Mammut Bushcraft & Wilderness Living Skills

01/20/2022

The Outdoor Leadership students at Burman University are preparing to lead a series of three experiences for a local youth organization. Sure, there is planning, risk strategies, scheduling that all need attention, but today was about playing in the snow.

Today we tested a variety of modern and played with bindings, practiced field repairs, worked on strategies, tested ice strength and laughed. We laughed alot. About tripping, and learning, and faces full of snow, and awkward gaits, and we laughed at ourselves.

04/01/2021

New skills are part of growing, right? Over the past year of online teaching I have attempted to learn a little about video production in order to provide content for students in the Outdoor Leadership Program at Burman University. So have a look at this one on Tumplines and Wannigans (just ignore the sync issue at 10:00, just learning how to edit using proxie files).
https://youtu.be/kBL2o0jonLk

And now that I'm destined to be a Youtube star, be sure to Subscribe, you never know what might show up!

Tumplines, Wannigans and Canoes, three things that just belong together. In this video we explore a range of techniques for rigging a tumpline to your wann...

02/09/2021

With winter surrounding us here in Alberta, I thought we should divert some attention to another aspect of Canadian identity. Hockey, Outdoors. The daughter of one of my work colleagues has been working with her family since 2003 to host an annual "World's Longest Hockey Game" Each year they win, they play around the clock for days, and weeks, and raise funds for Cancer Research. Check them out, and support them if you are able.

02/02/2021

Here at our home we are gradually creating more autonomy for ourselves. In food production, in energy, and creating income streams that are non dependent on employment. But this inspiring couple has elevated things to a new level. Combining some of the best from the 21st century, with a low impact lifestyle inspired by Bronze Age agriculture of Europe.

Colby Smith and Hannah Rhea teach primitive-skills or earth skills on their 50-acre spread in Blue Hill at their school 'Way of The Earth.'

01/18/2021

Good lessons to be found here. A 17 year old showed good thought process by not compounding an initial bad decision. After his snow machine became trapped in a steep valley, the teen placed the machine in a high visibility area and proceeded to dig a deep pit in the snowpack, and then create a snowcave. When rescuers located him, he was heating the shelter with his own body heat, had food and water, and was hunkering down for the night.

Besides knowing what to do, and then following through. The group was well prepared with communications equipment and supported their lost member. And of course, recognition to the SAR team that located the missing person in a very timely manner.

Search and rescue crews near 100 Mile House, B.C., are commending the actions of a 17-year-old who dug a snow cave to stay warm and safe after getting lost snowmobiling.

05/09/2020

12/03/2019

1 month until the 6th Annual Frostbite! Gathering opens its doors. Hopefully everyone enjoys an incredible time with family, friends and fluffy snow. Keep us posted on your adventures, and we'll meet in the New Year.

11/15/2019

Frostbite! Symposium on winter camping skills brings together some of the best instructors in the industry.

11/12/2019

The bridge between flatwater and hardwater seasons can be tough. Canoes are hung for the winter, and the ice is still forming on our bigger lakes. Learning to read the ice is a lifelong venture, and this photo is a perfect example.

Oftentimes we advocate care when entering the ice covered lake. But here we see a visibly dry creek/ravine throwing warm groundwater far out into the lake. The current channel extends perhaps 80 meters out from shore. All from a "dry" creek. Our deep lake and creek valleys in the Aspen Parkland forest typically have shallow water tables which leads to slow, subsurface water movement.

It pays to watch for inflowing surface water, but failing to recognize your unique geography could allow you to miss more subtle inlets. Later in the season we will travel this stretch with few worries, but in the shoulder seasons there is no substitute for local experiential knowledge and a careful eye.