Walking to the 'nearest' farmhouse / village / pub in a blizzard is one
of
the worst things you can do! Repeatedly walking to the top of the hill
was
foolhardy as well, once he'd contacted the authorities.

Yep unless you know where you are going and how far, the advice up here
has
always been to stay put, find the best shelter you can and call for
information
on weather conditions and to tell people where you are and then rationally
plan
the next course of action together. If you are injured then you should
call the
rescue services. Walking in a genuine blizzard is a sure way of cooling
the
body
rapidly, mild hypothermia soon sets in unless you are wearing proper
arctic
clothing and then you lose the ability to think and reason and start
wandering
aimlessly getting colder and colder and then - you lose consciousness and
die.

I learnt that by practical experience 21 years ago. Driving home through
Aberdeenshire I was caught in a white-out, and the car slid gently off the
road and into the ditch because I couldn't see that there was a slight
right-hand bend. I'd just passed a farm and went back to phone for help.
Eventually it got dark, and there was a power cut, so the whole country was
pitch dark. The farmer's wife insisted I stay the night, and asked if I had
overnight things. The farmer linked arms with me and we walked the 100 yards
or so to the car and back to get my bag. On the way I realised that if I had
tried to walk those 100 yards alone and in a pitch-black whiteout (if you
see what I mean) I'd have been dead. Now I never go anywhere in winter
without a sleeping bag, and if I ever get stuck again I will definitely stay
put in the car.

Anne