[quote='Eric Greenwell

In 35 years of soaring, I can't ever remember an incident in the USA
where we stood around saying, "if only he'd had some survival gear..."

I carry about 5 lbs of stuff, but have never come close to needing it,
and I've flown all over the country. I know people that have been saved
by their parachute, but not anyone ever needing anything beyond a jacket
and lots of water after landing. Do I just have a poor memory, or is
this an infinitesimal risk?

One thing surprised me about the Andes incident: he left the aircraft. I
thought the standard cautions was "stay with the aircraft, because it's
easier to locate". Or is that just a USA thing?

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)[/QUOTE]

While the risk may be infinitesimal, the fact is that to the person who finds himself down in an isolated area the risk is very real. The person in the Andes accident which started this thread is a good example of someone who might have stayed with the plane had he a few simple items like a signal mirror, fire started, space blanket and the like.

Does one always carry "lots of water" in the glider? Perhaps in his bail out kit? A simple mini water purification system would be a good idea. You carry 5 lbs of gear in your glider which indicates that you recognize the potential, no matter how small. Five pounds might be a bit of overkill but you are at least prepared.

Training and preparedness is never a bad thing.

Walt