Army Bob: Bitter lessons taught by extreme cold

by Robert M. Traxler

The recent snowstorm, coupled with low temperatures, was a walk down memory lane.

As a young lieutenant my first post, was in the United States Army Alaska from 1970 to 1973. In those days the Alcan highway was not paved, cellular phones and GPS would not be available for well over two decades, and car radios did not pick up much. So, there was an opportunity to fully enjoy the breath-taking wilderness.

Also, one gained a deep respect for the Army engineers who built the highway during WWII at an impressive speed, to open a land route to re-enforce Alaska if the Japanese Imperial Army decided to occupy more of the Territory of Alaska than they already did.

In 1970 the Cold War was raging and a strike on Alaska was not out of the question. The Russians hate the fact the Tzar Alexander II sold Alaska to the United States in 1867 for 7.2 million dollars. Indeed, President Vladimir Putin has said that Alaska just may rightfully belong to Mother Russia, though he stated he is not in a rush to take it back. As an infantry officer, I was taught it was holy to always take any time in a fixed position to first prepare for a defense. In Alaska we were taught that the first enemy is the cold. After warming shelters are made, then we concern ourselves with preparing for the enemy.

The rule was that the cold will kill us faster than the Russians. Anyone who has been in temperatures of -50 degrees will agree with that philosophy.

The cold dictated everything. Vehicles were plugged into heaters at home and the unit. In one, an engine block heater was installed to heat and circulate the fluid through the bloc. In another, a heater was placed under the battery, and one inside the vehicle that kept ice from forming on the glass. Fail to plug in the vehicle, and 30 minutes later it was frozen solid.

After a trip to the commissary I once inadvertently left a six pack of soft drinks in the vehicle and all six exploded, leaving an icy mess inside. A neighbor from South Carolina decided it was a good idea to use hot water to melt the ice on his windows with predictable results. At 50 below the properties of things change — most rubber is not pliable, and most fluids become solid. In a field environment simple things like going the bathroom are interesting to say the least. We learned to respect the cold and plan for rapid changes of weather. 

When hunting for snowshoe rabbits, a friend, Bob Buckland, who was an engineer topographer (map maker) with an exceptional ability to read the ground, and I went out with the temperature at 40 degrees and the weather prediction for warm dry weather all day. We were three miles from the vehicle when the wind picked up and it got cold fast, dropping 40 degrees.

In Alaska temperatures can drop four or five times as fast as in the “lower 48.” First rain wet us to the skin, then snow with 45 mile-per-hour wind creating a white out, and a temperature of 0 degrees and chill factor of downright dangerous. I looked at Bob and asked which way the vehicle was, and he said he had no blanking idea. We sat down behind a tree to block some wind and knew it was all over for us.

Then we heard an aircraft; we could not see it but we could hear it, and Bob figured it must be going to Hood Lake to land, and Hood Lake was southwest, so the vehicle must be north. We walked, then crawled in that direction, hearing other aircraft, finding the road with our hands not eyes, and followed it to the vehicle. We never went into the bush without an emergency pack again, the weather prediction be damned. 

To this day, I carry an emergency bag with a survival tent and an emergency candle in the car. The candle is in a can with three wicks, like the one I used during survival training north of the Arctic circle;. They provide an impressive amount of heat. Investing a few dollars in an emergency kit is probably a good idea. My opinion.