Veteran outdoor educator and former NOLS instructor Molly Absolon recounts a wide variety of outdoor survival stories pulled from dependable sources including Backpacker.com, outdoor magazines, and Absolon's own experiences as a NOLS instructor. On the heels of each story she analyzes the factors and decisions that created the survival situation, then summarizes outdoor survival tactics that could help you pull through a similar situation should you ever find yourself in the wilderness, desperately trying to survive!

Backpacker magazine–branded, and fueled by FalconGuides, Backpacker Magazine’s Outdoor Survival brings you essential mind gear from the two most respected and reliable publishers of outdoor-related information. Learn how to properly preplan for a trip, build a shelter, start a fire, prevent hypo- or hyperthermia, navigate when lost—and, above all, how to avoid the common pitfalls that get you into a survival situation in the first place. The book also covers other important skills, including basic wilderness first-aid. Perfect for pack or pocket, this book breaks down its subject into the essential topics, providing practical and portable information useful in the field. Full-color photos and illustrations complement concise, clear text, introducing you to basic and intermediate skills needed to safely and successfully get by in the outdoors. Also available: Backpacker Magazine’s Campsite Cooking Backpacker Magazine’s Predicting Weather Backpacker Magazine’s Trailside Navigation

Struck by lightning. Charged by a grizzly. Swept into an ice cave. Lost and alone. Over our 40-year history, BACKPACKER readers have been obsessed with survival stories. On a visceral level, they’re dramatic, compelling reads. But even more importantly, survival tales have the power to inform us and move us deeply, cutting to the core of the human struggle. Almost 100 years later, it’s still a thrill to read about Ernest Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance’s death-defying Antarctic struggle, or the Donner party’s ill-fated journey through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We’re still captivated by the tenacity, innovation, and grit that survivors of all stripes show in making it home alive despite the worst of Mother Nature’s indifference. The stories collected here are perhaps not quite so epic as Shackleton’s, but that doesn’t make them any less dramatic, dangerous, or real. They happened to real hikers and backpackers like you, and along with sending tingles down our spines, they remind us that in the wilderness, nothing is ever truly certain or routine—that’s part of the point of heading there in the first place. And remember, these are BACKPACKER stories, so that means there’s a lesson in each one, and real advice that you can take with you into the backcountry, so you don’t make the same mistakes that these unlucky (or lucky) survivors made, and can find your way home.

What is survival? Here’s an easy baseline: You’ll know it when you’re eating the weakest sled dog. BACKPACKER contributors have seen it all, from horrific wounds to animal attacks to life-or-death mishaps on the trail. The thin line between daring and death? We've walked it, and this A to Z guide, you'll learn all the tips, tricks, and skills you'll need to make it out alive.

"The definitive guide to mountains and climbing." --Conrad Anker More than 800,000 copies sold since the first edition was published in 1960, and translated into 12 languages Detailed instructions and hundreds of illustrations share the latest in best practices Researched and written by a team of expert climbers, guides, and instructors Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills is the most significant guidebook ever published. Born from the handwritten climbing tips of early volunteers of the Seattle-based Mountaineers organization, this fundamental how-to manual has inspired emerging climbers around the globe across nine editions for more than six decades. Mountaineers Books is proud to present the 10th edition of this master guide, commonly referred to as "Freedom." From planning a weekend backpacking trip to navigating the logistics of a months-long alpine expedition, from tying knots and hitches to essential belaying and rappelling techniques, from setting up camp in the wilderness to summiting glaciated peaks--this comprehensive textbook written by climbers for climbers covers it all.

Backpacker The Survival Hacker’s Handbook provides detailed instruction on how to use everyday items to survive in extraordinary circumstances. Sure, the quirk is here. For instance, learn how to make a fishhook out of a beer can, start a fire with hand sanitizer, or purify water with bleach. But it goes beyond the quirk to identify real solutions for real scenarios—with real items you carry with you. The book includes useful tips and tricks from survival experts, and provides step-by-step instructions, along with short stories of survival situations where these modern survival skills have come into play. The book is organized around basic fundamental concepts of survival: finding food, building shelter, securing water, etc.

Designed to be taken on the trail, "The Backpacker's Field Manual" is an in-depth handbook that provides backpackers of all levels, from beginners to trip leaders, with all the essential information they'll need. 100 line drawings.

In this personal journey, ultra-light backpacker and sought-after speaker Glen Van Peski shares the life lessons he has learned through years of lightening his pack and helping others. Adventures provide the richness and texture to a life well lived. So remain open. Keep saying yes to life's opportunities. Glen Van Peski helped revolutionize backpacking by creating ultralight equipment, which allows people to take less so they can do more in the wilderness. During decades of championing ultralight backpacking, Glen became aware that “take less, do more” is more than just a hiking slogan. As he reduced his pack weight, he realized that the lessons learned applied to all areas of life. Now he wants to share the lessons he learned to help others live full and vibrant lives—lives characterized by purpose, meaning, and joy. In this book, you will discover transformative life lessons, which may go against the grain of popular thought but have been proven to change lives for the better. You'll learn that: Often the best strategy for achieving goals comes from subtracting rather than adding. When your first instinct is generosity, the long-term dividends will be greater than if you strive to gain your own advantage. Revising the stories you tell yourself about situations will reframe your life and increase gratitude. By investing creatively in relationships, you will generate more joy in your life. Making friends with failure will cause you to grow and improve. take less. do more. It's a revolutionary idea that will transform your life and free your soul to find your purpose—and maybe a little bit of adventure too.

The "10 Essentials" have long been recognized as the minimum amount of survival gear you should carry when heading into the backcountry. This book breaks down the gear options into what works, what doesn't, and why.

The path to an adventurous life seems straightforward: Crush at an outdoor sport; amass a legion of followers who drool at your hero shots on Instagram; host TED talks exhorting people to live their best life, brah. But there is another way: the way of the Wilderness Idiot. Author Ted Alvarez built a career and an outdoor lifestyle by simply not being smart enough to say no to things that will probably kill him, or at least embarrass him severely. From nearly drowning in pro kayak races to hallucinating on solo trips across bear-and-bug-infested wildernesses, his work exists to show that the outsider Everywoman and -man can have the spotlight. In a series of hilarious and insightful essays, Alvarez shows that you don’t need to shred sick lines to find adventure—you just have to embrace the blank spots beyond your comfort zone. That way lies self-knowledge, soul-quieting confidence, and the soul of wilderness. More than most, Alvarez knows outsiders belong outside—and he wants to welcome them into the tribe. The Wilderness Idiot airlifts readers to the world’s most remote places (in reality and in the mind) and make them feel so at home they’ll start dreaming about adventures of their own.