[Democracyman]

Hello,

The normal hiker or climber typically does not want much survival gear,
they would want a light weight system. Normally they are in area that does
not allow destruction to the habitat. This means to practice they need
to do so in a another area than they normally go.

They are most likely not interested in advanced survival skills, just
fire, shelter and water survival skills to get through a few days out in
the wild.

This could be a book for hikers, climbers, skiers and snowboarders.

The kind of people who really don't think about survival, but need a
lightweight approach and a understanding of how they think.

This category of people are not typically the hunting fishing type of people.

What do you think?

Also to write such a book would I have to be a survival expert for many
years or could I write a decent book without that much extensive experience?

I have been a climber and hiker for 15 years.

Thoughts?

Dan

[Mr.Black]

Im new at this forum so thought i'd give this one a shot.
I think the mindset has alot to do with it.
Someone who has learned climbing/mountaineering by climbing/just hanging out with world class climbers will pick up alot more than the person who saw a "climbing movie" or a mt dew add and said I can do that and head for the hills.These are the ones you read about and see on the news going out half cocked and risking not just their own but hundreds of others who go without question to save them.The "I got a cellphoneitous" type thinking can get alot of people hurt or killed.From the people fueling the birds to the hasty teams checking all the nooks and cranny's in a boulder field at 11,000 ft.
I have seen first hand, and have heard stories of climbers improvising some ingenious Survival skills. water collection;stuffing a bandanna into a crack with a cleaning tool to sponge water from a seep after 1 of the 2 plastic soda bottles(that held Water) fell off the route or cut the webbing on your gear sling and use the tubing to sip out out the seep directly.A friend years ago was caught in Yosemite with his partner on a 2 1/2 ft ledge when the sun and the temps went down,the ropes and hall bags and a mylar blanket(that he sewed into his harness before the trip(his buddy laughed and said he was a idiot) so the mindset of the climber is planning the next move and has a "what if",the mountain Dew crew has a "what ever" mindset.
a few years ago I outfitted two guys that were Gonna DEW the Pacific crest trail...any experience sez I...no but we read the jArDeEn book....long of the short is they had all homeade go lite stuff and hesitated any recomedation I made...they came in last minute before the plane out to buy a lighter cord lock or somethin' and they said alright gear man were off for the PCT...whooooo hooooo with high 5. I said allright then, see you in a week.
I found out later they made it three days and pulled handles...trip over.
So I guess thers lots of ways thought up by lot of people but but ya cant let that blur the common sence and basic needs...
well I have walked away from this a few times and kinda lost my train o'thought...hope it makes some sence and forgive my computer skills.
as far as books, ckeck out "the ten essentials,for travel outdoors" by the mountaineers good little book...gotta go
take care all
M/BK

[kevin]

I've read lots of books that were collections of other works under a given topic by an editor. the editor does not need to pretend to be an expert in the field, just able to collect appropriate information and properly organize, credit and include it in such a way as to be valuable to others. find out what works to fit your needs as a climber and pull it all together!

[Unswydd]

I think you're on the right track Dan. From the posts I've read of yours you seem to analyze everything to death and this may be just what you need to figure it out for yourself. There's so much you could do and i think you probably have the experience you just need to have faith in your self. You can do it!

[kevin]

Originally Posted by Mr.Black

Im new at this forum so thought i'd give this one a shot.
M/BK

great contribution mr. black; glad to have you!

[B52gundog]

Hmmm, I'll be up front and say I know nothing about writing a book. On that note, the first thing I did was Google "How to write a book".

What first came to mind is finding a publisher, but after Googling, there's other aspects to consider when writing a book (How to write it, read and compare your ideas to other comparable books (research), getting it published, marketing it, legal concerns, etc...)

I'd think first hand knowledge and experience would be best, but it's not uncommon to get opinions of other experts to chime in (especially proofreading before finalizing).

[Democracyman]

Still working on the idea. I think I can contribute something to this
field as there are no books aimed specifically for climbers and hikers with their
concerns to being light as possible.

I would do it as a layering concept. As from starting with nothing then
adding items.

Still not sure on exact format.

Some questions, what would you guys prefer in a book? I thought to
do some educating and then demonstrating.

Would a video with the book be something that would be helpful? Would you
be more likely to buy a book with a companion video?

I am not sure what video camera to buy either.

Thanks for any helpful ideas.

What would you look for in a book and video set?? Imagine your a hiker
or climber or skier that is not that interested in longer term survival skills , just
want to get through a night or two out if needed.

Dan

[Celticwarrior]

There are quite a number of books on the market about how to make a survival kit, and most have a lightweight "pocket kit" for Every Day Carry (EDC), and fanny pack-based units with things like power bars, juice or water pouches, and more gear like hand warmers, etc. I think for winter or high-altitude work, things like multiple fire starting items, dry tinder, extra gloves and wool socks, hand and toe warming pouches, and HeatSheet-style space bags would be a good starters, as well as some high-energy hard candies. Any home-made or store-bought kit that has similar items would be a good way to start for an ultra-light kit for such sports.

[Democracyman]

Yes I understand, I wonder are there any such materials that says
to be aimed at hiker's, climber's and skiers? Of course I know it translates
over but I could build a book with this angle and title and maybe catch
a nitch market.

I do know from years of reading hiking and climbing books even skier books
it seems like there is a brick wall between these groups and the "survival" type
of people, with the military type of outlook or back woodsy type of outlook.

I guess I want to bridge this gap if I can.

Dan

[Celticwarrior]

Hikers, even ultralightweight fanatics, are usually pretty aware and accepting of survival kits (to the limit of their personal weight limits, that is). So are climbers, in my experience. They KNOW how badly things can go wrong, and in a hurry. Skiers and snowboarders have ALWAYS been a problem in my book, since they are FAR more likely to be influenced by FASHION than function. It doesn't help that they are mostly young and think they are immortal. If you can find a way to talk to them in their language, make them understand that things like avalanche burial alarms, GPS locators and such are great, but a small kit with some basics in it can save their lives in an off-trail emergency....more power to ya! It's an (pardon the pun!) UPHILL battle.

Hopefully, mentioning things like powerbars and waterbottles, which they likely carry anyway, and some basics on firestarting with things like kleenex, hand sanitizer or oily lotions or lip balm, and a couple of methods of starting a fire like lighters and matches or a FireSteel, might be a way to prevent SOME of the worst case problems they might face. Good luck to you on your endeavor. Remember, when writing a book, you need to shop the idea around FIRST, then write for whoever will PAY you for your efforts. Only amatures write something without a buyer already in their pocket. Look at some of the outdoor sport books in the market for those activities and start with them. Shop your book proposal to them, and offer to write up a treatment for them if they want more information, and have some sort of synopsis ready to send if they bite. Often you will get notes saying they don't accept "unsolicited manuscripts". That means you need to contact a literary agent to represent your book to them, rather than dealing with them directly. It might be worthwhile to get some input from actual folks IN those sports. Also, check some of the stories out there about people who have BEEN in those sports and gotten into trouble where a kit might have been a help to them. Contacting them might be a good addition to some parts of the book, or as endorsements for your book and the concept.
Whatever happens, let us know!

Originally Posted by Democracyman

Yes I understand, I wonder are there any such materials that says
to be aimed at hiker's, climber's and skiers? Of course I know it translates
over but I could build a book with this angle and title and maybe catch
a nitch market.

I do know from years of reading hiking and climbing books even skier books
it seems like there is a brick wall between these groups and the "survival" type
of people, with the military type of outlook or back woodsy type of outlook.

I guess I want to bridge this gap if I can.

Dan