Sounds pretty epic!!! Don't get that cool of stories on land really...you'd have to involve groups of bears, wolves, and elk all surrounding you with unexpected snow or something like that.

In the past little while when something really sucks out there...I just think sucks now....gonna be a realllll cool story later!
Glad to hear you guys got out and survived!

Now that you mention it, this episode makes a case for adding wire cutters to the list of "essentials": https://forums.clubtread.com/31-alber...in-valley.html

Yeah, these stories always sound best after aging awhile

I've got a steel billy can like this...


Actually, it's this pot.

...stuffed with matches, small bic lighter, waxed cotton balls(firestarters), Fox 40 whistle, 2x foil emerg blankets (they're packed so small when new), another (more permanent) orange emerg tarp, beef stock, instant coffee, sugar, non-dairy creamer, ibuprofen, a 5" folding knife, Leatherman, some 20-odd feet of mechanic's wire, and a MEC Turtle LED. I chuck this in my pack every time I ski and 'might' ski under the rope and out of bounds or go for a scramble. I've read too many news reports of people spending the night out and miserable after getting lost. If that were to happen to me, I want to be able to offer the guy that comes to get me the next morning a cup of hot joe.
I will also make sure my phone has a good charge on it (Whistler Blackcomb and environs has good cell coverage).
I keep a freezer ziplock on standby with a change of (non-cotton) base layer top & bottom, a fleece and dry socks.
Surprisingly, all this will go into a full-sized camelback with still room for a bladder, sandwiches, a camera and GPS/map for day trips.
I also need to focus more on first aid supplies.
All this on top of whatever I might consciously pack for a longer outing, such as food, headlamp, shelter, water/filter, extra layers etc.
For something like the Chief I would omit a ton of this gear, as help is close to hand if necessary, but for anything more remote or possibly off-trail, I've got it (I base this decision on how difficult directions to my actual location might be, especially if consciousness or communication might be an issue).

I also grabbed one of these from the local Home Hardware the other day on a whim, I'll test it out and let you know.

Got a good laugh out of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=5&v=Rm001drekmU

This is a valuable thread...

I wanted to add that something I had not really paid too much attention to in the past was studying the night and following day weather in case you do get stuck somewhere overnight... and adjust your kit accordingly... just having layers for the worst case scenario for the day hike may not cover you sufficiently for the worst case scenario night time temps and or potential weather.

The Esbit tabs are excellent emergency fire starters/fuel, but while combusting, it was probably in my top 3 worst smells I have ever experienced in my life. Absolutely horrible (and very toxic: do NOT inhale). Also, if you plan on cooking something using an Esbit-burning stove (even if you just want to boil water), be prepared to deal with some very sticky, gross residue on the bottom of your pot. Good times

On a more positive note, look up the history of Esbit fuel (you'll also learn how the tabs got their name). And for anyone who's still interested in this particular stove and fuel(!) Lee Valley also carries them.

I now carry TWO foil emergency blankets with me.

The thin lightweight foil blankets tear and shred quite easily if they flap about in a high wind.

I learned about this when I had to do an emergency bivouac high on a mountainside. I was caught by dark, after I did some bad routefinding on descent.

The conditions were dry, and the overnight temperature was relatively mild, but it was very windy with powerful gusts. There was no place to get shelter from the wind.

After just a couple of hours my foil heat blanket was in tatters. I felt a bit melancholy when I watched pieces of silvery foil lofting away in the moonlight!

I had to keep what remained of the foil blanket wound pretty tightly around me, which is not optimal in terms of insulation value. I also couldn't shift position much without more of the foil blanket flying away. That got quite uncomfortable after a while.

Something dry to insulate your butt from the ground is important, too.

However, for as long as it was intact, I found that the blanket did keep me reasonably warm.

You don't take them when you know you won't get in trouble..........and none of us, as soon as they take the first step, can say that.

I've made kits for all our family. My husband and I each carry one in our daypacks, and I made a mini one for our two boys that they carry in a little hiking pouch that will hopefully get them through a night in a really bad case scenario. We don't carry them if we're just out walking in a nature park in the city, but if we head out of town, we always have them.