[at-l] Re: Cotton

[jmayer@rochester.rr.com (Jim Mayer)]

A surpisingly large number of backcountry deaths happen like this:

(1) Jack and Jill decide to go up a hill.
(2) It's a beautiful day: sunny and 80 degrees out.  Jack and Jill wear
jeans and a cotton T-shirt.  Maybe they pack a sweatshirt in case it gets
cold.
(3) Off they go.
(4) Halfway up the mountain the weather changes suddenly (that happens all
the time in the mountains).  One minute it is sunny and warm, the next
minute the temperature is 45-50 degrees and raining.
(5) Jack and Jill's jeans clothes get wet.  The cotton fibers soak up the
water, get terribly heavy, and lose all of their insulating capability.
(6) Jack and Jill start shivering.
(7) Jack and Jill get hypothermia (people used to call this "exposure").
(8) Jack and Jill die on the hill, of cotton soaked in water.

So... cotton kills.

-- Jim

----- Original Message -----
From: "t." <tjfort@netdoor.com>
To: "kahley" <kahley7@ptd.net>
Cc: <at-l@backcountry.net>
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2001 10:59 AM
Subject: [at-l] Re: Cotton


> kahley wrote:
> >
> > For us to keep quiet about it is the same as not telling people that
cotton
> > kills.
>
> How's this??  this is the 1st I've heard of this.
>
> BoWeavils kill cotton!
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