bit about surviving in the cold, especially in terms of clothing. As mentioned in the video, the key is to adjust your layers according to activity level, temperature, wind and precipitation. The best tips I have for winter ops: - Your innermost layer should always be wool. Not only is wool warmer than synthetic materials, but it provides warmth even when wet which makes it far superior to any synthetic material. If you have a high activity level I can not recommend wool thermal netting enough. It transports humidity away from your body, preventing you from getting soaked when marching etc. - We used something called "the chimney principle". Warm air rises, and will bring humidity with it, so ensure air can flow all the way from your legs to your upper torso where you'll need some ventilation so it can exit (wear more spacious clothes, and don't tighten them too much around your waist). If you follow this and use wool thermal netting the difference in humidity is massive. - You'd be surprised how little clothing you really need when maintaining a high activity level, we often used just wool netting and snowcamo when marching in -20 to -30 C (low wind and no precipitation). It's better to be a bit cold while marching, than wearing too much and sweating. But then it's even more important to quickly add more layers as soon as your activity level decreases. - One area that's often overlooked is your face, at -40 and 15 mph winds, windchill will cause frostbite in only 5 minutes, so cover your face well (neck gaiter/balaclava with holes for breathing through plus snow/ski goggles is my best tip). Take a look at a windchill factor chart and you'll realize how important it is in arctic areas. - NEVER touch metal with your bare hands at sub-zero temps, you'll get frostbite almost instantaneously. At the end of the day you have to try and fail a bit to figure out what works for you, we're all different and accustomed to different climates. Stay vigilant and take action quickly, it's much better to be uncomfortable for a couple minutes while changing clothes, than being absolutely miserable in an hour when you're soaked or freezing.
Great info. Fortunately I live in Hawaii. I've only worn shoes maybe 40 minutes in the last 5 years. I don't even have long pants or a coat. I've spent 2 years in the snow. Don't miss it. I find it amazing and kinda reassuring that wool is still the best.
Fantastic info, and thank you for your service. The thermal netting base layers look crazy, but I've seen some interesting reviews about it on hiker forums and TH-cam. It's got the best weight to warmth ratio for any base layer and is growing in popularity in hiking circles, with advocates citing that the clothes have proven their effectiveness with the Norwegians. Thank you for bringing this to the world!
I remember cold weather training in the marines. It was -20 during our hike and i was quiet the whole time just enjoying the views ignoring the suck. After a few hours i tried to talk after someone asked me if i was alright and my lips were frozen! I couldn't talk until about 10 minutes of trying. Good times
Another former Finnish conscript here. -Skis or sliding snowshoes are better and faster than normal snowshoes. -Don't sit on the snow too long or you get a urinary tract infection. -Use Merino wool or mesh baselayer. -Don't use nicotine products or drink alcohol, those increase the risk of frostbite. -Eat a lot, in cold weather body use more energy to produce heat.
I work for a County Sheriff's Department, and we fairly often will be involved in trying to apprehend people that run. The ones that get away are the ones that quickly put as much distance as possible between them and the last known location. Time and distance are the number 1 most important thing when it comes to escape and evasion.
Former wilderness survival instructor and guide from Canada: The cold is the next thing that will kill you or slow you down. In cold conditions, dehydration becomes a significant risk quickly because your body must humidify the cold air as you breathe. When dehydrated, you may experience cognitive impairment "getting dumb", and this state of low blood viscosity increases the likelihood of mistakes that could prove fatal. To stay warm, follow the "5 Bs" (translated from French, so they may not sound as catchy in English): - Bogey (Move): Keep moving to improve circulation. Focus on using large muscle groups, such as your thighs. Exercises like squats are particularly effective. - Beverage (Hydrate): Drink plenty of fluids to maintain high blood viscosity, which helps with the efficient transmission of blood and heat throughout your body. - Bite (Eat): Consume small amounts of food regularly to keep your body burning calories. Avoid large meals, as they can slow you down. Before sleeping, eat something to keep your body's "furnace" burning through the night. - Bodily Needs and Bowels: Retaining fluids or stool in your body forces it to maintain those substances at 37.5°C (98.6°F), wasting energy that could otherwise heat your body. Use the restroom frequently. If you're not urinating often, it's a sign of dehydration. Interestingly, urination is one of the quickest ways to feel warmer instantly. These steps will help maintain your warmth and survive in cold environments.
Very good advice, I'll try guessing the French words: bouger, boite, bouffer, and then the last two are probably besoins and then bowels or some latin-derived cognate
Metal widemouth canteen are a must. You can heat them up on a fire to thaw your contents. You can also fit a knife inside to poke around the water if it starts to freeze. Carry it upside down because they freeze from top to bottom. That way the ice is on the bottom when you flip it over. Awesome video sir.
finnish conscript here! i cant stress it enough. CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES when they get wet. When youre moving, you will sweat no matter what, make sure that when you stop for even a quick break, change your wet socks, shirts etc. Also pro tip: if you put a t-shirt on top of the merinowool baselayer, it collects most of the sweat and your merinowool stays suprisingly dry. Great video man!
People also don't realize it take years to develop what I call "brush legs". It's where you gain muscle memory and balance in the steep and rugged terrain. I live and hunt in the rockys. I guide hunts, and it's always an issue when I take a mid-west or east coast person hunting. They have terrible balance and their legs aren't conditioned for constant up hill and down hill walking and climbing over windfalls. Their knees and ankles often give out. Moral to the story, get those brush legs developed.
Yep. Same as backpack conditioning: You have to get used to moving with a GBFO bergan, especially over rough terrain. If you that untrained, sprains and worse are waiting to happen.
That goes for any level of strenuous exercise lol. If you go too hard, too soon, you'll end up hurt. You always want to build up to the challenge, never try and go from 0% active to 100% effort in one step.
@@GarandThumb Freaking beautiful up there! We just got snow for the first time in years down here in the south and absolutely went out and larped so hard! Posted on IG!
It's a gimmick no magic. Pure polyester first layer works best. Wool can soak in 20% of water by weight. It's just a tiny bit better than cotton in retaining shape and trapped air. It doesnt generate heat. It's an urban legend. The only wool that keeps you warm when wet is the greasy one on a sheep.
As a Canadian soldier we or I anyways tried to tie off my mid section on my smock or jacket, that way it holds or traps heat in zones, permitting me to stuff a water filter, socks, gloves ect. mt. mags in my jacket to dry them out. Multiple wind shields around a sterno can will help provide thermal cover. ( We didn't have drones in my day though ) I stered wood pellets into my sterno gel cans to boost their cold weather potency. - constantly eating on the go also helps keep you warm and energetic. ( M & M's , jerky, Lipton cup-a-soup, and trail mix ) were my favourite. - cliff bars, raisins, and granola bars also work. - chocolate bars in the winter are also fantastic Food is very important.
A simultaneous advantage and disadvantage to be aware of when it’s 0-32F is that falling snow and heavy powder absorb sound and reduce noise signatures. This helps you improve noise discipline, but it also means that OPFOR is harder to hear.
as a 15T (blackhawk mechanic/crewchief) before every deployment we would do a full escape and evade course and it blew my mind how many didn't take it serious. i loved the training and took it very serious. we would start in a shell of a helicopter and have to move over 8-10 miles and evade ground troop patrols convoys and even other helicopters flying over it was so much fun
Hey, former AVIM level 68B here! (Aircraft Powerplant Repairer) I was told they changed the MOS designation since I got out. We did some serious Company level escape and evade training when I was stationed at Fort Carson! We totally embraced the suck and had a blast! I was also on the downed aircraft recovery detail and we had to recover a Blackhawk that went down up in the mountains in chest deep snow, that they decided to also use as a training exercise. Night recovery in hostile conditions. THAT just sucked!
Fun fact: I've gotten away from police dogs for an entire night once, they got as close as 50 meters to me amd my brother, I instinctually started shedding amd throwing articles of clothing in different directions as we were running, it confused the dogs and took up enough of their time to the point where we got away. If dogs are following you, if you have something on you that you can survive without but it smells like you, throw it off of your trail, it will buy you precious moments to evade. Love these videos Mike, please keep them coming. With the world so uncertain right now, we may all need this information someday soon.
I had a buddy escape from dogs once. It was sheer luck, but he was wearing brand new clothes that still smelled strongly like the store he bought them from. When he first ran, he ditched his outer shirt, and that's what the police used to give the dog his scent. The new shirt smelled so little like him that the dog was confused and couldn't really do any tracking effectively. Meanwhile my buddy is only a couple of blocks away, hiding under someone's truck lol.
@theKashConnoisseur yeah I think the dogs got my first scent from my car that was parked on the road, I was hiding in the woods about 50 yards away watching the cop going through my car (my dad gave them permission) and I think I stepped on a branch or something and the cop and dog heard it and the chase was on. There was like 10 cop cars also that were hunting us, we would come out of a wooded area and there would be cop cars everywhere with their blues on and we would just drop down to the ground and lie flat on the side of the road till they passed us. At one point we were laying in a ditch at a 4 way intersection and there were cop cars on 3 of those roads at the intersection, it was an absolute miracle we got away that night, after about 6 hours of that shit
I was a Jager in the Norwegian army. our bodysweath turned into ice inside our sleepingbag after longer periods of time in -25C. And you end up sleeping in a "icebag" We used a jervenduk outside our sleepingbag, to prevent ice from forming inside the sleepingbag. That way the ice forms in the jervenduk insted. Witch is a lot easier to dry
This is the type of content that makes your channel stand way above others. Talk is cheap, real life lessons from an actual military professional are priceless.
I think the white pants with the camo top is a great combo instead of all white (while moving.) Reminds me of the coyote or shark coloring where the tops are darker with the bottom being lighter. Idk if that was mentioned or not but I dig it.
Changing clothes immediately when you can if they are wet is important and lots of people forget to drink in the cold because you dont feel dehydration as much so you need to keep drinking regularly. Something i dont thinks is really going to work for everyone but worked for me is get used to being cold in a safe environment its gonna help you focus when you need it because your mind isnt only thinking about getting warm - Finnish conscript
PLEASE do a desert version!!! the intense heat during the day vs cold nights + dealing with scorpions/snakes/venomous critters have made training in my area somewhat of a living hell. which i think could also be used as an advantage against a pursuing military force
Becomind deadly in the mountians should be a mainstay of this channel, by far and away some of the most informative and well put together videos on the youtubes
Swe here. Have had quite a few "interesting" experiences both in and out of uniform (14+ years). Some of them: * Worst temperature to be in is around +3/-3 C (37 to 27F in EagleFeather Units) ... Everything goes wet and temp is around the freezing point * Rain clothes are a viable option to not get wet from snow/sleet and also if you need to go low to hide/ambush, just remember what keeps water out generally also keeps water in. * Most issued clothing; A lot of cotton/polyester mixes, check your clothing and buy quality, high-wool content base layers * Hiding/ambushing/stationary; Don't stand/sit/lay directly on the snow/ground - pile a bunch of pine branches to lay/stand/sit on. Unless you like your body parts deep-frozen. * Coniferous/Evergreen trees; when on fire can make quite cracking and crackling noises - noise and light discipline is important. * Hats; Your head is a chimney, it is an outlet for a lot of body heat, wear a wool hat to keep that heat. * Body Heat; You're not gay for trying to stay alive, Sometimes you absolutely need to share body heat with a battle buddy. But also - what happens in the forest stays in the forest. ;)
I was stationed in Alaska for 3 years. This was what we did for training constantly. I'm so glad I have that cold weather training under my belt. This brings back memories. Good shit sir!
I can't stress enough how much even light to moderate brush can hide and break up your thermal even from like 50 yards. I was scanning around my yard and saw a deer sitting wide out in the open, once it ran I realized there were 5 more behind just some brush that I wasn't picking up at all. This was winter time so it was all twigs and sticks with no leaves on them.
This is A#1 teaching. I live on the Oregon coast where I can go from dense Rain forest, Barren desert, too Coastal dunes. I really hope you can find the time to make a few more of these instructional videos in other geological specific areas.
Mike you got people bitter as fuck making videos on you when you were special warfare fucking tacp. Unreal, any advice you give I would take heed, it’s unbelievable that people care so much about your personal life that they second guess advice about warfare. Keep it up bro you’re doing something right
I was surprised you changed the snowshoes off, I would think they cover your tracks better because they do not leave deep marks. But in that weather there is no wind to push fluffsnow in them anyways. But yeah, running with snowshoes on...
@@GarandThumb definetly more educational content. Much more needed than some goofy revolver. I myself train since 2022 like crazy, because when you live in europe things might get hard or not but if you are not prepared you are prepared to fail.
One of these Being Dangerous videos where you make contact, and then are actually tracked by another team would be epic. And video from both perspectives.
Having gone through the GWOT as an infantryman, I absolutely love this stuff. This kind of content is an awesome refresher for myself, and can easily be referenced to teach others if you are somewhat well versed in this arena.
This also reminds me of how important it is to train and prep for extreme environments-skills like navigation and firearm proficiency could make all the difference.
@@aaronfox5559 Yeah, temps that low suck ass. I was in ND in -32f temps w/ a 10-15mph wind. Any unprotected skin starts to burn immediately, even your eyeball juice starts freezing, causing rapid blinking and all the hairs in your nose feel like their made from brass. Screw that.
Despite the recent drama surrounding Mr.Thumb here I’m happy to see that he still produces quality content and still educates the masses. Keep up the great work man love your content ❤
Im a marine vet thats spent my whole enlistment in recon and marsoc/msog but even if i didnt spend my 20s in the marines i still knew all of this growing up as a kid always in the wilderness... it blows my mind knowing that a huge percentage of civilians dont know any of this
Honestly man, I’m unprepared as fuck. The least I can due is stay fit and sharp. That can get you far in some apocalyptic situation or war where you’re on the receiving end of a military while being a civilian.
@ the most important thing to remember is that you can start unprepared. You just can’t stay that way. Living is a mindset and a mentality that you can grow and develop over time
@@GarandThumb I always say: "knowledge is the only tool that keeps a fella from becoming one" (that goes for others' subjective perception/optics of you, as it does for the objective reality of possibly being used/manipulated by others).
I evaded a whole va state and county police task force for 18 hrs on new years eve in my early 20s. I buried myself in leaves when i heard them coming on a sxs. 3 swat members drove 15 feet from where i buried myself fairly deep in the woods. I ran parallel to the trails. I neither wanted or got that dui
@@devinadkins4090Born in Morgantown. West Virginia is such a beautiful gem that needs to be rediscovered and rejuvenated. I’m sure you already know. Everyone from WV carries that weight in the back of their mind, the beautiful state with a tragic history. One day I’d like to get some property out there again in those gorgeous mountains! Nothing like it!
In Finnish military we have winter rubber boots that can be used with skis. Combat with skis is really hard but moving with skis is way faster, quieter and easier than with ANY snow shoe you can find. Also having food that you don't need to heat up makes your life much easier.
My experience with drying socks under your belt: Me and a couple of friends were caught by a blizzard in the mountains in Poland, it was a 7-8 hour walk to the shelter with strong wind and wet snow and rain blowing in our faces. We changed woolen socks 2-3 times because they got wet instantly, and i carried my wet pair under the belt like in the video. I was sweaty af from the exertion and probably because of the sweat they wouldnt dry. So i guess its not ideal when you are sweating a lot. Also the area around the belt tends to get quite moist as its pressed against a sweating body. And the third thing is, you may get you underwear/termo layer wet. I guess dont expect too much from this - or maybe its just my experience Cheers, loved the video and the whole series
I hung mine off my backpack, but under it. So it was against my back. Not much moisture, constantly being wrung out too by the weight of my bag. Leads to a stinky bag, but what ya gonna do?
@@stillcantbesilencedevennow seems a good idea - the air circulation should help drying it - if you are moving around for hours in heavy snow, inside of you pants is like a cooking pot. Winter pants usually are not very breathable, and putting additional moisture inside makes it worse, since it has no way to escape
I don't think you get enough credit for these training videos I'm European I love gun content and I wish we had 2nd amendment really jealous that we don't. Thanks to you and everyone in yt who educates people about guns and survival. Keep going GT 💪
I have to comment again and say these videos are great and full of valuable information all for free. I really am grateful to have this knowledge. Thank you for sharjng your expertise. One thing you said about sleeping is very important. I always wonder how a solo survivor could insure their safety whilst sleeping. In a past life, I was a homeless heroin addict and one particular night I found myself without a safe place to stay for the night. I had to sleep outside in an urban setting. I went to a large strip mall and in the rear of the building there are ladders to the roof. I remember spotting one during better times. I climbed that latter and made a sleep roll out of some table linens I borrowed from a the back of a near by fine dining restaurant. I used my backpack as a pillow and crashed out. When I woke up the fog was super thick (I was very near a beach, on the gulf of america) the fog made me wake up choking and my lungs were on fire from all the water vapor I had been breathing all night. Long story short. I am now sober 10 years and very successful in life. If i had to do this again, if possible, i would try to fashion a shelter to keep the elements off my body. I didn't anticipate fog. Goes to show, expect the unexpected. Plan accordingly. To mitigate possible future sufferage 😊
Hi Mike, great content as always - I love those instructive videos, even though there is some overlap with your other episodes (I guess essential / important things need repetition). Some additional tips for you folks: If you have a filled water bottle in your pouches or backpack put it upside down, so if you encounter freezing it will be on the bottom portion of the bottle (top when stored in your pouch) and you can still drink form it. If you have a flask (time stamp around 13:00 min) put it under your warm layer jacket (around your neck with a sling / string) to keep it warm or heat up / melt the additional snow / cold water that is put in. If you have a traditional water filter keep it warm all time, as frozen water within the filter will destroy it / make it unusable or unsafe.
I believe learning to hunt big mature Appalachian whitetail is a skill that transfers to other activities, they are tough to outsmart, I practice yearly.
@@davidtoney3243Yes, I really learned how to hunt deer in the hills of TN when I lived there for 7 years. It's so much more rewarding than flat land hunting sitting in a blind.
If you happen across a terrain obstacle that would require technical mountaineering to access you can evade dogs by throwing a scent article into an area a K9 handler can’t access. Even if they have the gear rigging will eat up time. Piss on a used sock with a rock inside and let it fly.
this is fun stuff. i live in the mt hood national forest on mt hood in oregon. i did over 1000 videos there. tons of survival winter survival videos. shelter videos. snow cave videos. edible foods of the forest videos. combat martail arts.archery. snowshoeing. snowboarding. fishing. mt biking. i knew every inch of my forest. i had survival shelters in the forest. it was my life every day for 15 years after a decade of combat martial arts. and i did firearms videos. and i loved going out in full gear like this. it is so fun. being in nature. in the elements. testing your skills. your gear. and learning more each time out etc. it was my life for a long time.
I live in an arctic russia adjacent nato country and we deal with a bit of cold during the winter. People often dont understand how energy consuming moving in snow is. Also nothing fucks you up faster in cold weather than staying in wet clothing, know a couple people who have lost fingers because of not changing out wet gloves
I saw the value of staying dry in a zipline train the trainer class. We were zipping in snow and it became a blizzard. The only way to “safe” ground was to zip out. We were all showing signs of hypothermia, but one guy was having trouble because his gloves were wet. He needed the gloves to get to ground. I carried a spare set of gloves after that.
Saw a video recently by some Finns and they swear by a mesh base layer. Looks weird as hell but is apparently very effective. Also a compact cushion for sitting in the snow. I've used that myself when going on hikes.
It's amazingly effective! I was out hiking this weekend. It was just a bit below freezing, but all I needed to wear when moving was my mesh base layer and a hardshell jacket with pit zips to help heat escape and minimize sweating. My synthetic insulation jacket only came on when I was sitting down to make myself a cup of coffee and heat up my food I brought with me. A small comfort item I recommend bringing with you is a sitting pad that you hook onto your belt, it doesn't really get in the way of anything and it helps keep your butt warm when not moving. I absolutely swear by my wool mesh base layer!
For waterproofing gloves, I wear nitrile/rubber gloves underneath my regular mechanix gloves. When I work in the rain, it keeps my hands dry, except for the moisture from my hands. But most importantly, they stay very warm and dexterous.
I've also wrapped my socks in plastic wrap to stay dry, but I'm not doing a ton of walking like that. Plastic is insane when it comes to trapping body heat.
Some Canadian troopers also told me they used to tie weighted strips of different lengths of cloth or canvas ( just a few ) that would drag behind the snow shoes to obscure the trail left by them, also the strips of cloth could be treated with pepper spray or something the dogs don't like and may turn them off or overwhelm them.
26:53 people are loud in the woods, but not as loud as it appears on camera (with a mic right on equipment) or to the person moving. A lot of the clutter on the ground and the surrounding trees/foliage act as sound dampening. This doesn’t mean you can afford to be careless, but if you’re trying to be absolutely silent you’re probably going too slow
Winter warfare student and staff, Advanced wither warfare Student and staff, Sov Ops in the Arctic with the Canadian Rangers and OPFOR against NATO forces in Norway. I did a lot of this over 20 years in Canada and if you aren't doing it at least once a year minimum in mid winter you can lose a lot of these skills quickly. The right kit is the everything. Using it properly is the difference between life and death even without an enemy. If you are going to do this be careful and work up to the level of cold you are going to venture out in. I recommend one of those winter camping trips with a civilian outfit the first time you try this. Lets pro guides show you how to do it, then build your own kit from what you learn.
I did winter survival courses when I was in as well. Another thing that wasn’t touched was at the end of evading and it comes night, make sure whatever shelter you make whether it be under the snow or above ground, make sure you have something separating your body from the snow. It may be difficult being chased but what I did was walked about 500 yards away and gathered moss, twigs and pine needles and laid them all around the base of a small snow cave I made to insulate my body heat and not freeze on the snow. It was about -10 to -20 that night and I slept perfectly fine. Also sleep with your water between your legs or under your arms to prevent it freezing because once it freezes then it’s a pain to unfreeze it
Grand you and all the rest of those who make videos like these.. Most thankful. To those who say they can do what they watch. Need to get out and actually try it. Mountain training especially in the late fall or winter months. You are in for a big surprise. Keep on keeping on
as a kid early teens we had a 4 mile x 4 mile field by our house and all we did for years was play in that field, capture the flag using bb guns, the rule was no more than 2 pumps, tracking animals, tracking our friends etc. all of it all year around, those were the best time of my life. one time while tracking a rabbit in the heart of winter, we tracked it a while, it knew we were behind him so as a last ditch on the rabbits part its tracks ended, what it did was, he must have gain some speed and about 12 feet in front of the tracks ending there was the slightest disturbance in the snow, it literally went airborne and dove under the snow and sat there still as could be. he almost got away i never seen that before up to that time.
Phase one, he ran through open ground. In these days, of drones, you're leaving a waist-deep trail through the snow. Especially if it's fresh fall. If your attackers/pursuers know the terrain, they know the game trails. If you're gonna run, stay under tree cover, not through open fields. Friendly advice from a notoriously snowy nation.
In these days of reconnaissance drones with thermal or other forms of IMINT your chances of evasion is close to zero unless you are in vast place where you will be hard to find but at this case you need to survive winter and find people so you won't dye and this is hard as hell in arctic conditions.
it goes without saying that if the OPFOR thinks you are a big enough problem to employ large drones against you, then you aren't really going to get away
Growing up in maine, gotta say how easy it is to track deer and bear in the winter. You don't need distance, you need to back track continuously because snow shows all, even easy to see time frame for tracks in the snow.
Growing up here we kinda know most of this stuff from childhood. That said, with modern military tech we are sitting duck's for the most part. This stuff we mainers know and Mr. Thumb teaches might help one squeeze out a few more hours of life in such situations, but at the end of the day modern military tech is the game winner.
Learning how to wear and use your snowshoes backwards can be very useful as well. Very few people know what to look for when a person wears their snowshoes backwards.
I went through AF SERE school back in Jan/Feb 90 and remember most of the stuff to this day! After my experience I was glad we had snow shoes! Great experience and the SERE instructors were awesome! Great stuff Mike, love the channel!
@@Hazzo88 Depends on a few things, typically the larger older alligators are accustomed to seeing people and will flee unless it's a female and you are in-between it and the baby alligators or it's hungry. The smaller alligators are less accustom to people and don't have that fear just yet. If you're seeing a crocodile avoid it, they're smart, patient and are not afraid of you.
As an upstate Ny'r that hunts in ADK This is just like my backyard. Most people don't know what it takes to survive in this climate. This video is highly necessary. Cold kills.
I'm in the Appalachian mountains. Well the Smoky mountains of East Tennessee. U learn how to walk and keep quiet. We step through the woods different. Learned from a older Cherokee man when I was younger. He was something else in the woods. Showed me a secret ginseng spot also.
SERE, or Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape, is a training program that teaches military personnel, civilians, and contractors how to survive in captivity or while evading capture.
As someone that’s very familiar with dogs… the “track” is not their only means. They will pick up your scent in the air, so pay attention to the wind direction and air currents. Basically, good dogs are gonna find you.
People underestimate how hard this shit is. Did a survival and evasion course in 2003 in Finnmark in the North of Norway. It lasted a week and we where chased by dogs for the last 3 days. I lost 9 kilos of weight and probably a few years of my life due to those dogs scaring the shit out of me in the middle of the night. Lastly, snow shoe movement training is key. Those things will do weird shit to your leg muscles unless you train with them regularly.
This is a gold tier comment
Especially how easy it is to accidentally run into your pursuers or the wrong place.
I use to do SAR in the Rockies it hard being the tracker even when your person wants to be found. Sometimes we’d help with fugitives fleeing as well. It’s physically demanding.
As a Heeresgebirgsführer (Army Mountain Guide) of the 23. Gebirgsjägerbrigade (231. Gebirgsjägerbattalion) of the Bundeswehr i think that even is an Understatement that People underestimate this!
The Winter/Harsh Terrain Survival and Evasion Training we did had around 68% fail within the first 5 Days, which of course is not something to be ashamed of.
Most failed during the certain "Surprises" the Leadership randomly throws in and which changes everytime which can include a simulated Kidnapping and very Icy Water.
Definitely took me a while to recover from all of that
I don't know what yours entailed but i'm sure it was similar!
Prost & Cheers from the Snow-Covered Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps
I did three evasion courses in New masterdoom and won many edals. Its really hard but luckily I am cool n' tough like a real army boy.
Served in the army in northern Norway.
I am by no means an expert on evasion (or escape as we called it), but I would love to share a bit about surviving in the cold, especially in terms of clothing. As mentioned in the video, the key is to adjust your layers according to activity level, temperature, wind and precipitation. The best tips I have for winter ops:
- Your innermost layer should always be wool. Not only is wool warmer than synthetic materials, but it provides warmth even when wet which makes it far superior to any synthetic material. If you have a high activity level I can not recommend wool thermal netting enough. It transports humidity away from your body, preventing you from getting soaked when marching etc.
- We used something called "the chimney principle". Warm air rises, and will bring humidity with it, so ensure air can flow all the way from your legs to your upper torso where you'll need some ventilation so it can exit (wear more spacious clothes, and don't tighten them too much around your waist). If you follow this and use wool thermal netting the difference in humidity is massive.
- You'd be surprised how little clothing you really need when maintaining a high activity level, we often used just wool netting and snowcamo when marching in -20 to -30 C (low wind and no precipitation). It's better to be a bit cold while marching, than wearing too much and sweating. But then it's even more important to quickly add more layers as soon as your activity level decreases.
- One area that's often overlooked is your face, at -40 and 15 mph winds, windchill will cause frostbite in only 5 minutes, so cover your face well (neck gaiter/balaclava with holes for breathing through plus snow/ski goggles is my best tip). Take a look at a windchill factor chart and you'll realize how important it is in arctic areas.
- NEVER touch metal with your bare hands at sub-zero temps, you'll get frostbite almost instantaneously.
At the end of the day you have to try and fail a bit to figure out what works for you, we're all different and accustomed to different climates. Stay vigilant and take action quickly, it's much better to be uncomfortable for a couple minutes while changing clothes, than being absolutely miserable in an hour when you're soaked or freezing.
Thanks for that awesome info!
Great info. Fortunately I live in Hawaii. I've only worn shoes maybe 40 minutes in the last 5 years. I don't even have long pants or a coat.
I've spent 2 years in the snow. Don't miss it.
I find it amazing and kinda reassuring that wool is still the best.
Great stuff man. Thank you
Fantastic info, and thank you for your service.
The thermal netting base layers look crazy, but I've seen some interesting reviews about it on hiker forums and TH-cam. It's got the best weight to warmth ratio for any base layer and is growing in popularity in hiking circles, with advocates citing that the clothes have proven their effectiveness with the Norwegians. Thank you for bringing this to the world!
I remember cold weather training in the marines. It was -20 during our hike and i was quiet the whole time just enjoying the views ignoring the suck. After a few hours i tried to talk after someone asked me if i was alright and my lips were frozen! I couldn't talk until about 10 minutes of trying. Good times
Thank goodness you came back to this content.
The best work he does IMO!
100%
Good stuff here…. Got my popcorn ready!😋
Feels weird tbh. GT and crew were tweakin for a bit. Jumpshots? Really dawg?
Agreed
Another former Finnish conscript here.
-Skis or sliding snowshoes are better and faster than normal snowshoes.
-Don't sit on the snow too long or you get a urinary tract infection.
-Use Merino wool or mesh baselayer.
-Don't use nicotine products or drink alcohol, those increase the risk of frostbite.
-Eat a lot, in cold weather body use more energy to produce heat.
I work for a County Sheriff's Department, and we fairly often will be involved in trying to apprehend people that run.
The ones that get away are the ones that quickly put as much distance as possible between them and the last known location.
Time and distance are the number 1 most important thing when it comes to escape and evasion.
That's straight up truth right there..keep as far from the gvts goons as possible...
This is what veteran run channels need to be doing, knowledge transfer not worrying about drama.
But I want to hear all the Green Berets and Navy SEALS trashing each other like mean girls in high school! 😂😂😂
Prob cause Gthumb has a body count higher than Charlie sheen.
Army navy still mad they was not on cool missions.
If allowed.
@@JohnSanders-p7o Agreed...AFSOF mostly at the tip of the Speer!
I mean I have taken lives,, but GT has definitely created more lives
BECOMING DEADLY IN THE MOUNTAINS IS BACK
Everyone should read First Blood.
What is that about?@@Mr.Bobcat1776
Love this series of vids! Can actually learn something here due to his SERE background.🫡
It’s always the same vid…….
🇺🇲🇺🇲
This is the type of content we want, keep it up!
With out a doubt! Love this shiz right here!
I honestly loved this because it's more training we can put with our on . Thanks
Former wilderness survival instructor and guide from Canada: The cold is the next thing that will kill you or slow you down. In cold conditions, dehydration becomes a significant risk quickly because your body must humidify the cold air as you breathe. When dehydrated, you may experience cognitive impairment "getting dumb", and this state of low blood viscosity increases the likelihood of mistakes that could prove fatal.
To stay warm, follow the "5 Bs" (translated from French, so they may not sound as catchy in English):
- Bogey (Move): Keep moving to improve circulation. Focus on using large muscle groups, such as your thighs. Exercises like squats are particularly effective.
- Beverage (Hydrate): Drink plenty of fluids to maintain high blood viscosity, which helps with the efficient transmission of blood and heat throughout your body.
- Bite (Eat): Consume small amounts of food regularly to keep your body burning calories. Avoid large meals, as they can slow you down. Before sleeping, eat something to keep your body's "furnace" burning through the night.
- Bodily Needs and Bowels: Retaining fluids or stool in your body forces it to maintain those substances at 37.5°C (98.6°F), wasting energy that could otherwise heat your body. Use the restroom frequently. If you're not urinating often, it's a sign of dehydration. Interestingly, urination is one of the quickest ways to feel warmer instantly.
These steps will help maintain your warmth and survive in cold environments.
So dont poo...yeah sure!
Very good advice, I'll try guessing the French words: bouger, boite, bouffer, and then the last two are probably besoins and then bowels or some latin-derived cognate
@ You are right one. Bouger. Boire. Bouffer. Besoins.
@ Specifically say to go to the washroom.
@@bastogne315his instructions were to use the restroom frequently….. reading comprehension…it’s good for you
Metal widemouth canteen are a must. You can heat them up on a fire to thaw your contents. You can also fit a knife inside to poke around the water if it starts to freeze. Carry it upside down because they freeze from top to bottom. That way the ice is on the bottom when you flip it over. Awesome video sir.
A fellow Brent0331 viewer I see
finnish conscript here! i cant stress it enough. CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES when they get wet. When youre moving, you will sweat no matter what, make sure that when you stop for even a quick break, change your wet socks, shirts etc. Also pro tip: if you put a t-shirt on top of the merinowool baselayer, it collects most of the sweat and your merinowool stays suprisingly dry. Great video man!
Thanks for the info on the t-shirt. Does the t-shirt material matter?
Perkele
@@puma51921 it doesnt really matter, we had basic cotton t-shirts in the military and it did the job just fine
Over or under the wool?
Merino wool baselayer as layer 1 and ie cotton t shirt as layer 2 @@xxxlonewolf49
Ahhh.....our beloved American Captain Price.
What kind of name is "Soap"?
That’s why we’ve got to do a collaboration
Captain Thumb
Captain Cost
Flannel Daddy
As a Canadian, this might be useful in the foreseeable future
Grab your SKS and go inna woods ;)
Sorry mate, i want some of that Canadian land :)
You all in Canada should have a long time ago with your government
As an American, we're going towards fascism so you, and the world, should probably be prepared
@@Tango-Mike-Bravonot how democracy works though is it?
People also don't realize it take years to develop what I call "brush legs". It's where you gain muscle memory and balance in the steep and rugged terrain. I live and hunt in the rockys. I guide hunts, and it's always an issue when I take a mid-west or east coast person hunting. They have terrible balance and their legs aren't conditioned for constant up hill and down hill walking and climbing over windfalls. Their knees and ankles often give out. Moral to the story, get those brush legs developed.
Yep. Same as backpack conditioning: You have to get used to moving with a GBFO bergan, especially over rough terrain. If you that untrained, sprains and worse are waiting to happen.
Same with boating and sea legs.
That goes for any level of strenuous exercise lol. If you go too hard, too soon, you'll end up hurt. You always want to build up to the challenge, never try and go from 0% active to 100% effort in one step.
What you also got to consider is that snow eats a lot of noise so if you hear something its closer then you think it is
if you can hear something in the woods in the snow, you can probably see it.
Mike is running around my old stomping grounds. Literally. 4 season wildland firefighter in central Idaho! Love your channel!
lets gooooo
@@GarandThumb Freaking beautiful up there! We just got snow for the first time in years down here in the south and absolutely went out and larped so hard! Posted on IG!
@@tacticutelife I seen your posts.. vids and pics💯
Yep, miss being up around Yellow Pine, Stibnite, Challis, Deadwood, Cascade, Donnelly, McCall.
Good to see you’re back to training videos mate
Always training!
@@GarandThumb I heard you training with my mom last night. What a chad.
@@ArghIsThisHandleTakenwait a minute that’s backwards 🤣
@@GarandThumb tried looking up your old mpx review but seems like TH-cam deleted it.
@@ArghIsThisHandleTakenthat was me, my bad. 😊
Happy to see our Merino wool baselayer in action 🙏🏽 9:04
We love it!
It's a gimmick no magic. Pure polyester first layer works best. Wool can soak in 20% of water by weight. It's just a tiny bit better than cotton in retaining shape and trapped air. It doesnt generate heat. It's an urban legend. The only wool that keeps you warm when wet is the greasy one on a sheep.
As a Canadian soldier we or I anyways tried to tie off my mid section on my smock or jacket, that way it holds or traps heat in zones, permitting me to stuff a water filter, socks, gloves ect. mt. mags in my jacket to dry them out.
Multiple wind shields around a sterno can will help provide thermal cover. ( We didn't have drones in my day though )
I stered wood pellets into my sterno gel cans to boost their cold weather potency.
- constantly eating on the go also helps keep you warm and energetic.
( M & M's , jerky, Lipton cup-a-soup, and trail mix ) were my favourite.
- cliff bars, raisins, and granola bars also work.
- chocolate bars in the winter are also fantastic
Food is very important.
Reese's cups are a goat for this.
I know these videos are long but honestly, I’m always disappointed when they end. I could’ve gone for another seven hours of this today. Top tier tism
A simultaneous advantage and disadvantage to be aware of when it’s 0-32F is that falling snow and heavy powder absorb sound and reduce noise signatures. This helps you improve noise discipline, but it also means that OPFOR is harder to hear.
That's a great point, the winter environment is a constant challenge!
We need a desert training after this too.
yessir!
@GarandThumb Hallelujah
Only Boomers live in the desert
Agreed. I don't have much in the way of snow, but I have tumbleweeds for the whole country.
Get with Admin about that. Dude lives in Arrakis
as a 15T (blackhawk mechanic/crewchief) before every deployment we would do a full escape and evade course and it blew my mind how many didn't take it serious. i loved the training and took it very serious. we would start in a shell of a helicopter and have to move over 8-10 miles and evade ground troop patrols convoys and even other helicopters flying over it was so much fun
Hey, former AVIM level 68B here! (Aircraft Powerplant Repairer) I was told they changed the MOS designation since I got out. We did some serious Company level escape and evade training when I was stationed at Fort Carson! We totally embraced the suck and had a blast! I was also on the downed aircraft recovery detail and we had to recover a Blackhawk that went down up in the mountains in chest deep snow, that they decided to also use as a training exercise. Night recovery in hostile conditions. THAT just sucked!
Probably some undiagnosed 'tism. I love ruck marching and I'm 'high functioning'.
@ a form of therapy my ex used to tell me about SERE and all of the survival rucking he would have to do!
That sounds like a super fun training exercise
You were at Ft. Eustis?
Fun fact: I've gotten away from police dogs for an entire night once, they got as close as 50 meters to me amd my brother, I instinctually started shedding amd throwing articles of clothing in different directions as we were running, it confused the dogs and took up enough of their time to the point where we got away. If dogs are following you, if you have something on you that you can survive without but it smells like you, throw it off of your trail, it will buy you precious moments to evade. Love these videos Mike, please keep them coming. With the world so uncertain right now, we may all need this information someday soon.
I had a buddy escape from dogs once. It was sheer luck, but he was wearing brand new clothes that still smelled strongly like the store he bought them from. When he first ran, he ditched his outer shirt, and that's what the police used to give the dog his scent. The new shirt smelled so little like him that the dog was confused and couldn't really do any tracking effectively. Meanwhile my buddy is only a couple of blocks away, hiding under someone's truck lol.
@theKashConnoisseur wow that's awesome
@theKashConnoisseur yeah I think the dogs got my first scent from my car that was parked on the road, I was hiding in the woods about 50 yards away watching the cop going through my car (my dad gave them permission) and I think I stepped on a branch or something and the cop and dog heard it and the chase was on. There was like 10 cop cars also that were hunting us, we would come out of a wooded area and there would be cop cars everywhere with their blues on and we would just drop down to the ground and lie flat on the side of the road till they passed us. At one point we were laying in a ditch at a 4 way intersection and there were cop cars on 3 of those roads at the intersection, it was an absolute miracle we got away that night, after about 6 hours of that shit
I was a Jager in the Norwegian army. our bodysweath turned into ice inside our sleepingbag after longer periods of time in -25C. And you end up sleeping in a "icebag"
We used a jervenduk outside our sleepingbag, to prevent ice from forming inside the sleepingbag. That way the ice forms in the jervenduk insted. Witch is a lot easier to dry
Yellow snow is the lemon flavor. It'll help you replenish your electrolytes, make sure you grab that when you see it. 14:03
And you better hurry cause electrolytes are what plants crave.
I recognize a fellow Marine when I see one
Remember, others will tell you not to eat the yellow snow, but that's just because they want it for themselves.
the forbidden lemonade.
This is the type of content that makes your channel stand way above others. Talk is cheap, real life lessons from an actual military professional are priceless.
@@lazyman7505 Absolutely… his AFSOF and SERE experience is worth paying attention to… great comment!
In Idaho's frost, a shadow looms wide,
Garand Thumb stands, rifle at his side.
A yeti roars, ice cracks below,
Tactical chad, delivering the blow.
DED
and breeding too
@@williamdai8796😂😂😂
🤣 🫡
Our Father, Lord of LARPing
I think the white pants with the camo top is a great combo instead of all white (while moving.) Reminds me of the coyote or shark coloring where the tops are darker with the bottom being lighter. Idk if that was mentioned or not but I dig it.
Changing clothes immediately when you can if they are wet is important and lots of people forget to drink in the cold because you dont feel dehydration as much so you need to keep drinking regularly. Something i dont thinks is really going to work for everyone but worked for me is get used to being cold in a safe environment its gonna help you focus when you need it because your mind isnt only thinking about getting warm - Finnish conscript
It's the "distribution of color at a distance" that makes the USMC tactic most understood in a frosted environment with sloping vegetation.
You are absolutely correct.
Spent the day on the slopes yesterday, the urge not to larp was extreme.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 man I rolling!!!
I feel you on that... We got a good amount of snow down south...so yea not going to lie, I lapped so hard and posted pics and a vid to instagram!!! 😉
Wear your kit, King
I think you meant to say that the “…urge to LARP was strong.”
The resorts dont like it when i show up with my full kit....
Drones rewrite all tactics and gear, but the basics from before are always good starting points.
PLEASE do a desert version!!! the intense heat during the day vs cold nights + dealing with scorpions/snakes/venomous critters have made training in my area somewhat of a living hell. which i think could also be used as an advantage against a pursuing military force
Not much evading to do with dunes in every direction though
Becomind deadly in the mountians should be a mainstay of this channel, by far and away some of the most informative and well put together videos on the youtubes
Bar none some of the most educational and thought provoking material online. Outstanding
As a Civilian, Thank you for what you do brother.
The GT we love!
Next, make SERE video on open terrain like plain deserts and steppe.
Swe here. Have had quite a few "interesting" experiences both in and out of uniform (14+ years). Some of them:
* Worst temperature to be in is around +3/-3 C (37 to 27F in EagleFeather Units) ... Everything goes wet and temp is around the freezing point
* Rain clothes are a viable option to not get wet from snow/sleet and also if you need to go low to hide/ambush, just remember what keeps water out generally also keeps water in.
* Most issued clothing; A lot of cotton/polyester mixes, check your clothing and buy quality, high-wool content base layers
* Hiding/ambushing/stationary; Don't stand/sit/lay directly on the snow/ground - pile a bunch of pine branches to lay/stand/sit on. Unless you like your body parts deep-frozen.
* Coniferous/Evergreen trees; when on fire can make quite cracking and crackling noises - noise and light discipline is important.
* Hats; Your head is a chimney, it is an outlet for a lot of body heat, wear a wool hat to keep that heat.
* Body Heat; You're not gay for trying to stay alive, Sometimes you absolutely need to share body heat with a battle buddy. But also - what happens in the forest stays in the forest. ;)
I was stationed in Alaska for 3 years. This was what we did for training constantly. I'm so glad I have that cold weather training under my belt. This brings back memories. Good shit sir!
I can't stress enough how much even light to moderate brush can hide and break up your thermal even from like 50 yards. I was scanning around my yard and saw a deer sitting wide out in the open, once it ran I realized there were 5 more behind just some brush that I wasn't picking up at all. This was winter time so it was all twigs and sticks with no leaves on them.
Garand thumb enabling the male fantasy of the red dawn scenario lmao
Wolverines!
"Keeps me warm."
Gen X kids are ready
@@tom.m 😂
Favorite movie of all time as gen z😂, makes me feel super patriotic!
Keep these types of videos coming. This is what your serious viewers want to see. Knowledge transfer is key to a successful life.
This is A#1 teaching. I live on the Oregon coast where I can go from dense Rain forest, Barren desert, too Coastal dunes. I really hope you can find the time to make a few more of these instructional videos in other geological specific areas.
Mike you got people bitter as fuck making videos on you when you were special warfare fucking tacp. Unreal, any advice you give I would take heed, it’s unbelievable that people care so much about your personal life that they second guess advice about warfare. Keep it up bro you’re doing something right
Snow sucks! Hard to keep your tracks hidden. Great stuff here!
We will have to do more snow vids in the future.
I was surprised you changed the snowshoes off, I would think they cover your tracks better because they do not leave deep marks. But in that weather there is no wind to push fluffsnow in them anyways.
But yeah, running with snowshoes on...
@@GarandThumb definetly more educational content. Much more needed than some goofy revolver.
I myself train since 2022 like crazy, because when you live in europe things might get hard or not but if you are not prepared you are prepared to fail.
Yessss deadly in the mountains is back!!! I been waiting for this!
One of these Being Dangerous videos where you make contact, and then are actually tracked by another team would be epic. And video from both perspectives.
Having gone through the GWOT as an infantryman, I absolutely love this stuff. This kind of content is an awesome refresher for myself, and can easily be referenced to teach others if you are somewhat well versed in this arena.
This also reminds me of how important it is to train and prep for extreme environments-skills like navigation and firearm proficiency could make all the difference.
Be careful with face paint in the extreme cold. It can freeze and give you frost bite really quickly on the skin you applied it to
depending on the temperature yes. We were close to 0 F but it's not so much a concern until about -20 F
@@GarandThumbunfortunately that’s a concern for ya boi a few months out of the year :(
I would think you would have bigger problems than face paint in -20 weather but good to know. I would never live someplace that gets below 0
@@aaronfox5559 Yeah, temps that low suck ass. I was in ND in -32f temps w/ a 10-15mph wind. Any unprotected skin starts to burn immediately, even your eyeball juice starts freezing, causing rapid blinking and all the hairs in your nose feel like their made from brass. Screw that.
@@MrManoKihikihi if it's -20 throw on a balaclava, you'll get frostbite with or without paint at that temp.
Despite the recent drama surrounding Mr.Thumb here I’m happy to see that he still produces quality content and still educates the masses.
Keep up the great work man love your content ❤
My wife and girlfriend appreciate you teaching us how to survive
Thank you ❤
😅
😂
homie finally sprung for a second japanese love pillow
😂
Nerd
Im a marine vet thats spent my whole enlistment in recon and marsoc/msog but even if i didnt spend my 20s in the marines i still knew all of this growing up as a kid always in the wilderness... it blows my mind knowing that a huge percentage of civilians dont know any of this
Because we're being conditioned like god-damn animals, both by the system and our private lives. I'm at least trying to keep myself physically adept.
Love that you're mixing it up with the videos. Even though you do a great job with gun reviews. I like seeing the mixture of survival and evasion.
I love watching these videos because people can call me crazy or paranoid and that’s okay, because they’ll call me when the situation arises
Honestly man, I’m unprepared as fuck. The least I can due is stay fit and sharp. That can get you far in some apocalyptic situation or war where you’re on the receiving end of a military while being a civilian.
@ the most important thing to remember is that you can start unprepared. You just can’t stay that way. Living is a mindset and a mentality that you can grow and develop over time
The tips about layering and general survival tips are actually really handy even if you're out on a recreational hike.
I see knowledge as any physical tool, I'd rather have a tool and not need it than need a tool and not have it 🔥🇺🇸
MERICA
And knowledge doesn't weigh your pack down.
@@GarandThumbi was prompted to hit translate on this, and it translated to “PEPPER”. Big tech censorship is back.
@@GarandThumb I always say: "knowledge is the only tool that keeps a fella from becoming one" (that goes for others' subjective perception/optics of you, as it does for the objective reality of possibly being used/manipulated by others).
Well said brother!
I evaded a whole va state and county police task force for 18 hrs on new years eve in my early 20s. I buried myself in leaves when i heard them coming on a sxs. 3 swat members drove 15 feet from where i buried myself fairly deep in the woods. I ran parallel to the trails. I neither wanted or got that dui
Based
thanks for posting your crimes on the internet super smart man
Yes
Rambo, John T.
If they’d had a k9 you’d have a better story because not only would you have gone to jail you’d have gone to the hospital first. 😂
0:11 absolutely beautiful country
That's the mountain west for ya. I absolutely love living in the mountains
@ yes it is, I live in the mountains of WV but there are few places you can see that far, at least where I’m at.
@@devinadkins4090Born in Morgantown. West Virginia is such a beautiful gem that needs to be rediscovered and rejuvenated. I’m sure you already know. Everyone from WV carries that weight in the back of their mind, the beautiful state with a tragic history. One day I’d like to get some property out there again in those gorgeous mountains! Nothing like it!
@@canaanstuart3331it is beautiful, I’m about 1.5 hours sw of Canaan resort. North central wv is my favorite part. Love Seneca rocks area.
In Finnish military we have winter rubber boots that can be used with skis. Combat with skis is really hard but moving with skis is way faster, quieter and easier than with ANY snow shoe you can find.
Also having food that you don't need to heat up makes your life much easier.
My experience with drying socks under your belt:
Me and a couple of friends were caught by a blizzard in the mountains in Poland, it was a 7-8 hour walk to the shelter with strong wind and wet snow and rain blowing in our faces. We changed woolen socks 2-3 times because they got wet instantly, and i carried my wet pair under the belt like in the video. I was sweaty af from the exertion and probably because of the sweat they wouldnt dry. So i guess its not ideal when you are sweating a lot. Also the area around the belt tends to get quite moist as its pressed against a sweating body. And the third thing is, you may get you underwear/termo layer wet. I guess dont expect too much from this - or maybe its just my experience
Cheers, loved the video and the whole series
Insert Les Stroud meme here.
I hung mine off my backpack, but under it. So it was against my back. Not much moisture, constantly being wrung out too by the weight of my bag. Leads to a stinky bag, but what ya gonna do?
Used to put mine or just under the weather layer.
@@stillcantbesilencedevennow seems a good idea - the air circulation should help drying it - if you are moving around for hours in heavy snow, inside of you pants is like a cooking pot. Winter pants usually are not very breathable, and putting additional moisture inside makes it worse, since it has no way to escape
Funny, i just came back from a snowy hike with my brother, we were dueling with fake swords in some bilzzard-y wasteland
epic memories
Que cinematic camera angle's
Fishnet as the first layer is also a good idea in cold areas. Even if it feels like you're going to a drag show
My buddies and I tried this out. RIP to all of them that never made it back. 😢miss ya Tony!
I don't think you get enough credit for these training videos I'm European I love gun content and I wish we had 2nd amendment really jealous that we don't. Thanks to you and everyone in yt who educates people about guns and survival. Keep going GT 💪
Becoming Deadly in the Mountains is by far my favorite series. Invaluable info. Thank you Mike!
When I was hunting in Michigan, I would walk a little then stop and repeat because that is what the deer did.
I'm so glad to see this series make a return
I have to comment again and say these videos are great and full of valuable information all for free. I really am grateful to have this knowledge. Thank you for sharjng your expertise.
One thing you said about sleeping is very important. I always wonder how a solo survivor could insure their safety whilst sleeping.
In a past life, I was a homeless heroin addict and one particular night I found myself without a safe place to stay for the night. I had to sleep outside in an urban setting.
I went to a large strip mall and in the rear of the building there are ladders to the roof. I remember spotting one during better times.
I climbed that latter and made a sleep roll out of some table linens I borrowed from a the back of a near by fine dining restaurant.
I used my backpack as a pillow and crashed out. When I woke up the fog was super thick (I was very near a beach, on the gulf of america) the fog made me wake up choking and my lungs were on fire from all the water vapor I had been breathing all night.
Long story short. I am now sober 10 years and very successful in life.
If i had to do this again, if possible, i would try to fashion a shelter to keep the elements off my body.
I didn't anticipate fog. Goes to show, expect the unexpected. Plan accordingly. To mitigate possible future sufferage 😊
Hi Mike, great content as always - I love those instructive videos, even though there is some overlap with your other episodes (I guess essential / important things need repetition). Some additional tips for you folks: If you have a filled water bottle in your pouches or backpack put it upside down, so if you encounter freezing it will be on the bottom portion of the bottle (top when stored in your pouch) and you can still drink form it. If you have a flask (time stamp around 13:00 min) put it under your warm layer jacket (around your neck with a sling / string) to keep it warm or heat up / melt the additional snow / cold water that is put in. If you have a traditional water filter keep it warm all time, as frozen water within the filter will destroy it / make it unusable or unsafe.
I have lived and hunted in the Appalachian mountains all my life so I've learned to move quietly in the woods. It's a great skill to learn 👌🏽
I believe learning to hunt big mature Appalachian whitetail is a skill that transfers to other activities, they are tough to outsmart, I practice yearly.
@@davidtoney3243Yes, I really learned how to hunt deer in the hills of TN when I lived there for 7 years. It's so much more rewarding than flat land hunting sitting in a blind.
This old Florida boy says it would be hard just living in that environment much less fighting in it much respect guys
If you happen across a terrain obstacle that would require technical mountaineering to access you can evade dogs by throwing a scent article into an area a K9 handler can’t access. Even if they have the gear rigging will eat up time. Piss on a used sock with a rock inside and let it fly.
this is fun stuff. i live in the mt hood national forest on mt hood in oregon. i did over 1000 videos there. tons of survival winter survival videos. shelter videos. snow cave videos. edible foods of the forest videos. combat martail arts.archery. snowshoeing. snowboarding. fishing. mt biking. i knew every inch of my forest. i had survival shelters in the forest. it was my life every day for 15 years after a decade of combat martial arts. and i did firearms videos. and i loved going out in full gear like this. it is so fun. being in nature. in the elements. testing your skills. your gear. and learning more each time out etc. it was my life for a long time.
This is the best group of topics, the becoming deadly ethos is truly valuable
I live in an arctic russia adjacent nato country and we deal with a bit of cold during the winter. People often dont understand how energy consuming moving in snow is. Also nothing fucks you up faster in cold weather than staying in wet clothing, know a couple people who have lost fingers because of not changing out wet gloves
big facts. Gotten frostbite before. It sucks.
I saw the value of staying dry in a zipline train the trainer class. We were zipping in snow and it became a blizzard. The only way to “safe” ground was to zip out. We were all showing signs of hypothermia, but one guy was having trouble because his gloves were wet. He needed the gloves to get to ground. I carried a spare set of gloves after that.
Saw a video recently by some Finns and they swear by a mesh base layer. Looks weird as hell but is apparently very effective. Also a compact cushion for sitting in the snow. I've used that myself when going on hikes.
It's amazingly effective! I was out hiking this weekend. It was just a bit below freezing, but all I needed to wear when moving was my mesh base layer and a hardshell jacket with pit zips to help heat escape and minimize sweating. My synthetic insulation jacket only came on when I was sitting down to make myself a cup of coffee and heat up my food I brought with me. A small comfort item I recommend bringing with you is a sitting pad that you hook onto your belt, it doesn't really get in the way of anything and it helps keep your butt warm when not moving. I absolutely swear by my wool mesh base layer!
You've hit another level of entertainment with this serious. absolute gold mind of information and viewing pleasure.
For waterproofing gloves, I wear nitrile/rubber gloves underneath my regular mechanix gloves. When I work in the rain, it keeps my hands dry, except for the moisture from my hands. But most importantly, they stay very warm and dexterous.
I've also wrapped my socks in plastic wrap to stay dry, but I'm not doing a ton of walking like that. Plastic is insane when it comes to trapping body heat.
Some Canadian troopers also told me they used to tie weighted strips of different lengths of cloth or canvas ( just a few ) that would drag behind the snow shoes to obscure the trail left by them, also the strips of cloth could be treated with pepper spray or something the dogs don't like and may turn them off or overwhelm them.
The people spoke, the flannel answered.
hahahaha this 💀💀
26:53 people are loud in the woods, but not as loud as it appears on camera (with a mic right on equipment) or to the person moving. A lot of the clutter on the ground and the surrounding trees/foliage act as sound dampening. This doesn’t mean you can afford to be careless, but if you’re trying to be absolutely silent you’re probably going too slow
Winter warfare student and staff, Advanced wither warfare Student and staff, Sov Ops in the Arctic with the Canadian Rangers and OPFOR against NATO forces in Norway. I did a lot of this over 20 years in Canada and if you aren't doing it at least once a year minimum in mid winter you can lose a lot of these skills quickly. The right kit is the everything. Using it properly is the difference between life and death even without an enemy. If you are going to do this be careful and work up to the level of cold you are going to venture out in. I recommend one of those winter camping trips with a civilian outfit the first time you try this. Lets pro guides show you how to do it, then build your own kit from what you learn.
Mike, you're pretty much the tutorial instructor and we're the player. This is a vibe.
I did winter survival courses when I was in as well. Another thing that wasn’t touched was at the end of evading and it comes night, make sure whatever shelter you make whether it be under the snow or above ground, make sure you have something separating your body from the snow. It may be difficult being chased but what I did was walked about 500 yards away and gathered moss, twigs and pine needles and laid them all around the base of a small snow cave I made to insulate my body heat and not freeze on the snow. It was about -10 to -20 that night and I slept perfectly fine. Also sleep with your water between your legs or under your arms to prevent it freezing because once it freezes then it’s a pain to unfreeze it
Grand you and all the rest of those who make videos like these..
Most thankful.
To those who say they can do what they watch. Need to get out and actually try it.
Mountain training especially in the late fall or winter months.
You are in for a big surprise.
Keep on keeping on
as a kid early teens we had a 4 mile x 4 mile field by our house and all we did for years was play in that field, capture the flag using bb guns, the rule was no more than 2 pumps, tracking animals, tracking our friends etc. all of it all year around, those were the best time of my life. one time while tracking a rabbit in the heart of winter, we tracked it a while, it knew we were behind him so as a last ditch on the rabbits part its tracks ended, what it did was, he must have gain some speed and about 12 feet in front of the tracks ending there was the slightest disturbance in the snow, it literally went airborne and dove under the snow and sat there still as could be. he almost got away i never seen that before up to that time.
Phase one, he ran through open ground. In these days, of drones, you're leaving a waist-deep trail through the snow. Especially if it's fresh fall. If your attackers/pursuers know the terrain, they know the game trails. If you're gonna run, stay under tree cover, not through open fields. Friendly advice from a notoriously snowy nation.
In these days of reconnaissance drones with thermal or other forms of IMINT your chances of evasion is close to zero unless you are in vast place where you will be hard to find but at this case you need to survive winter and find people so you won't dye and this is hard as hell in arctic conditions.
it goes without saying that if the OPFOR thinks you are a big enough problem to employ large drones against you, then you aren't really going to get away
Growing up in maine, gotta say how easy it is to track deer and bear in the winter. You don't need distance, you need to back track continuously because snow shows all, even easy to see time frame for tracks in the snow.
I found another Mainer
Growing up here we kinda know most of this stuff from childhood.
That said, with modern military tech we are sitting duck's for the most part. This stuff we mainers know and Mr. Thumb teaches might help one squeeze out a few more hours of life in such situations, but at the end of the day modern military tech is the game winner.
I'm glad he got the message about the need for these videos
Yes, YES! Another 'Becoming Deadly in the Mountains' episode! I LOVE this series!
This may not get the most views (for now), but it is by far flannel daddy's most valuable content.
The most challenging training experience I ever had was at the MWTC in Bridgeport, CA. Fucking Dog Bone still has a piece of my soul
Learning how to wear and use your snowshoes backwards can be very useful as well. Very few people know what to look for when a person wears their snowshoes backwards.
I went through AF SERE school back in Jan/Feb 90 and remember most of the stuff to this day! After my experience I was glad we had snow shoes! Great experience and the SERE instructors were awesome! Great stuff Mike, love the channel!
Amazing cinematic intro as always. That text transition when he walks across is gold!
I grew up "playing" in the deepest swamps of Florida. I'm very at home there and they are my go to if I ever need.
I play alot of golf so I am not scared of alligators (crocs are more mean) but how do you deal with them? Do they typically leave you alone?
@@Hazzo88 Depends on a few things, typically the larger older alligators are accustomed to seeing people and will flee unless it's a female and you are in-between it and the baby alligators or it's hungry. The smaller alligators are less accustom to people and don't have that fear just yet.
If you're seeing a crocodile avoid it, they're smart, patient and are not afraid of you.
As an upstate Ny'r that hunts in ADK This is just like my backyard. Most people don't know what it takes to survive in this climate. This video is highly necessary. Cold kills.
The swamps are no joke. I use to live in the thicket down here in Texas.
This ole Florida boy am good in tropical but Mike is talking about its cool just 0 degrees heck i have jacket on in 65 degree weather lmbo
I'm in the Appalachian mountains. Well the Smoky mountains of East Tennessee. U learn how to walk and keep quiet. We step through the woods different. Learned from a older Cherokee man when I was younger. He was something else in the woods. Showed me a secret ginseng spot also.
SERE, or Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape, is a training program that teaches military personnel, civilians, and contractors how to survive in captivity or while evading capture.
As someone that’s very familiar with dogs… the “track” is not their only means. They will pick up your scent in the air, so pay attention to the wind direction and air currents. Basically, good dogs are gonna find you.