Survival Skills and Equipment

Water can be purified by two of the following methods:

Boiling for one minute at a rolling boil

Filtering and then treating with a chemical

Straining through a fine cloth

In a test by SPART the most visible color in all light conditions for emergency use is:

International orange, the traditional color of rescue vehicles

Lime, as used currently on some fire department vehicles and road crew safety vests

In tests by Backpacker Magazine whistles were heard in Northwest forested areas for a distance of:

100 yards

Two to three tenths of a mile

The most common wilderness water contamination, giardia lamblia, is:

Most often fatal

Takes about a week to infect the victim, and causes diarrhea but is not fatal

Attacks the body immediately

In late autumn you find yourself injured in a remote area, unable to travel, and with no means of communication. According to Survival’s Rule of Threes in the same scenario you may die if:

You do not drink water for about three days

You do not eat for about three days

You are the search team leader and have reached a lost subject. He is bleeding profusely so after making sure the scene is safe your most immediate action is to:

Contact your Incident Commander by radio to report on the situation

Make an effort to control the victim’s bleeding as this is a life threatening situation

Call a team meeting to develop a plan of action

A Navy SEAL Team, a troop of Girl Scouts and a SAR search team all hike at the same speed, and that is:

As fast as the slowest member of the group

Approximately two miles an hour on flat terrain

In tests by Backpacker Magazine, shouts were heard for:

One tenth of a mile

A mile or more

To purify water by boiling you must:

Bring the water to a roiling boil for about a minute

Boil the water for at least 10 minutes

SAR subjects may be lost, injured or sick, but in our Northwest environment they often have an additional medical problem:

High altitude edema

Hypothermia

Pulmonary hydrosis

Statistically there are few large animal attacks in the Northwest from bears, cougars and male elk and deer in the breeding season so there is little concern about this hazard for backcountry travelers:

False

True

In bandaging an injured leg the most common simple knot is the:

Bowline

Square knot

Prusik knot

A sure sign that you are dehydrated and need to drink water immediately is:

Your urine is clear

Your urine is bright yellow

According to experts our first and most important survival tool was and still is:

Knife

Compass

As a rescue volunteer the safety of one SAR operational person is most important:

The Incident Commander

The search subject(s)

You

When faced with a large wild animal such as a black bear or cougar it generally is:

Acceptable to run

Best to stand your ground or back away slowly, make noise and make yourself and your group large

Acceptable to climb a tree

Your personal survival in the wilderness or on a SAR mission depends on:

Self reliance: Your own training, knowledge and initiative

Support and training by the sheriff’s office

In winter eating snow for hydration is acceptable:

True, and the Inuit do it

False, as it robs the body of energy

Maybe, depending on circumstances

In winter you are driving on a deserted road when you miss a curve, crash your vehicle and are ejected into the snow. You have a leg injury and no cell phone. You estimate that you may be at the accident location for hours or days before help comes. Your immediate need is:

Water

Food

Shelter

For wilderness navigation the following is the best methodology:

Use knowledge of stars, and location of the Moon and Sun

A compass and map

A modern GPS

Every method available, but especially a map and compass

Survival Skills and Equipment

Meets v80 standard for the written portion of SAR Survival Skills and Equipment.