KARAMAT WILDERNESS WAYS
Extended Winter
Wilderness Living Skills/Survival Course
Course Instructors: Mors Kochanski
Randy Breeuwsma
Jay Kilgannon

 
If you spend time in the bush and are concerned about your ability to survive a wilderness emergency, these courses are of interest to you.  Seasonally oriented, the courses are designed to provide hands-on training in the skills of modern survival.  In its proper context, practicing wilderness living skills in a natural environment enhances the understanding and appreciation of nature on it's own terms. Survival skills are integrated with environmental awareness as much as possible so that you should eventually become both physically and mentally comfortable in the natural wilderness.
Signal Fire
Signal Fire
Courses: Wilderness Living Skills and Survival of 7 days duration.
        If you have ever questioned your ability to survive a wilderness emergency, these courses may be of interest to you.  Seasonally oriented, they are designed to provide hands-on training in the skills of modern survival.  Practicing skills in a natural environment builds an appreciation and understanding of Nature on its own terms.  As far as possible, survival skills are integrated with environmental awareness so that one eventually becomes physically and mentally comfortable in the natural wilderness.
        There is a strong emphasis on the identification and usage of the wild plants said to be edible, useful, medicinal, magical and poisonous.  Where applicable course participants begin making their own collections.  Wherever possible, hands on activities are incorporated.

There are four variations of the basic format which have much the same outline:
1. Survival, Cold Lacking Snow
2. Survival, In Snow Depths Requiring Snowshoes
3. Survival, Summer out of a Base Camp
4. Survival, Summer with Walk-about

Basic Survival Lecture and Orientation Phase

Objectives:
  • To define modern survival.
  • To prepare the participant for the outdoor practical training phase.

    • To cover the topics that are most conveniently presented through lecturing in the class room.

 
Topics:
1.    Defining the difference between survival and wilderness living skills.
2.    Preparation through training and simulation.
3.    Prevention, Mitigation and Rehabilitation processes defined.
4.    The mental processes in survival: calm vs panic, optimism vs depression, positive attitude vs negative attitude, understanding vs fear, biological vs mechanical time.
5.    Clothing, one of the most important factors in survival preparedness. How to dress for the practical bush phase.
6.    Sleep. Knowing how the make yourself comfortable enough to meet your need for sleep. The sleeping bag and mat as a survival kit component.
7.    Fire and survival. Fire lighting tools, kindling and types of fire lays. Students practice the flint and steel method of fire lighting with stone and broken hacksaw blades provided by the instructor. Students may put together a primitive candle lantern.
8.    Water consumption in survival. The pot as a survival kit component. Purifying water. Dehydration.
9.    The survival knife defined. Students learn sharpening and skillful use of the knife. Students construct and use sharpening boards in learning how to sharpen. Students carve a try stick and a netting needle.
10.    Basic navigation with and without a map and compass.
11.    The personal first aid kit.
12.    Survival shelters. Primitive shelters. The survival kit component 'super' shelter.
13.    Signaling to attract attention and communicating your distress. Signal mirror, flares and whistles. Students construct tin whistles and learn to use home-made signal mirrors.
14.    Additional tools. The swede saw and the axe. The survival saw defined. Students may construct a miniature buck saw using a hack saw blade. Students may put together a swede saw blade in a waist belt.
15.    Medical matters: dehydration, hypothermia, hyperthermia, uv rays, sunburn, eye injury, knife, axe and saw cuts, scalds and burns, frost nip and frost bite, headaches and other pain.
16.    Survival Kits. The more you know the less you carry. The less you know the more you carry.
17.    Fasting or living off the land. The hurdles to overcome before trying to live off the land.
18.    Sanitary consideration: doing without toilet paper, latrines, steam bathing to keep clean and the laundry.
19.    Cordage, knots, bindcraft and winches.
20.    Bush travel. The Primitive Roycraft Packframe. Travel in survival episodes. Students construct a packframe for use in the practical phase.
21.    Basic weather prediction.
22.    Wilderness hazards: animals, insects, stream crossings, lightning, etc.
23.    The local wild plants useful in survival.

Practical (hands on) Phase - Extended Winter

Topics
Fire Techniques
  • Match, zirconium, flint and steel and bow drill methods of fire lighting.
  • The parallel log fire for warmth and cooking
  • Twig, feather stick and conifer resin kindlings.
  • Fires built on top of the snow if and where appropriate.
  • Pot suspensions.
  • Selecting fire sites and extinguishing fires.
  • Cooking over a fire; making bannock or fry bread.
  • Signal fire construction.
  • Twig torches.
  • Melting ice and snow for drinking water.
 Shelters
  • The basic open front lean-to.
  • The survival kit component super shelter.
  • Large group shelter if applicable
  • Bough bed - stretcher construction.
  • The quinzee and igloo and other snow shelters if adequate snow is available.
Primitive cordage, bindcraft and the use of paracord.
  • The Jam knot.
  • The other useful knots in survival
The Winches.
  • Primitive cordage and other binding techniques.
  • Ladder building with rope and poles.
  • How to net.
 Tools.
  • The skill development in the use of an appropriate knife.
  • Constructing a bucksaw and its use.
  • The use of axe or hatchet if appropriate.
  • The use and construction of snow shovels.
Plant Study.
  • Collecting and studying the common trees and shrubs of the area.


Natural Crafting

 Travel
  • Safe travel on ice.
  • The emergency Roycraft ski-shoe.
  • Using the toboggan in winter travel.

 
*    Note: Skills covered during this course may not include all of the above. The instructor reserves the right in include or omit any skill written or otherwise, depending on the availability of materials, adverse weather conditions or class interest.

 
What You Need To Know
(Disclosure of amenities)

Provisioning:    In the interest of convenience and economical use of course time, provisions may be provided and cooking done as a group (meals included in course fee). Those with special needs in regard to their diet will likely have to supply and cook their own meals. Groceries can be purchased in Wildwood, a 10 minute drive from the course area.

Accommodation:    The accommodation that is provided are crude rustic shelters (not cabins) heated by wood stoves.  As long as the stove is going the shelter can be shirt-sleeve war in normal winter temperatures.  In summer these shelters are usually dry and mosquito proof.  In cases of extreme cold, you will be moved into a heated building.

Water:    The main water source is from a well.  In winter the main water source is melted snow.  It should be boiled before use.

Note: Yes, there are animals, insects and other vermon within the course area.  To list them all would make for a very long list.  If you wish to know what lives in the Boreal Forest of Alberta, check out our Government of Alberta websites and some of the links we have listed on the Resource page or visit the Alberta Fish and Wildlife website.  Students are responsible for finding out about the local wildlife.  If you have any questions, call us and we will try to help.

Equipment List:
"Dress for the worst and hope for the best."
Weather varies in Alberta from winter courses at -40C to Summer Couses at +40C.  But, it can freeze also on the summer course and have above freezing temperatures on the winter course.  It can rain or snow at anytime of the year.  On the summer course we spend much time in or around water.

A typical course has periods of vigorous activity alternating with sitting down.

1.  Layering:  Put on many thin garments instead of a few heavy ones.  The dead air spaces between the layers add to the insulation value and provide greater versatility in controlling overheating.
2.  Blocking Wind: A thin, light wind proof shell will block wind, trap warmed air and shed precipitation.
3.  Control Moisture in contact with the skin:  Use poly-proplene or a similar fabric next to the skin.

Changes of clothes if you get wet from either sweating or immersion in water.  Having more clothes than necessary is the key.  This is an average list for both summer and winter, adjust accordingly.

Head and Neck: Headgear that prevents the penetration of the strongest wind.  A light scarf will be equivalent to a wool sweater in the warmth it can conserve.  Summer brimmed hat.

Upper Body:
1.  Polypro or wool long johns.
2.  Wool shirt.
3.  Several wool sweaters.
4.  The fourth layer should appropriate to the expected weather conditions, e.g. wind breaker, rain coat or parka.

Lower Body:
1.  Polypro or wool long johns.
2.  Wool pants.
3.  Wind pants.
4.  Sanitation layer.

Hands:  Wool inner mitts with leather outer mitts, 2-3 pair.

Footwear: Any footwear that allows the use of three pairs of wool socks will likely prove satisfactory.
2 pair of footwear.
Plenty of wool socks.

  • Avoid bringing new clothes.
  • Sleeping bag.
  • Sleeping mat or a wool blanket.
  • Bowl and spoon.
  • Personal toiletries.
  • Notebook, pen, camera
  • If not participating in group cooking, bring your own cooking gear.
  • A sharp knife
What is provided:
  • Shelter (heated in the wintertime).
  • Large cooking pots and dippers.
  • Toilet paper.
  • Food.
  • A great time on all courses.
Directions to General Course Area:
Course Area - 1&1/2 hours west of Edmonton, Alberta.

Traveling west from Edmonton:
Highway 16 west from Edmonton to Wildwood - 104 kilometers.
Continue west of Wildwood on Highway 16 to Range Road 110 - 17 kilometers.
Turn south (left) on Range Road 110 - 7 kilometers. Sign: 53108 Range Road 110
We are on the right hand side, end of power line.

If flying, you can take a bus or taxi from the airport to the Greyhound Bus Depot in downtown Edmonton, then take the Greyhound bus to Wildwood and we will pick you up there. Courses are held  in the Boreal forest.

Responsibility:    While every precaution is taken to safeguard you and your belongings, living with nature involves some risk, the responsibility for which has to be totally assumed by the participants.  The course participants may be left to their own resources in the evenings and on other occasions.  If this is seen as a problem this course is not for you. Advancement of your registration fee and completed Course Application and Waiver Form will indicate agreement with our terms and conditions of participation.

Enrollment Information
Registration Form

Karamat Wilderness Ways
P.O. Box 483, Wildwood, Alberta, Canada  T0E 2M0
Toll Free: 1-877-KARAMAT (527-2628)
(780) 325-2345   Fax: (780) 325-2627

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