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jorgelito · 12-11-2006, 04:35 PM

Well, apparently a bunch of survival experts have now weighed in on this and have concurred that they would have done the same thing James did. That adds another perspective to the stay or seek help debate.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/12/0...val/index.html

Quote:

Survival experts assess father's heart-wrenching choice

By Thom Patterson
CNN

(CNN) -- Survival experts struggled Friday to come to terms with James Kim's heart-wrenching decision to leave his snowbound family to seek help in the bitter cold of the Oregon wilderness.

After the Kims watched their two young daughters go for seven days without proper food or shelter, the father's deadly decision to venture out must have been harrowing, said Randy Servis, president of the National Association for Search and Rescue.

If James Kim had remained in his family's car, he almost certainly would have survived to raise his daughters and continue his high-profile career as an editor at CNET.

"If I'd been up there seven days, I had a seven-month-old child, I probably would have made that decision -- trying to go get help," Servis said. "There comes a point where you ask: how long do you stay with the vehicle? If you've told somebody where you're going to be, then I would have stayed with the vehicle." (Watch why you should stay put and how to make a "desperation trench"Video)

Searchers found James Kim's body Wednesday in a ravine just a mile from food and shelter, police said. An autopsy determined hypothermia as the cause of death. (Full story)

Wilderness survival expert Cody Lundin said James Kim chose to break the cardinal rule in the search-and-rescue community: stay put.

"Mr. Kim made a gamble and he lost, and it's an unfortunate situation but that's the way it is," said Lundin, a 20-year instructor of survival skills. "When you put human nature together with Mother Nature, anything goes."

Lundin said he very well could have made the same decision under similar circumstances.

"If I thought I could make it back to where there was people, I might have done that," he said. "Because if no one was looking for them, they could have been there for weeks or months and they could have died in that car." (Watch the treacherous routeVideo)
Leave a 'game plan'

Lundin said one of the most important rules he teaches students is to always give someone their itinerary information, including departure and arrival details. If travelers go missing, the person with the itinerary should alert authorities, Lundin said.

"Leave a game plan so if you screw up then someone's going to be looking for you and they have to know where to look," said Lundin. "If you do get lost, adequate clothing and water can save your life."

The Kims became stuck in snow November 25 while traveling home to San Francisco after a Thanksgiving trip to Portland. They attempted to take a shortcut over roads that can be impassable in winter. Temperatures at night hovered near or below freezing. (Watch Kim's heartbreaking journeyVideo)

The parents ate berries, authorities have said, while feeding the children baby food and crackers. When their meager food supply ran low, Kati Kim -- who was nursing the younger child -- breast-fed both children. After several days James Kim left his family to seek help, promising to return if he did not find anyone. Kim's body was found Wednesday about a mile from the lodge, where he could have found shelter, warmth and enough food for months, authorities told The Associated Press.

Kati Kim and the couple's daughters were found Monday when searchers saw her waving an umbrella. She had just set out on foot when they were found, authorities said. The three spent a night in the hospital and were released Tuesday.
Survival ABCs

Experts say the three rules for survival if you plan to be traveling in a wilderness area are as easy to remember as ABC:

* A. Always tell someone where you're going, said Ken Brink of the Colorado State Parks Department. "If you tell people where you're going, and when you get in trouble you stay put, there's a very high possibility that we can find you within 24 hours. Not always, but usually."

* B. Be prepared -- Think of the worst possible scenario and prepare for it.

* C. Carry a survival kit with extra clothing, non-perishable food, and drinking water. Also, when assembling the kit, be aware of three key necessities: shelter, fire and signaling. (Extreme weather survival tips)

Servis said survivors should be prepared to burn tires to create life-saving heat and to signal searchers, as the Kims did.

"Let the air out of your tires and burn the spare tire first," Servis said. "A tire will burn from 12 to 24 hours and put out heat and black smoke. Use a little gasoline from your car and a road flare or battery jump cable to ignite the tire."