People probably recognize his face more than his name.
Posted on 02/23/2002 9:31:19 AM PST by UnsinkableMollyBrown
IDAHO FALLS — Olympic wrestling champion Rulon Gardner was listed in fair condition Saturday after surviving a frigid night in Wyoming's backcountry. 2000 gold medalist Rulon Gardner spent Thursday night in Wyoming backcountry.
Family members acknowledged that Gardner was being treated for frostbite but declined to say if his feet were affected. It was unclear how long he would remain in the hospital.
Temperatures Thursday night dipped to 20 degrees below zero in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, where Gardner got stuck in deep snow while snowmobiling with three friends. "Rulon made a lot of smart, smart decisions," said Russell Gardner, Rulon's older brother, during a Saturday news conference arranged by the family at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.
Russell Gardner said his brother kept moving as long as he could, then dug a shelter for himself beneath some trees. Near sunrise, he moved to a clearing where a search plane pilot spotted him about 8 a.m. Friday. "Rulon loves to live life to the fullest, but lots of prayers were answered," Russell Gardner said through tears. "The Lord saved him."
Rulon Gardner's lower legs were wet from going through streams and creeks. "He had so much ice on his feet I don't think he was able to walk," Lincoln County, Wyo., Sheriff Lee Gardner said Friday. The sheriff is a distant relative of the Greco-Roman heavyweight. Rulon Gardner was snowmobiling with three others when he separated from the group and became lost. When the others realized he was missing, they went for help. Rescuers on snowmobiles and snowshoes began searching around 7:40 p.m. Thursday, sheriff's Lt. Tim Malik said Friday.
Russell Gardner said his brother walked about a mile in up to waist-deep snow from where he left the snowmobile, fording streams as he tried to find a trail. Rescuers found Rulon Gardner about 15 miles from any trail, his brother said. He also was 15 miles from his home in Afton, Wyo., said one of the flight crew who picked him up.
Rulon Gardner was wearing several layers of clothing but was not adequately dressed to spend a night outdoors, the sheriff said. "He was in extremely good physical condition," said Jerry Hansen, who works with Rulon Gardner's Miracle on the Mat foundation. "I suspect many people would have succumbed in this situation."
Two years ago, Rulon Gardner pulled one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history. Competing in the 286-pound class, he beat three-time Olympic champion Alexander Karelin of Russia to win a gold medal at the Sydney Games.
I wish I could remember the documentry it was on like the Learning Channel or Discrovery.
His first one was to go out with inadequate preparation.
Me either. When I was a kid, it dropped down to minus 16 one morning. I couldn't even tolerate five minutes of it and I had on my best winter clothes. Prayers going up for Rulon, an American hero.
1) seperating from his friends
2) getting wet fording streams
3) not having a proper survival kit
4) leaving the area where he was last seen
Keeping on the move was good to keep his body temp up, but he should have done it in one place building a shelter. Staying in the location where you got lost makes it easier for search crews.
The effort to build a small igloo like shelter would have served to also keep him warm. When building an igloo, start small and curve in towards the center immediately. A Taj Mahal is not necessary, and is easy to get sucked into if you start with a big footprint. Face the entrance towards a tree, under the protection of branches in case it continues to snow.
He should have had, at minimum, the means to start a fire. A Zippo lighter is reliable and designed to light and burn even in high winds, and an extra 12 oz. can ($1.50) of lighter fluid can also serve to help start the fire. Use interior dead branches from evergreens to start a fire (outside the igloo) and green branches to make smoke after the fire is burning and has a coal base. The smoke will serve as a signal to rescuers. Given that he had a snowmobile with its storage compartment, he should also have had a survival blanket, a long knife that can be used to chop branches and make igloo blocks, and some high fat munchies, like peanuts etc.
DO NOT get wet. If you sweat alot, keep your activity below the threshold where you'll sweat and soak your clothes from the inside. It wicks heat away from your body and makes at least one layer of clothing worthless. Keep your head covered at all times.
Stay put! Don't go wandering around, it increases the area to be searched, usually lengthening the time it takes rescuers to find you.
He was very lucky that he was found as soon as he was. Unless there was on a few large clearings, he could have been out there another day, and it's unlikely he would have survived another day without severe bodily damage.
Here's some pictures and instructions. They are prepared with snow-saws etc. but I have done it with a long knife. Setting the blocks out to harden is not necessary if the snow has been stamped down well. The blocks only need to fit well enough to stay in place during construction -- chinking the cracks can be done after the structure is up.
People probably recognize his face more than his name.
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