"SURVIVAL" an Overused Term
BY ALBAN CAMBE
In recent years, the term "survival" has been used rather carelessly. This word is indeed used in very different contexts: TV shows, video games, guides, and courses... So we ask the question: what is survival after all?
SURVIVAL AND BUSHCRAFT, WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES?
For several years now, we have seen on the small screen a multitude of people, more or less experienced and well-intentioned, trying to teach us the basic gestures necessary for survival. Despite everything, this type of show does not aim for pedagogy and altruism: it is rather a relentless quest for ratings, sometimes even beyond our borders. We are therefore witnessing a parade of increasingly crazy antics: from "tasting" urine to stunts where safety accessories are discreetly hidden or even cut in editing.
But this type of show has the merit of attracting many curious people, from budding adventurers to lovers of the great outdoors, to the world of "Survival." But under this term actually hides a set of knowledge and skills that should allow everyone to face an unexpected event that could result in immediate vital distress. Thus, one survives a disaster (a plane crash, a terrorist attack) or manages to extricate oneself from an extremely complex situation (lost in the middle of a forest without means of communication, trapped under rubble following an earthquake). In summary, we will talk about survival when we are really "in it"... and up to our necks! But another term has appeared. Like the tail of a comet behind the "survival" phenomenon, the discipline of "Bushcraft" has emerged, which can be seen as the simple application of life-saving gestures in a leisure context.
To illustrate the importance of context in these falsified representations, let's take two examples of very similar scenarios:
1 – January: you are on a solo multi-day hike. The program: discovering the vast mountainous areas in France. Around a small rugged path, you fall into an icy stream. The ice breaks under the impact, and you are soaked. And the temperature is around 0°C. With considerable effort, you manage to get back to the bank. Problem: you start to lose feeling in your fingers, you shiver, and you enter hypothermia. You take out your camping gear, but your matches got wet, and your lighter refuses to light... You remember you have a firesteel, or you try to light a fire by friction. For your survival, in the literal sense of the text, you will need to remember and perform precise gestures (undressing, lighting a fire). These gestures will determine whether you will make it. Or if we will have to wait for the good weather and the passage of other hikers to repatriate you to your family...
2 - January: you are on a solo multi-day hike. The program: discovering the vast mountainous areas in France. Around a small rugged path, you spot an icy stream. It's a great spot for a picnic, even if it's around 0°C. To offer yourself a comforting cup of tea, you want to light a fire. Fortunately, you had spotted some dead birches and dried-out pine branches upstream. So why not have some fun with your firesteel? On the way, you collect ivy. It could help you make a fire by friction. Take the opportunity to test your dexterity.
In this second situation, the same knowledge, the same gestures, the same skills are put to the test, with one major difference: there is no vital urgency. In this case, we will then talk about "Bushcraft," which could be literally translated as "bushcraftsmanship."
In context, survival is therefore a situation where the person will take the necessary measures to escape death. So it's serious, and we will avoid voluntarily finding ourselves in this type of situation. Practicing gestures and techniques outside of dangerous conditions will thus be considered a leisure activity: Bushcraft. Courses labeled "survival" will thus be oriented towards methods that could (the conditional is important) get you out of a bad situation, but even if they push us out of our comfort zone, these immersion stays in the green will never (except for irresponsible instructors) place us in a context of vital distress.
THE LIMITS OF THE HUMAN BODY
So, you want to survive? Do you know your limits well? Discovering survival is also discovering oneself and learning to know oneself. Without personalized study (which everyone is free to experiment on themselves), we can state the average limits for an average human. These principles were stated by Ron Hood, a pioneer in the democratization of these skills, who grouped them under "the rule of three." A human cannot survive on average more than:
3 seconds without vigilance: an accident can happen so quickly! Try driving at 150 kilometers per hour and close your eyes for just 3 seconds... Try it in a video game rather than in real life. In the natural environment, there is no shortage of pitfalls: a branch in the eye, a falling tree, a precipice...
3 minutes without oxygen: even though apnea records easily exceed ten minutes, without a continuous supply of this gas contained in the air, our body and, a fortiori, our brain, suffers. This also illustrates the urgent need for cardiopulmonary resuscitation during cardiac arrest to continue oxygenating the nerve centers.
3 hours without protection: whether it's against the cold, rain, or even scorching sun, we won't survive more than a few hours without means to protect ourselves from the elements. In our latitudes, we will be more concerned with low temperatures and humidity, hence the need to know how to build a shelter and light a fire.
3 days without water: water is a fundamental component of life on earth, it allows metabolic reactions and the molecular and mineral balance in our internal environment. I see you coming with the famous question "can you drink your urine?" I won't answer you and invite you to test it yourself.
3 weeks without food: those lovely bulges accumulated after the holidays have a very specific function, adipose tissue stores energy. Depending on the body type, this duration can be extended or shortened. As a last resort, the body attacks its muscle reserves to survive, and there will then be only "skin and bones" left.
3 months without social contact: any viewer who has watched Tom Hanks' monologue with a football named Wilson in the movie "Cast Away" will already understand the psychological importance of dialogue and human contact. Without external stimulation, morale is low. Reason can fade and leave the individual to sink into despair or madness, putting their life at risk.
Attention: what about hygiene?
If Hood initially proposed a maximum duration of 3 months without hygiene, common sense and experience quickly downgraded this task to a daily position. Washing has a stabilizing value for psychological balance in a survival situation, a reassuring daily routine in a way. But without bathing carefully, one can simply observe oneself from all angles to ensure that no unwanted visitor has slipped under our clothes. In our regions, ticks are among the most recurrent (and most annoying) invaders; these creatures can inoculate many bacteria, including the one responsible for Lyme disease. Without going to this extreme, the author has experienced several times the need to eliminate them as quickly as possible, as a minor infection can quickly turn into a disabling whitlow (which will have every opportunity to worsen later) or cause a limb to swell. In a survival situation, imagine trying to manage with a foot, arm, or hand swollen like a Michelin man!
THE SENSE OF PRIORITIES
The day your life is really in danger, it is likely that you will not be able to recall most of the skills you calmly acquired during your weekends. To get out of a bad situation, a simple and intellectually undemanding system must be able to come to our aid. The members of the Special Air Service (SAS, British special forces) have thus developed an easy-to-remember acronym that allows recalling all the tasks necessary for survival. We will then say that you must always have a P.L.A.N!
P for Protection: by prioritizing all first-aid medical concerns, protection encompasses all measures to take to avoid the most immediate dangers. If by miracle you survived a plane crash, you will need to ensure your physical integrity (and treat yourself if the environment allows), move away from the aircraft wreckage that threatens to explode, build a shelter against the weather, and possibly a fire to keep warm. It is important to prioritize the tasks to be performed based on the context: I will not stitch myself up in a burning plane, I will not light a fire while my companion is bleeding out.
L for Location: an anglicism to define the different ways to signal for help. In principle, some of these measures will be taken simultaneously with Protection by building a conspicuous shelter with colorful debris, lighting a fire visible from afar, writing a message contrasting with the environment. The goal is to make oneself as visible as possible to search teams. Before learning Morse code (obsolete nowadays), check if your mobile phone still works, a simple call can save lives!
A for Acquisition: referring to the rule of 3, water is the first resource you will absolutely need to seek. If the impromptu stay prolongs, food will become necessary, and a considerable amount of knowledge on edible resources (plants, animals, hunting, and trapping...) will be required. But some will also point out that it is necessary to collect as many useful materials as possible even if they won't end up in your stomach: fire starters, natural fibers for cordage, stones to shape into cutting tools, etc...
[caption id="attachment_12401" align="aligncenter" width="683"]
Knowing useful, edible, and medicinal resources is at the heart of Bushcraft[/caption]
N for Navigation: the rescue teams have not come yet, and you start to feel very lonely in your corner. You will need to think about migrating. Navigation encompasses all the disciplines of orientation and movement in a hostile environment. Whether you have a compass in hand or know the stars and plants indicating the North, you will also have to travel through unknown lands to hope to reach some form of civilization. This journey may require you to engage in climbing, rafting, or simply having enough endurance to walk hundreds of kilometers with very meager resources.
CONCLUSION
Thus, "Survival" is a gateway to exploring skills and knowledge grouped under "Bushcraft." The latter is practiced as a leisure activity, even if one can certainly seek to challenge oneself in hostile conditions (with the necessary safety nets). Every practitioner must learn to know the limits of their own body, but also the measures to take in case of a chaotic situation. Different philosophies animate the followers of "Survival," some are always ready and see their subsistence as a daily task (survivalists); others go at it hard, equipped with their sometimes substantial camping gear, even if it means neglecting the surrounding natural resources (following the commando model); finally, some engage in total deprivation and seek to meet all their needs with materials available in nature (so-called "primitive" Bushcraft). Everyone will see things their own way, let's just be aware that this sum of techniques and principles is inherited from immemorial times when our prehistoric ancestors fought daily to, literally, survive. Without them, none of us would be on this earth, so let's seek to honor them with a humble and reasoned practice of this ancestral art. Thank you to them.
