On Youtube, I recently watched one of one of Les Stroud's videos called "Stranded in Winter". I think this is from his pilot season, or first season series before they officially called them the "Survivoman" series. I have the entire Survivorman year 1 and 2 on DVD, but I had never seen this one before. The music and logs are different. I am sure winter trekkers will be interested in viewing the video. The link to part 1 of the 5-part posting is here, courtesy of Daffid's Youtube channel (follow the links for parts 2 to 5) :
http://www.youtube.com/user/Dafidd#p/c/606FAA02E143815A/5/AVh7FA5kAzMHe is dropped off in Wabakimi Park with extremely minimal gear and food (of course). He experiences temps of about -20 to -41C. That's authentic and will test skills for sure. He has no sleeping bag or shelter. He makes a great under-spruce-tree shelter, and discusses pros and cons of various emergency shelters. He shows the reality of how thick the southern boreal forest really is, with its abundance of blowdown and annoyingly thick undergrowth. Great comments too on what the books say VS the reality.
Check out the ice hole cutting sequence. He reached the limit of an axe (which he had), in a slushy ice profile, where you would need an ice chisel to get through thicker ice.
His excellent portrayal I think goes to show how incredibly essential a few simple gear items, with the skills to use them, can be for winter survival, and for making all the difference between surviving and thriving.
