Spring can feel like permission to relax: longer days, often sunny mornings, and milder forecasts encourage people to leave their winter gear at home when going into the bush…and hypothermia causes a real danger.
In Tasmania and mainland alpine areas, that can be a serious mistake! The weather can change quickly, particularly at elevation, and cold rain plus strong wind can drain body heat even when the air temperature is well above freezing.
Hypothermia is not only a snow-and-ice problem. It happens whenever the body loses heat faster than it can replace it. Treat spring trips with the same respect you would give a winter outing: get some proper survival training, plan conservatively, carry proper protection, and watch your companions for the early signs.
Can you really suffer from hypothermia causes at +10°C?
Yes. Hypothermia is defined by a dangerous fall in core body temperature, not by a particular outdoor temperature. Around +10°C can be hazardous when a person is wet, exposed to wind, exhausted, inadequately dressed or unable to keep moving.
Water conducts heat away from the body far faster than still air, while wind strips away the thin layer of warmed air beside clothing and skin.
A mild-looking forecast may easily conceal severe exposure conditions. The risk rises further after an unexpected swim, a river crossing, a long delay, an injury, or hours in damp clothing.
Why is spring particularly risky in Tasmania and alpine areas?
- Spring is often the windiest season in Tasmania, which sits in the path of the Southern Ocean’s prevailing westerlies—the “Roaring Forties”.
- Passing weather systems can produce rapid changes, and mountain conditions may bear little resemblance to those at the car park or in town.
- Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service warns that hypothermia causes such as rain, wind, snow, hail etc are possible at any time of year, especially in mountain areas.
- The psychological trap is also important: because the calendar says winter is over, people may carry less insulation, omit waterproof over-trousers etc, choose cotton clothing, or press on when they would have turned back in winter.
What are the three danger elements?
Hypothermia causes are particularly high with these three factors: wet, windy and cold. Contrary to popular belief…it doesn’t have to be in extreme cold, icy or snowy conditions!
Any two can be enough to create a dangerous situation. Cold plus wind accelerates heat loss. Cold plus wet clothing overwhelms insulation. Wet plus wind can chill a person rapidly even when the temperature seems moderate.
The three often arrive together in Tasmania: sweat or rain wets clothing, wind increases evaporative and convective cooling, and falling temperature completes the deadly trifactor.
Do not wait for all three – or even two factors – before acting. If someone is getting wet and the wind is rising, add layers, seek or make shelter or turn back early.
What are the early warning signs?
Watch for classic hypothermia causes, such as persistent or uncontrollable shivering, cold or pale skin, weakness, slowed pace, poor coordination, confusion, drowsiness and unusual behaviour.
Another sign that we at Survival Courses Tasmania teach is to try to touch the tip of your thumb to your little finger. Basic, I realise, and it’s purely a useful early warning sign that you should take action then to warm up before symptoms get worse!
A useful mnemonic in the field is the: mumbles, grumbles, fumbles, stumbles, and tumbles.
Slurred or muddled speech, irritability, clumsy hands, poor balance and repeated falls may signal that cooling is affecting the brain and muscles.
The person may deny that anything is wrong, so companions should act on what they observe.
In severe hypothermia, shivering may stop; breathing and pulse may become slow, muscles stiffen and consciousness may fall. Stopping shivering is not reassurance – it can be a grave sign.
Who is most at risk from hypothermia causes?
Anyone can become hypothermic, including fit and experienced walkers. The risk is increased for children, older people, anyone who’s dehydrated, people who are unwell or injured, and those with decreased mobility.
Exhaustion, hunger, dehydration and some medicines or health conditions can reduce the body’s ability to generate or conserve heat.
Alcohol is especially misleading: it may create a sensation of warmth (through vasodilation) while increasing heat loss and impairing judgement.
Solo hikers are more vulnerable because nobody is there to notice subtle changes. A group is only as safe as its coldest, slowest or least well-equipped member.
How should I prepare for a spring trip?
Check the detailed mountain forecast, park alerts and route conditions immediately before leaving, but pack for conditions worse than predicted.
Take a waterproof and windproof outer layer (hardshell jacket), warm insulating layers, a beanie and gloves, and spare dry clothing sealed in a drybag.
Avoid relying on cotton, which insulates poorly when wet; choose wool or suitable synthetics.
Carry enough food and water, navigation equipment, shelter and an emergency communication device.
Mobile coverage cannot be relied upon in the wilderness, so a registered Personal Locator Beacon or EPIRB is strongly recommended.
Leave your route and return time with a reliable person, and agree in advance on clear turnaround triggers.
What should a group do when someone starts getting cold?
- Act at the first change, not after the person collapses. Stop in the most sheltered safe place available.
- Prevent becoming even wetter, put on protective layers and assess whether the person can continue safely.
- Someone who’s cold and is slowing down may produce less heat than the group expects, and pushing harder can worsen exhaustion.
- Keep the group together and simplify the plan. If symptoms do not improve promptly with shelter, dry layers and warmth – or if judgement, speech or coordination are affected – treat the situation as hypothermia and seek emergency help.
What wilderness first aid should I give?
Move the person out of the wind and wet areas if this can be done safely. Handle them gently, keep them horizontal where practical, remove wet clothing without unnecessary exposure, and replace it with dry layers.
Insulate them from the ground and cover the head and neck. Warm the trunk gradually with blankets, sleeping bags or wrapped warm packs placed around the chest, armpits and groin – never directly against skin.
If the person is fully alert and can swallow safely, offer warm (but not hot), sweet, non-alcoholic drinks and energy-rich food. Do not give anything by mouth to someone who is drowsy or confused.
Do not focus heat on the hands and feet; warming the core is the priority. Monitor breathing continuously.
When is it an emergency?
Hypothermia can progress slowly, and the affected person may not recognise the danger. Call 000 promptly if you suspect it and have a signal – or activate a PLB in a life-threatening remote emergency if mobile communication is unavailable.
Red flags include:
- altered speech or behaviour
- inability to walk safely
- repeated falls
- shivering that is violent or has unexpectedly stopped
- very slow breathing, a weak pulse, or reduced consciousness
Do not delay because the thermometer reads above zero or because you are close to the track. Continue sheltering and insulating the person while help is arranged, and follow instructions from emergency services.
What common mistakes should hikers avoid?
Do not assume a short walk needs little equipment, or that a good forecast removes the need for waterproofs.
Proper bush survival training will teach you what essential items you should always carry, as well as the bushcraft skills you need when you don’t have all the right gear.
Do not let a timetable, booking or summit goal override deteriorating conditions. Avoid separating a slow or cold person from the group, and never dismiss clumsiness or irritability as simply tiredness.
Do not depend on a phone or anything with a battery in it as your only emergency link. Finally, do not wait for it to start snowing; rain, sweat wicked onto your clothes, river water, and wind can create the same dangerous heat-loss pathway.
What is the simplest rule to remember?
If two of the three hypothermia causes – wet, windy, and cold – are present, take action before symptoms appear.
Stay dry, block the wind, add insulation, eat and drink, and change the plan early. Keep watching for the “mumbles” etc in yourself and others.
In Tasmania’s spring weather, turning back while everyone is still warm and coordinated is good judgement, not failure.
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