HS 197 - Cold Weather Survival with Grady Powell

Welcome to the Holistic Survival show with Jason Hartman. The economic storm brewing around the world is set to spill into all aspects of our lives. Are you prepared? Where are you going to turn for the critical life skills necessary to survive and prosper? The Holistic Survival show is your family's insurance for a better life. Jason will teach you to think independently, to understand threats, and how to create the ultimate action plan. Sudden change or worst scenario, you'll be ready. Welcome to Holistic Survival, your key resource for protecting the people, places and profits you care about in uncertain times. Ladies and gentlemen, your host, Jason Hartman.

Welcome to the Holistic Survival Show. This is your host, Jason Hartman, where we talk about protecting the people, places and profits you care about in these uncertain times. We have a great interview for you today and we will be back with that in less than 60 seconds on the Holistic Survival Show. And by the way, be sure to visit our website@holisticsurvival.com you can subscribe to. Our blog, which is totally free, has loads of great information and there's just a lot of good content for you on the site. So make sure you take advantage of that@holisticsurvival.com we'll be right back.

It's my pleasure to welcome Grady Powell to the show. He's the former senior detachment weapons sergeant in the U.S. army Special Forces and former U.S. army Special Forces, Green Beret, firearms and survival instructor. And it's great to have him coming to us today. Hey, Grady, where are you located?

I'm living out in St. Louis, Missouri right now. We run our shooting school down in Farmington now.

Fantastic. Well, welcome to the show. So tell us about the National Geographic's Ultimate Survival Alaska show and your involvement.

Yeah, the show is actually pretty amazing. It's a really awesome opportunity I got to have. The premise of the show is we got four teams made up of three survivalists each. There were the Woodsmen, the Mountaineers, the Endurance team, and my team, the Military. And we were dropped off at point A and told to get to point B with only what we had on our backs and the skills in our heads.

How far away was that?

It depended on which expedition we were on. It varied quite a bit. If we were going by water or by the rivers, it could be longer. For going by foot, it was a little bit less, but it was definitely a challenge.

Yeah. Okay, good. Well, yeah, so tell us more about it. What were some of the things that you had to overcome?

We had to fight Mother Nature, the weather, the animals, the cold, the hunger. We trekking across glaciers. We're pack rafting down glacier rivers and just freezing cold water below. Freezing cold water. Sleeping. Sleeping in a snow den that we dug out of a glacier. It was. It was an amazing experience. Something I can't wait to do again.

Yeah, yeah. Well, in terms of survival now, do you run a survival school as well as a shooting school? Are those separate?

No, no, it's the same facility. It's Asymmetric Solutions usa. We're out of Farmington, Missouri. We started off training military and law enforcement in firearms and precision shooting, but we opened up the civilian market and found that a lot of people were looking for these survival skills things that our instructors already have. And we figured, you know what, why not share these things with people? They're great skills to have. They always translate. There's always going to be some kind of tragedy that happens. There's going to be weather, there's going to be a potential government collapse.

I mean, people, Civil unrest. Yeah, I think we're right on the path to something going on. Well, what can people do besides the obvious? I mean, we've had a lot of people talk about, you know, store food, store water, have weapons, etc. I mean, those kind of, I think, go without saying. That's kind of survival 101. But give us some tips that people might not know, some things that might be missed frequently.

Well, one thing I've found a lot, a lot of the prepper types and the people who are preparing for these things, they have the tools, they have the food, the water, the storage and all the equipment they're going to need. But they don't practice with it. They don't practice with their families. What they're going to do.

The first time they break out that medical kit or try to build a fire with the tools they bought the first time they're going to do it is when it actually counts. These are things that you have to practice. You have to make a plan. You have to make sure everybody that's going to be with you knows that plan front and back.

Yeah, that's a good point. You're particularly adept, probably because of the show, at Cold Weather Survival. Any tips there?

Don't quit. Honestly, don't quit.

One tip that I found a long time ago and I didn't believe it, but relieving yourself is going to keep you a lot warmer than holding in your waist. It's kind of goofy, but your body is wasting a lot of that energy keeping those waste materials warm. If you get rid of Them, that's one less thing. That's a few ounces. It's a half a gallon of water that your body doesn't need to warm up. It can use it to keep your blood going.

That's really interesting. I've never heard that before, Grady. Wow. So does that mean people with, in general, I mean, we're talking about mass there with larger body mass are more susceptible to becoming cold because it's more work to heat a larger body?

It depends. Somebody with a larger body is also going to have that extra insulation with the fat. That's a great insulator.

That's how I would think of it.

Yeah. There's ups and downs to it. I mean, you're not going to have that energy, the physical energy to keep yourself going, but your body is going to automatically store a little bit more of that.

Okay, so eliminate waste. That's a good one. A new one. I haven't heard any other tips like that.

Everything you have in your tool bag, every little trick you have, everything should be multi purpose. On the show we had, we just had regular water bottles. I didn't have enough space in my, in my bag to carry a fishing line, but I knew I was going to need fishing equipment. So we just used the, the water bottles, wrapped some fishing line around them, put a, put a hook and some, some weight on it and use that as our fishing pole. It worked phenomenally. The point being is everything you have in your kit should be multifunctional because you only have enough certain amount of space. You don't want to waste any of it.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. What about when it comes to cold weather? If someone needs, should they keep moving? Should they stop, stop and rest? Should they only move in the daytime and not at night or, you know, any thoughts there?

It depends. I mean, you were saying move during the daytime or only at night? That depends on what the situation is. If there's somebody coming after you or if you're, there's imminent danger. Moving at night will help you out, but it's also going to be a lot colder. It's all dependent on what's going on. If you need to get from point A to point B, constantly moving is going to help you stay warm. But you got to think you're going to need to get water, you're going to need nourishment to keep yourself going. You need that fuel. But if you don't have to go somewhere, spending your time building a shelter is going to be good. That shelter is going to go a very long way. However, with the cold weather, if you're moving, if you're moving too much, you're going to start sweating. And once you get tired and once you settle down, that sweat's going to cool your body down a whole lot more. So if you're working in a cold weather survival situation and you find yourself sweating, slow down the pace because that's just, you might, it might be really good for right now. It's warming you up a lot, but in the long run it's going to hurt you.

Yeah, yeah, very good points. Okay, so, you know, not just on cold weather or on cold weather if you like, but there are other tips and feel free to talk about weapons if you like too.

Honestly, people, there are a lot of people who go out and buy, just buy weapons because it's the good thing to do. Now Jim, Jack and Johnny all went and got a rifle and a pistol because the government is apparently going to stop letting you have a rifle and a pistol. But they don't have a clue how to use it. Just like I was saying about all the tools in your bag as far as survival go, that's also a survival tool. It can be for hunting, can be for personal security. Practice. Absolutely. Practice every bit of it. Just because you grew up on a farm and you've shot dad's shotgun doesn't mean you're a good shot. Those things are widespread. Get out there and do some shooting. And I'm not talking about standing behind a desk in the indoor range and shooting a piece of paper at 7 meters away. That's not going to do you any good. Practice like you fight if you have your concealed carry permit. Practice from a concealed carry. What we like to do at our range is full dynamic shooting. We don't have an indoor facility. We don't have benches you stand behind or sit on. It's all dynamic. Because when you get in a defensive situation where you need to use your firearm, you're not going to be standing there face to face with your enemy. They're going to be on your side, they're going to be coming from your back. It's going to be very fast, very intimate, very, very dangerous. And you're not going to have time to slowly aim your weapon and slowly squeeze that trigger. These are things just like with starting a fire, you need to practice everything. You don't want the first time you have to do it to be when it actually counts.

Very good point, Very good point. So get trained. Any particular aspects on training or tips that you want to Mention, I mean you met, you talked about the problem there, which is very, very accurate.

I guess I'm not quite understanding your question.

Well, just, I mean everybody would say, as you said, which is very accurate. Be prepared, be trained, practice. But you know, any particular tips on how to practice or where to go? You know your school, I know that Frontline is school for that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Our facility is Asymmetric SolutionsUSA. Our website's asusa1.com we have a great facility run by former special operations soldiers, myself and actually my teammate from the Ultimate Survival Alaska show. Jared Ogden is one of our employees as well. We have a great facility but you don't have to come to ours. Go somewhere. There are plenty of survival schools and firearms training facilities all over the place. I would just recommend finding one that has credibility. Don't just take their website's word for it. Read reviews. There are plenty of ponies out there who don't actually know what they're talking about. And I'm not saying that they don't. They're not a good place to go. It's not going to, it's not going to hurt you to go get trained by them, but they're not going to be able to give you the best. So read books, read blogs, talk to other, other people. Like minded people. Just build yourself. Never settle for good enough. There's always, we can always, always get better.

Always get better, always learn more. No question about it. Did you want to give out a website link for the show as well?

The show. Well, what is the show? 1.

I think it's on Twitter, Nationalgeographic.com and then you can find it there. But Ultimate Survival Alaska.

Yeah, yeah. If you want to check out the show, it's going to be on National Geographic website and it's Survivalalaska, I believe. But it's pretty easy to find on the NatGeo website.

Good stuff. Well, Grady, I know you have a plane to catch. Thank you for joining us today. Really appreciate having you on and continued success. Good luck with the show.

Honestly, it was a pleasure talking to you guys. Have a great day.

What's great about the shows you'll find on jasonhartman.com is that if you want to learn about investing in and managing income properties for college students, there's a show for that. If you want to learn how to get noticed online and in social media, there's a show for that. If you want to know how to save on life's largest expense, there's a show for that. And if you'd like to know about America's crime of the century. There's even a show for that. Yep, there's a show for just about anything only from jasonhartman.com or type in Jason Hartman in the iTunes store.

Thank you for joining us today for the Holistic Survival show protecting the people, places and profits you care about in uncertain times. Be sure to listen to our Creating wealth show, which focuses on exploiting the financial and wealth creation opportunities in today's economy. Learn more at www.jasonhartman.com or search Jason Hartman on itunes. This show is produced by the Hartman Media Company, offering very general guidelines and information. Opinions of guests are their own and none of the content should be considered individual advice. If you require personalized advice, please consult an appropriate professional information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.