Skiers plunge 1000 feet and live!

ABC News is reporting on the story of skiers Kim Hall, 26, and Jewel Lund, 24, who dropped 1,000 feet into an icy ravine in Utah.  Lund has a hurt knee. Hall has two broken wrists and a severe concussion, but was wearing a helmet which is the only reason she is alive.

They are both skilled wilderness skiers, their story must be read to be believed.

How Rita Chretien survived her Nevada ordeal

Just in case anyone needs a good reason to keep water and food in their car, I would suggest a careful reading of one of the hundreds of stories about the survival of Rita Chretien.

Chretien, 56, is recovering in a B.C. hospital, after spending seven weeks in the Nevada Mountains on a little more than a few mouthfuls of food a day.

She is back to eating small meals and is in fairly good spirits, according to the Canadian Press. Chretien’s husband, who went looking for help while she stayed in the vehicle, is still missing.

To get a better idea of how Chretien managed to survive — or how on Earth her body did not completely shut down — I spoke with Susan Somerville a professor of nutrition at Humber College and a registered dietitian.

“It is a pretty incredible story,” said Somerville. “She must have been really careful in how she rationed her food and she must have made sure she was hydrated and did minimal activity.”

Based on a story Somerville read with an interview with the Chretien’s son — who said his mother ate a tablespoon of trail mix, two fish oil caplets and a hard candy a day — she calculated Chretien ingested about 90 calories a day.

A recommended intake for a 56-year-old woman of a healthy weight and sedentary lifestyle would be about 1,600, she said. A weight reduction diet could put someone at about 1,200 calories a day.

So how does a woman eating 90 calories a day not perish in the Nevada Mountains?

Somerville said 70 per cent of the calories the body uses are burnt through basic functions like breathing, cell reproduction and blood circulation.

In a starvation situation the body’s basal metabolic rate, basically the mechanism that controls how much you burn and how fast to support those functions, will drop.

“So you are spending fewer calories just to keep the basic processes going,” said Somerville. It helps that Chretien was not out looking for help -- that she kept sheltered in their vehicle and fairly still, according to the stories about her ordeal.

Your body also starts breaking down your fatty tissue and lean muscle and using it for fuel, said Somerville.

“I think my students think I am a real nerd, but I am always going on about how magnificent our bodies are,” she said.

Because Chretien had a bit of glucose in her system, her body had something to use for fuel, no matter how small, before it dug too deeply into her fat and muscle, said Somerville.

She lost nine to 13 kilograms, not a lot of weight in my mind considering what she went through.

Somerville said another key thing was Chretien was hydrating with water from a local creek. She noted the recommended intake for Chretien should be about 2.2 litres a day.

No matter how it happened, Chretien’s story is flat out amazing and a really, really good reason to keep food supplies in your car. (This author's opinion: keep this stuff in your house if you don't own a vehicle.)

Somerville agrees.

“I always keep a box of granola bars,” and water in the car, she said. “Trail mix and granola bars and what we call nutrient dense foods," she said. I already have power bars in my home, but it might be a good idea to pick up some trail mix.

So she did everything right and is on the road to recovery. Hopefully they find her husband soon.

How to escape a sinking car!

A Manitoba couple who managed to escape when their truck landed in a sinkhole did everything right, according to a cold water safety expert.

The pair tried to drive across what looked like a large puddle, but which turned out to be a sinkhole that swiftly swallowed their car, according to an article by the Canadian Press.

The first thing they did was roll down their windows, which allowed them to escape. They also managed to save their dog.

“I would like to find out how they knew to get out of the window right away, but am very happy that they knew that,” said Manitoba Prof. Gordon Giesbrecht in an interview with the Star.

“Bottom line is, if they hadn’t done that they would have died.”

Giesbrecht, also dubbed Dr. Popsicle, is known as a cold water safety expert and has staged several experiments with sinking cars in water to learn more about the best way to get out.

The simple answer? Get your windows down and get out while the vehicle is still floating!

Giesbrecht said unfortunately over the years people have been taught that you want to stay in the car until it sinks, allowing the pressure to equalize so you can open the doors. By that time the car is at the bottom of a body of water and your chances of getting out and to the top are very slim, he said.

“Every second that goes by your chances of survival go down and after the first minute they drop precipitously,” said Giesbrecht. 

"When you vehicle ends up in the water the event will be over in three minutes one way or another. Your best chance of survival is in the first minute."

My plants are thriving!

Behold, my beautiful, healthy baby radish. The plants in my apartment are thriving, some perhaps a bit too much as I am now wondering whether I will be forced to remove my couch to make space for grow racks.

I have not replanted my tiny vegetables yet - that day will come soon - but I am really happy I have managed to get them past the wee sprout stage without multiple deaths. Plants are hardy little things, but early on I thought I killed at least three of them by allowing more than a hair-thin stream of water to hit them shortly after they sprouted. One of the lettuce plants is still growing at a very sad angle - but it is alive.

The wildest part is the sub-irrigated bucket has not required watering since we planted it more than a month ago. Highly recomended for anyone looking to grow plants but doesn't have the time to fuss over them.

I must admit I have been thinning out the top by pulling out the occassional leaf or two.

Baby lettuce, not a surprise, is delicious.

 

 

Rita Chretien and other amazing survival stories

I can't stop reading stories about Rita Chretien, a Canadian who survived seven weeks in the woods in Nevada living off fish oil, trail mix and snow. As the amazing details of her ordeal run dry - but thirst for her story persists - media outlets are posting lists of similarly unbelievable tales.

The Canadian Press put out a great list, read it  here.

Another interesting list popped up at Oregonlive.com. My favourite was the tale of Doris Anderson, 76, who survived alone in the woods for two weeks in extremely cold weather. She got lost on a hunting trip with her husband. I'm guessing Ms. Anderson is not someone you would want to cut in front of in the line at the grocery store.

 

Condiments 101

 

BBQ season is here and in celebration of all things grilled wanted to post a few recipies for condiments.

For my last project Nicole Kruzick from Belly Catering taught me how to can a pile of green beans to use for Caesars. I have a plan to can or jar everything I can get my hands on this summer.

What we didn't film or document was our three attempts to make mustard.

When I called Kruzick to ask if she was interested in canning she mentioned it was a bit early — you want to can when fruits and veggies are at their peak of freshness — so she suggested making condiments.

Our first three attempts involved using ground mustard seeds — grinding them ourselves seemed like the more rustic or old fashioned choice instead of just using powder - with fairly dissapointing or runny results.

Eventually one batch, thanks to Kruzick's patient tweaking, firmed up enough to be spreadable. The mustard is burning hot and delicious.When I asked her to send the recipie she also threw in instructions on how to make ketchup and relish.

Her full recipies are below.

Zippy Ketchup
2 cups tomato Sauce
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup maple syrup
4 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp sriracha hot sauce
1/2 tsp ground cloves

In a sauce pan combine tomato sauce, sugar, maple syrup, cider vinegar and hot sauce. Cook over medium heat  for 30 minutes. Add ground cloves and continue to cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool and serve.

Clean your Sinuses Homemade Mustard
½ cup mustard powder
3 tsp water
3 tsp cider vinegar
¼ cup maple syrup

Mix the above ingrediants in the same order listed. Mix ingredients until smooth, refrigerate for 45 minutes. Mixture will thicken in that time, then serve.

Dill Pickle + Corn Relish
2 cups onion
3 cups white sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup corn
2 cups chopped pickles

Mix onions, sugar and vinegar in a sauce pan. Cook over medium high heat for 30 minutes. Add pickles, corn and continue to cook for another 15 minutes. Allow to cool and serve.

A lighter, lower-cost way to purify water

Researchers at Boston University have developed ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to purify and disinfect water, according to a report posted on Electronics News. The new technology will be a lower cost, lighter, more durable alternative to mercury lamps which could mean wider distribution in developing countries. It also means no mercury to deal with.

There is a video on the link showing how it works.

I already have a clean water supply and purification tablets. Not sure I am ever going to need UV light-emitting diodes but I plan on buying a camping stove  (Thank you Les Stroud) to boil water, among other things. 

Canning 101

I spend a good chunk of my salary every week at St. Lawrence Market and this summer I plan to can every fresh fruit and vegetable I can get my hands on. To get a jump start on the process I called up Nicole Kruzick, a friend and owner of Belly Catering on Queen St. W. The full story is here and the instructions are below.

The video should help - or at the very least give you an idea of what the pots should look like.

We got an early start - canning is best when produce is at its peak of freshness - but Kruzick offers lessons in her store in late summer and early fall.

Kruzick's full recipe is below. Happy canning!

Spicy Pickled Beans

3 tbsp salt

3 cups white vinegar

3 cups water

3 lbs green beans

18 pepper corns

6 cloves of Garlic

6 dried chili peppers

Make 6, 500 ml mason jars

In a large sauce pan combine salt, vinegar and water.  Bring to boil over md high heat, stirring to dissolve salt.  

Place 2 peppercorns, 1 clove of garlic and 1 hot pepper into each jar.  Place the beans in the jar as well, then cover with hot pickling liquid, leaving ½ inch headspace

Place jars in canner - lids on but not super tight - ensuring they are completely covered with water.  Bring to a rolling boil and process for 10 minutes.

Remove from bath (with tongs) and allow to cool and store in cool dark spot.