Teenager Jake Denham was skiing (滑雪) with his family in the USA when he fell over and lost one of his skis. His family didn’t know that he had a problem. They kept on skiing. When they got to the foot of the mountain, there was no sign of Jake.

Jake couldn’t find his ski anywhere. In the end, he decided to take off his other ski and walk down the mountain. But he couldn’t work out the right way to go.

It was now getting dark and he was a long way from any place of safety. He knew that he might die that night in the cold temperatures. But Jake kept calm (镇定的). At home, Jake watched a lot of TV programs about living in difficult situations. He remembered the advice from these programs and knew that he should build a hole in the snow. He made a hole and pointed it up the hill so the wind couldn’t blow into it. Outside his hole the temperature fell to a dangerous—15 °C that night, but inside it Jake was safe from the cold.

But he had to get down the mountain. The TV programs always said, If you are lost, you should find someone else’s tracks (轨迹) through the snow and follow them. “I wanted to live my life,” remembers Jake.

“So I got up and I found some ski tracks and I followed those.” He walked and walked and finally he saw lights.

Nine hours after he lost his ski, he found a team of workers who came to save him. He was safe!

His mum was very happy when she heard the news. Amazingly, Jake didn’t even have to go to hospital. He got through the terrible experience without any injuries.

So, the next time someone says that watching TV is a waste of time, think of Jake. Sometimes TV can save your life!

Find a hiding place

Unnecessary labor will make you sweat and make you cold. Find a hiding place around you before trying to start your own construction. If you are in a snow-covered area, you may be able to dig a cave in deep snow for protection from the wind. You should try to hide yourself in the middle of the mountain if possible. Stay out of the valleys-cold air falls, and the valley floor can be the coldest area on the mountain.

Signal for help

The best time to signal is during the day. Signal for help from the highest point possible-it will be easier for rescuers to see you, and any sound you make will travel farther. If you take a box of matches and a space blanket (a special blanket for traveling), build three smoky fires and put your blanket-gold side facing out on the ground.

Do not walk away

It will make finding you more difficult, as search teams will be trying to follow your path and may miss you if you have gone off in a different direction. Searchers often end up finding a car with no one in it.

If you get frostbite (冻伤), do not rewarm the affected area until you're out of danger.

You can walk on frostbitten feet, but once you warm the area and can feel the pain, you will not want to walk anywhere. Try to protect the frostbitten area and keep it dry until you are rescued.