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Winter camping places special responsibilities on members of the group. Because of the cold, you must always be watching your partners for signs of frostbite and hypothermia. Scout groups are lucky because they usually know watch other fairly well. This is beneficial in detecting hypothermia because one of the earliest signs is a personality change. For example, a person who is usually very talkative and outgoing becomes quiet and keeps to himself. This is a sure sign of hypothermia. The victim of hypothermia will not even know this is going on. He will be depending on the other members in his group to detect his condition.
Frostbite must be constantly watched for because a person will not realize his condition till it's too late. Everyone should keep an eye on everyone else for whitish-gray spots on exposed skin such as the face.
The most important responsibility of an individual is not to the group, however, it is to oneself. If you feel yourself getting cold, you must take charge of yourself and get yourself warm. There is a tremendous urge to put off getting warm because you are a little comfortable sitting waiting for dinner. Unless you do something about your coldness, the minute you feel it coming on it will just keep getting worse. There is absolutely no reason you should be cold while you are out camping. You must take responsibility for yourself because if you don't, you might get a lot of your friends into a bad situation.
So we've found out you have two responsibilities, one to the group to help
others, and the other, the most important, to yourself. There is a
tendency for people to draw themselves down inside all the layers of their
clothing. You should try to avoid this by making a conscious effort to
help others and participate fully in the group. It will keep you warmer in
the long run.
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