CORE Outdoor Safety and Survival Skills 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary symptom that distinguishes heat stroke from heat exhaustion?
- Excessive sweating
- Muscle cramps
- Altered mental status or unconsciousness (Correct answer)
- Pale, cool, clammy skin
Correct answer: Altered mental status or unconsciousness
Heat stroke is a life-threatening emergency characterized by altered mental status (confusion, unconsciousness), while heat exhaustion typically preserves normal mental function.
Question 2: In avalanche terrain, what percentage of avalanche victims trigger the slide themselves?
- About 10%
- About 30%
- About 60% (Correct answer)
- About 90%
Correct answer: About 60%
Approximately 90% of avalanche accidents involve the victim or a member of the victim's group triggering the avalanche, underscoring the importance of terrain awareness.
Question 3: Which cloud formation most strongly indicates an approaching severe thunderstorm?
- Cirrus (high, wispy clouds)
- Cumulus (puffy, fair-weather clouds)
- Cumulonimbus (anvil-topped, towering storm clouds) (Correct answer)
- Stratus (flat, layered clouds)
Correct answer: Cumulonimbus (anvil-topped, towering storm clouds)
Cumulonimbus clouds, which develop a characteristic flat anvil top, are the hallmark of active thunderstorms with lightning, hail, and high winds.
Question 4: When treating a blister to prevent infection in the field, what is the recommended approach for an intact, painful blister?
- Pop it with a needle, drain it, and remove the overlying skin
- Pop it with a sterile needle at the edge, drain it, and leave the skin intact (Correct answer)
- Ignore it and continue hiking
- Apply duct tape over the blister without draining
Correct answer: Pop it with a sterile needle at the edge, drain it, and leave the skin intact
Drain the blister by puncturing the edge with a sterilized needle, then leave the overlying skin intact as a natural protective dressing to prevent infection.
Question 5: A hiker is found with red, hot, dry skin, a rapid pulse, and is unresponsive. The PRIORITY field treatment is to:
- Give oral fluids immediately and monitor
- Actively cool the victim using wet cloths and fanning while arranging evacuation (Correct answer)
- Keep the victim warm and still until rescue arrives
- Apply sunscreen and move to shade only
Correct answer: Actively cool the victim using wet cloths and fanning while arranging evacuation
Heat stroke requires aggressive, immediate cooling—wet skin and fanning, ice packs to neck/armpits/groin—while simultaneously arranging emergency evacuation.
Question 6: What is the safest color to wear during hunting season to increase visibility to other hunters?
- Camouflage patterns
- White or light gray
- Blaze orange (hunter orange) (Correct answer)
- Brown or tan earth tones
Correct answer: Blaze orange (hunter orange)
Blaze orange is required by law in many states during certain hunting seasons because it is highly visible to humans but not to deer, which are red-green colorblind.
Question 7: When encountering a black bear on a trail, what is the recommended action?
- Run downhill as fast as possible
- Play dead immediately by lying face down
- Stand your ground, make yourself appear large, speak calmly, and back away slowly (Correct answer)
- Climb the nearest tree to escape
Correct answer: Stand your ground, make yourself appear large, speak calmly, and back away slowly
For black bears, you should stand your ground, make noise, appear large, and back away slowly—never run, as it triggers predatory instinct, and black bears are excellent climbers.
CORE Outdoor Safety and Survival Skills 4
What is the primary symptom that distinguishes heat stroke from heat exhaustion?