Surv-Ex 2011

"Surv-Ex” Or Survival Exercise if you will...

A semi-annual adventure that I go out on with my friends, though, a few were unable to make it this year. My best friend Caesar and I still made the journey. Let me tell you the video does not do it justice. It was an absolute experience.

We start by hiking past Whistle Lake, then start on the goat trails that lead us to the summit of Mount Erie. We rappel over 1000' in sections. We were hoping to finish it before dark; pushing ourselves on the hike up to the summit burned us out quite a bit. As dark was drawing near we were moving as fast as we safely could to get down the side of the cliffs. We were unable to make it before dark and had to swim across Campbell Lake instead at night. We navigated the 42 degree water with our dry suits and fins while using out dry bags for buoyancy. We reached the island on the lake and then camped overnight with minimal gear.

We utilized our military training as well as acquired skills OUT of the military to perform our task. The toughest aspect I think that we dealt with was the size of our packs. Our packs were weighed down about 50lbs with all the climbing gear, ropes, dry suits and fins and other assorted gear. With the height we were working at the high winds presented to most real danger while we were working on the cliffs. Setting up rappels is old hat to me, but my adventure-mate Caesar was relatively new to the whole experience. You will see on the video how when he was on the edge of the cliff setting his first rappel up the wind is just KICKING around us. I was losing feeling in my fingers from the wind-chill even with the gloves on, he was stuck doing some sort of ‘iron chair’ hybrid move. He was nervous enough setting the rappel, much less having the added pressure of our rushed timeline, the height as well as the cold and high winds. It was certainly a ‘sporty’ day.

We did this one time a few years ago in the dead of winter. The conditions were much worse and we ended up actually losing one guy off the trip to the extreme environment. He was not capable of continuing, so we regrettably had to call in and extract for him.

I think what makes this a good time is the camaraderie that we have while doing this. It makes you rely on each other so much and it gives endless stories to tell around a campfire (even if it’s not one you had to use every ounce of ingenuity to start).

The next day we swam back for pick up at the edge of the lake.

Check the video out and let me know what you think!

More Survival Exercises coming up in the near future! Please let me know if you are in the area. Perhaps you could join us!

Here is a video from the summer when I did the hike and rappel on my own. When I was scoping out spots for the Surv-Ex.

Polarized sunglasses, Flashlights, and Hiking boots.

~Donny