Survival: True Reader Escapes

Seven lucky-to-be-alive subscribers share their real-life backcountry disasters. Here’s how they survived, and what you can learn from their mistakes.

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Caught in a Flash Flood

Escape Plan:Get High and Avoid Quicksand

Uncontrolled Slide Down an Icy Slope

Escape Plan:Cross Summer Snow

Charged by a 500-Pound Grizzly

Escape Plan:Use Bear Spray Safely

Flipped, Soaked, and Freezing

Escape Plan:Treat Hypothermia

Can’t Breathe at High Altitude

Escape Plan:Recognize HAPE

Struck by Lightning

Escape Plan:Reduce the Risk of a Strike