SURVIVAL COURSE

AIM

The aim is to teach survival and to emphasise teamwork.

It is not a glorified camping exercise - it teaches how to become dependant on your skills and resources away from the trappings of society. It teaches an intense awareness of surroundings. Survival depends on it. It will teach you how to improvise weapons, trap rabbits, game-birds and fish; which are then prepared, cooked and finally eaten. Learn how to exist on the plant life that nature has provided. Learn how to navigate over difficult terrain. Learn all these things because if you don't, you won't eat or sleep.

Whatever the type of country into which you are unfortunate enough to crash land or similar, survival depends on two, largely psychological, factors: the determination to live and the elimination of fear. Fear is caused through ignorance, in other words inadequate training. However, no amount of training or other material aid will suffice without the natural instinct of self-preservation.

ARCTIC SURVIVAL

The Arctic has been defined geographically as the area north of the Arctic Circle at latitude 66°33' N. From the survival aspect, however, it is more practical to consider the area north of the timber line as Arctic. Along certain Siberian rivers forest grow up to 400 miles north of the Arctic Circle, while along the west shore of the Hudson Bay the tree line is 400 miles south of the Circle. These areas north of the timber line, with a mean annual temperature below 0°C (32°F) are known as "barren lands". The region includes the north coasts of Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and the old USSR; the Canadian Arctic, Archipelago, Greenland and the majority of Iceland.
The sub-arctic is a belt of coniferous vegetation of variable width south of the Arctic Circle. Within it the mean annual temperature is above 0°C (32°F). It includes most of Alaska and the interior of Canada, the northern territories of the old USSR and most of Scandinavia. The term must be used flexibly

JUNGLE SURVIVAL

There is no standard form of jungle and the word implies either wet tropical rain forest, which is the jungle as we usually think about, or dry open scrub country; it refers to any natural uncultivated forest in tropical or sub-tropical lands.
Jungle is not constant in composition even in the same climatic zones. Its vegetation depends on the altitude, and, to a large extent, on the influence of man through the centuries. Tropical trees take over 100 years to reach maturity and are only fully grown in untouched primeval virgin forest. This is called "primary" jungle and is easily recognized by its abundance of giant trees 150 feet to 200 feet high and up to 10 feet in widlh at the base. The tops of the trees form a dense carpet over 100 feet from the ground beneath which there it little light and therefore comparatively little undergrowth: consequently travel is not too difficult in most primary jungle and its animal inhabitants live mainly in the upper branches.
Jungle is not all primary. Far eastern hill tribesmen grow one rice crop a year by burning down a suitable area of jungle and planting seed in the ashes which form a natural fertiliser. When the harvest is gathered the tribe moves on to find a fresh ,iungle area to be burned for next year's crop. In this way one tribe will devastate large areas of primary jungle in a decade. European exploitation has added to the cleared area by felling accessible tall timber along river banks. The cleared area is soon reclaimed by the jungle, but by jungle without tall trees and composed of dense undergrowth and creepers. This is "secondary" jungle and it is much harder to traverse than primary jungle, but it is better for forced landing or parachute descent, for example, because of the absence of giant trees.

DESERT SURVIVAL

The word "desert" invariably produces in one's mind a picture of large, dry, barren tracts of land, hot in the daytime and cool at night, where the problem of survival is one of the first magnitude.
When it is realised that there is at least one desert in each continent of the world, it will be appreciated that this problem of survival is a very real one for those who use an aeroplane. Approximately one-fifth of the world's land area is composed of desert, while the population of these areas amounts to less than one-twentieth of the total world population.
There are more than fifty important deserts in the world, the areas of which range from 300 to 3,000,000 square miles. The larger of these are well-known: Sahara (3,000,000 sq m); Libyan (650,000 sq m); Arabian (500,000 sq m); Gobi, Mongolia (400,000 sq m); Rub al Khali, part of the Arabian Desert (250,000 sq m); and the Kalahari, Bechuanaland (200,000 sq m).
The deserts with the most extreme climates are: the Sahara of North Africa; the Middle-Eastern deserts of Arabia, Iran and Iraq; parts of the Gobi in Mongolia; and the narrow strip along the coasts of Peru and Northern Chile. The Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia (160,000 sq m), and the Mohave of the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico (13,500 sq m), are not "extreme" deserts, but they contain large waterless tracts which can present serious survival problems.

SEA SURVIVAL

Survival at sea for days, perhaps weeks, in difficult conditions, is a possibility facing anyone who goes by ship, or by air. The fate of those who initially survive is usually settled in the first few hours after entering the water, and survival depends on two vitally important factors:
(a) Morale. This is the first essential to survival in any circumstances; without it no amount of material aid will suffice. Morale is made up of will-power and determination to live, good discipline, and good leadership.
(b) Knowledge. A thorough knowledge is required of:

  • Emergency drills, which should be practised for all possible contingencies until they become instinctive.
  • The principles of survival and the use of emergency equipment.
  • Emergency signals procedures.
  • Search and rescue organisation.

ROUTINE WEEKEND COURSE

WHAT TO BRING IF POSSIBLE

Good sound walking boots, plenty of warm clothing, gloves, hat, etc.. A good, sound sleeping bag and rucksack. A notebook and pencil, sheath or pocket knife (sharp!), training shoes. Maps and compasses are provided. You will also need to bring a healthy sense of humour.

WHAT DO YOU GET ?

First class instruction, a sense of achievement, and a chance to visit one of Europe's most scenic areas under somewhat different circumstances.

 

INSURANCE

The Go Wild Survival School S.A. is covered by public liability insurance.

ARRIVALS

Arrivals by car report to the Go Wild Survival Centre on Friday night at 8 o'clock. By train or bus - arrangements can be made to pick up people from Luxembourg or Echternach train stations - or Luxembourg International Airport. Confirmation by letter or phone please.

SURVIVE BETTER IN BUSINESS BY SURVIVING IN THE WILD