Antarctic Field Trip Survival

It is October 5th, around 2:30 pm, and you and four classmates have just crashed in a float plane
on the east coast shore of Laura Lake in the subarctic region of the northern Quebec-
Newfoundland border. You were with your teacher exploring the unique culture in Quebec and
were on the first leg of your journey. The pilot and your teacher were killed in the crash, but the
rest of you were not injured. The plane sank in deep water shortly after crashing and sank with
the pilot and your teacher’s bodies pinned inside. You are each sweating heavily and are wet up
to your waist.

Prior to the crash, the pilot was not able to contact anyone. However, he did tell you that you are
30 miles south of where you were supposed to be and approximately 22 air miles east of
Schefferville, the nearest place with anyone living in a settlement. A mining camp on Hollinger
Lake is closer, but it was destroyed by fire years ago and no one lives there now. Schefferville,
population 5, 000, is an iron ore mining town about 300 air miles north of the St. Lawrence, 450
miles east of the James Bay/Hudson Bay area, 800 miles south of the Arctic Circle, and 300
miles west of the Atlantic Coast. You can only reach it by airplane or train, as there are no roads
past a few miles out of town. Your school group was expected to return to Schefferville from
northwestern Labrador no later than October 19. Your party filed a Flight Notification Form with
the Department of Transportation via Schefferville radio saying that you would be going to
Schefferville.

The area right around the plane is covered with small evergreen trees (1 ½ to 4 inches in
diameter). Many hills with rocky, barren tops are all over the area. Arctic Swamps make up the
valleys between the hills. About one-fourth of the area is covered by long, narrow lakes which
run northwest to southeast. The lakes are connected with many streams and rivers.

You are all dressed in insulated underwear, socks, heavy wool shirts, pants, knit gloves,
sheepskin jackets, knitted wool caps, and heavy leather hunting boots. As a group, your personal
possessions include: $153 in bills, two half dollars, four quarters, two dimes, one nickel, three
new pennies, one pocket knife (two blades and an awl which resembles an ice pick), one stub
lead pencil, and an air map.

Before the plane sank with your pilot and beloved teacher, you were able to save 15 items that
you must now use to survive. Rank these items in order of importance with 1 being the most
important and useful and 15 being the least important and useful.

Lafferty, J. Clayton. Subarctic. Arlington Heights, IL: Human Synergistics,

2003.