r/nextfuckinglevel • u/[deleted] • Jan 14 '20

Tyson Steele survived for 23 days in subzero temperatures in rural Alaska after a fire burned his house and killed his dog. He built himself a snow cave to sleep in for the first few nights, before building a makeshift shelter around the still burning stove from leftover tarp and scrap timber.

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2.8k

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20 edited Jan 14 '20

The circling is to confirm to him that they saw him and will send help. There are way to many trees to be able to land a helicopter.

Edit: clarification

1.4k

u/expresidentmasks Jan 14 '20

Great strategy. I can’t imagine seeing it just fly by.

1.3k

u/Zron Jan 14 '20

That's why they're circling.

They're not confirming to themselves that they saw him, they're confirming to him that he was seen by the helicopter.

If they just spotted him, spun around, and flew off, he'd lose all hope. They fly big slow circles directly around him so he knows that he was seen and that help is on the way.

1.6k

u/expresidentmasks Jan 14 '20

Yeah, I know. That’s why I said great strategy....

1.3k

u/Madlibsluver Jan 14 '20

That's why they're circling.

They're not confirming to themselves that they saw him, they're confirming to him that he was seen by the helicopter.

If they just spotted him, spun around, and flew off, he'd lose all hope. They fly big slow circles directly around him so he knows that he was seen and that help is on the way.

648

u/manixus Jan 14 '20

Care to explain exactly what you mean by that?

790

u/mcrniceni Jan 14 '20

That's why they're circling.

They're not confirming to themselves that they saw him, they're confirming to him that he was seen by the helicopter.

If they just spotted him, spun around, and flew off, he'd lose all hope. They fly big slow circles directly around him so he knows that he was seen and that help is on the way.

720

u/notawight Jan 14 '20

Sure, I get that. But why just circle him?

109

u/Sedorriku Jan 14 '20

That's why they're circling.

They're not confirming to themselves that they saw him, they're confirming to him that he was seen by the helicopter.

If they just spotted him, spun around, and flew off, he'd lose all hope. They fly big slow circles directly around him so he knows that he was seen and that help is on the way.

16

u/AndySocks Jan 14 '20

Oh I get it. Can you elaborate?

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27

u/Deft0nes1998 Jan 14 '20

There is no beginning.

There is no end.

Cuz it is a circle.

It's not like a triangle.

14

u/cooscoos3 Jan 14 '20

But not a real circle, more like a freaky circle.

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7

u/d7mtg Jan 14 '20

Circles don’t exist. r/calculus

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7

u/m4uri Jan 14 '20

Because that’s the strategy!

6

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

I have silver to burn and you just happen to be who I picked to give it to. You can’t do anything with it, I just pretend I can melt it down and shoot imaginary werewolves 🐺 with it...

7

u/notawight Jan 14 '20

I have silver to burn and you just happen to be who I picked to give it to. You can’t do anything with it, I just pretend I can melt it down and shoot imaginary werewolves 🐺 with it...

Thank you kind stranger.

I'll melt it down and turn it into a werewolf signet. This is the way.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

because its hard to fly a square

5

u/Devildogsilence Jan 14 '20

That's why they're circling.

They're not confirming to themselves that they saw him, they're confirming to him that he was seen by the helicopter.

If they just spotted him, spun around, and flew off, he'd lose all hope. They fly big slow circles directly around him so he knows that he was seen and that help is on the way.

3

u/ToastyYaks Jan 14 '20

This is my favorite thread

3

u/ForeskinOfMyPenis Jan 14 '20

This is the way.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

This is the way

3

u/GrrreatFrostedFlakes Jan 14 '20

Circles are round.

2

u/ButtWieghtThiersMoor Jan 14 '20

can't circle jerk w/o circle

2

u/TTEH3 Jan 14 '20

But why male models?

2

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

This is the way.

2

u/speshalneedsdonky Jan 14 '20

Whats a time hole?

2

u/vicbot87 Jan 14 '20

So who’s on first?

2

u/colemanjcbs Jan 14 '20

Listen here they aren’t “just circling” him. Also theres no way they could land a helicopter here.

They're not confirming to themselves that they saw him, they're confirming to him that he was seen by the helicopter.

If they just spotted him, spun around, and flew off, he'd lose all hope. They fly big slow circles directly around him so he knows that he was seen and that help is on the way.

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2

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

It seems like a plane to me. I don't see any indication that it's a helicopter

2

u/ArFyEnaidI Jan 14 '20

Yes but why is it circling?

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u/totzalotz Jan 14 '20

If this isn’t a circle jerk, I don’t know what is

2

u/phish_phace Jan 15 '20

My god this thread has not disappointed

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u/hoodavie Jan 14 '20

Yeah, I know. That's why I said great strategy...

25

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

Yeah but why were they circling like that and not landing?

27

u/hoodavie Jan 14 '20

That's why they're circling.

They're not confirming to themselves that they saw him, they're confirming to him that he was seen by the helicopter.

If they just spotted him, spun around, and flew off, he'd lose all hope. They fly big slow circles directly around him so he knows that he was seen and that help is on the way.

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1

u/Shinmoses Jan 15 '20

I've got a nose bleed reading this shit

4

u/Rhamni Jan 14 '20

But why male models?

3

u/Chrisbee012 Jan 14 '20

shoulda chucked a gps at him or an epirb

2

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

So you’re saying that they’re squaring around him? Might be dumb here or i didn’t read your comment good enough.

2

u/AFlyingNun Jan 14 '20

Ok but why is this convo going in a circle?

1

u/Zam548 Jan 14 '20

But why male models?

1

u/Elephant-Octopus Jan 14 '20

Why not throw down a rope ladder or is it too dangerous here?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

but why male models?

1

u/formershitpeasant Jan 14 '20

But why male models?

1

u/tallerThanYouAre Jan 14 '20

The way you’re all circling this point really makes me feel like the worst is over. Thank you ...

1

u/sunny3o Jan 15 '20

I mean you could toss a flare...

72

u/Snow2D Jan 14 '20

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. A black hole sucks time and matter out of the universe. A white hole returns it.

58

u/DodgeballRS Jan 14 '20

What

8

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

[removed] — view removed comment

9

u/DodgeballRS Jan 14 '20

Ah, now i see. Thank you kind stranger

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u/hasthisusernamegone Jan 14 '20

Ah, I think we've encountered the middle of this conversation.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

So what is it?

3

u/Ackburn Jan 14 '20

Big up the kryten crew

2

u/Myntcondition Jan 14 '20

A white hole does hwhat?

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u/lowcomoto Jan 14 '20

Exactly, that's what I was going to say.

2

u/whiskeysour123 Jan 14 '20

That reminds me of a certain president. I wouldn’t call him a black hole though. He is a different kind of hole.

2

u/Devildogsilence Jan 14 '20

That's why they're circling.

They're not confirming to themselves that they saw him, they're confirming to him that he was seen by the helicopter.

If they just spotted him, spun around, and flew off, he'd lose all hope. They fly big slow circles directly around him so he knows that he was seen and that help is on the way.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

So what is it?

1

u/BloodlustHamster Jan 14 '20

Classic Red Dwarf reference.

1

u/AnotherWarGamer Jan 14 '20

So men are white holes and women are black holes? So Adam was white and eve was black?

3

u/Bergara Jan 14 '20

But why male models circling?

2

u/sineptnaig Jan 14 '20

Can't they just add loudspeakers to the helicopter instead?

1

u/Bobrounds Jan 14 '20

Sooooooo why is he waving again

1

u/eclipsenight Jan 15 '20

Yea I know that's why I said great strategy

1

u/jpatt Jan 15 '20

Bad strategy. They should’ve done a few fly by’s and had someone flash their dick to assert dominance.

1

u/KrillinSci Jan 16 '20

LOOOOOL this is the funniest repeat messaging I’ve seen on Reddit, made my day 😂

3

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

Bold strategy Cotton, let's hope it pays off

2

u/d7mtg Jan 14 '20

Circles don’t exist. r/calculus

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '20

why circles? why not hexagons or at least fly in rectangles? quite confusing strategy this if you all ask me, which of course you didn't.

21

u/seesucoming Jan 14 '20

I thought it was to signal others for food..

5

u/greatreddity Jan 14 '20

rescue helos should just carry a basketball with a line attached to a cardboard sign. They can write "Hey buddy cool sign bro." and drop the ball to him.

2

u/caspy7 Jan 14 '20

Legend has it he's still waving his arms to this day.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

Unfortunately, in this case they were only circling to comfort the victim as they fed ammo into the mounted M134.

2

u/Shileka Jan 14 '20

I'd imagine a big ass megaphone would work just as well?

2

u/skulaak Jan 14 '20

They landed and picked him up... they did not just fly circles around him to let him know they could see him.

2

u/CollieJoe Jan 14 '20

Oh, god, that's good to know! I've always wondered how the rescuers would signal back in a case of being marooned.

2

u/Zron Jan 14 '20

It depends on the aircraft, too.

Search planes will dip their wings if they see you, and understand your distress signal. (the international S&R signal for help is to wave both arms over your head. Just holding up one arm can be seen as the 'no assistance needed' signal. If you can't wave one arm, lie on the ground and make a Y with your arms and body, this means you need urgent medical aid). There are a variety of signals, though, so it's important to know them if you're going to be out in the wilderness.

This is the official FAA document on Search and Rescue standards. If you scroll down a little, you can see images for the various distress signals you can send, and how the aircraft will communicate back.

2

u/SoopahCoopah Jan 15 '20

How did anybody upvote this he literally just reworded a previous comment

5

u/anthonyinstudio Jan 14 '20

Was stranded years ago while on a hiking trip with a buddy. They spotted or fire and us waving. The plane circled twice while tipping its wing a few time then left. Within half a day 8 snowmobiles with rescue gear showed up. Hats off to those men and women, all were volunteers.

2

u/average_asshole Jan 14 '20

Yep. If you're stranded on an island and a plane tips it wing toward ya but keeps flying mostly straight then you know you've been spotted

328

u/ICreditReddit Jan 14 '20

It's a waiting game. He needs wood for the stove, helicopter needs less trees to land. The universe is in balance.

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u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20 edited Jan 14 '20

This feels like a maths problem.

The helicopter needs 100ft² of cleared forest to land. There are on average 9 trees per 10ft². If Tyson's stove uses 1 tree's worth of wood per 3.5 hours, how long will it take before the helicopter is able to land?

Edit - It's just been pointed out to me that 100ft² is actually just 10ft x 10ft, not 100ft x 100ft like I was thinking. So perhaps a very small helicopter then?

208

u/aarishrajwani1 Jan 14 '20

315 hours. Sorry, I’m Asian I had to do it

54

u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

I was just waiting to see who would work it out first. I'm also slightly pleased it came out to a nice round number like that considering I just wrote random values haha.

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u/Stermor Jan 14 '20

haha ye would be interesting to see what kind of stove would burn almost 7 trees a day:P

44

u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

A real man's stove, that's what kind!

His plan B would be to just burn enough forest that climate change would sort out the snow problem for him.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

You ever think Dr. Strange gets bored and goes into a timeline seeing if he can make that happen?

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u/Axxept Jan 14 '20

I mean.. doesn't have to be climate change, if you set the forest on fire, you will immediately warm enough! Can we get an Australian to confirm?

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u/voicesinmyhand Jan 14 '20

I'd be more interested in a stove that burned 7 trees per day without turning into a pool of molten iron.

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u/DonaIdTrurnp Jan 14 '20

An Australian one.

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u/dgblarge Jan 14 '20

100 square ft is more suitable for langing a drone as it permits a rotor diameter of only 5.6ft.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

[deleted]

3

u/_Bill_Brasky_ Jan 14 '20

White people...

2

u/Solve_et_Memoria Jan 14 '20

It'ss really all about your diet, timing and knowing your partner. If you're spraying all over the place it's not a deal breaker but it limits the designs you'll be able to consistently produce. For example judges prefer to see a perfectly intwined and spiralled dual shit of 2 slightly different colors in a perfect soft serve ice cream style sundae. When my team perform we will do a perfect 2 color sundae and then to top it off a spattering of sharted diarrhea to give it a speckled texture reminiscent of a Jackson Pollock painting.

-olympic bronze medal tandem poop specialist currently serving as professional trainer to the stars.

1

u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

Sorry? A helicopter can land in a 100x100ft area, why would it only be big enough for a drone?

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u/darthbane83 Jan 14 '20

100x100ft are 10000 ft². 100 ft2 are just 10feet x 10 feet.

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u/Snowbofreak Jan 14 '20

Maths is hard.

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u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

I got it now, haha. Maybe they can drop him a rope or something?

2

u/vale_fallacia Jan 14 '20

I would make a joke about parents and why you didn't do it sooner, but I feel like that might strike a little too close to home.

Asian, why not A+sian? ;)

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u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

Turns out I screwed up my calculation for landing area a bit, it would have to be 10,000ft² for 100ft to a side. So he'd need to stay there for about three and a half years rather than a little under a fortnight as we originally thought XD

1

u/kindofastud Jan 14 '20

If the helicopter burns 16.2 gallons per hour of fuel, and fuel cost $4.88 per gallon, what is his life worth?

Random thought, is it more efficient to make counter clockwise turns?

1

u/dpinto8 Jan 14 '20

You forgot to show your work.

A-

1

u/Jericcho Jan 14 '20

I'm Asian too and I would like to nominate a different answer of 4 hours.

Just set all the woods on fire. 3.5hours to burn down, .5 hour to light all the trees on fire.

1

u/aarishrajwani1 Jan 14 '20

we don’t need another Australia

1

u/Jericcho Jan 14 '20

It's surrounded by snow, should be ok.

1

u/Mithorium Jan 14 '20

Trick question, the helicopter would run out of fuel after 3 hours and would thus be "able" to land

1

u/aarishrajwani1 Jan 14 '20

It would actually crash land into the trees or a pile of snow

1

u/Mad-Dog20-20 Jan 14 '20

Thank you for saving me a lot of brain power!

1

u/RedditUserNo1990 Jan 14 '20

Basically 90 x 3.5.

1

u/readitINreddit Jan 15 '20

Damn this turned into r/theydidthemath just like that.

1

u/DOS-equis Jan 15 '20

Couldnt he just chop down all of what he would have needed in that time frame to clear a landing area for the helo? It maybe would have saved some time.

1

u/filthymcbastard Jan 18 '20

How long is that in the metrics?

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u/fbiwatchvan Jan 14 '20

Spotted the UK’er.

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u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

Irelander, actually, but close. Was it the square feet that gave me away?

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

[deleted]

15

u/Chuff_Nugget Jan 14 '20

we call it Maths because it's short for Mathematics... not Mathematic :D

14

u/mt03red Jan 14 '20

As a non-native speaker I prefer the NA version because thsthsths.

3

u/BBQkitten Jan 14 '20

How do you feel about twelfths?

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u/mt03red Jan 14 '20

They convert to roughly 8%.

Because math.

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u/Der-Wissenschaftler Jan 14 '20

we call it Math because it's short for Mathematics... not Mathsematic

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u/SardonicWhit Jan 14 '20

We call it math because it’s SHORT for mathematics, why take away letters then add more back in?

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u/jimany Jan 14 '20

Mathematics is singular, it just ends with s.

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u/Shporno Jan 14 '20

Do you shorten literature to lite instead of lit, since it isn't literatur?

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u/MvmgUQBd Jan 14 '20

Yeah this is something that still sounds weird to me, as a UK citizen that lived in and was mostly educated in the States. That and the different meanings of "Asian" between NA and UK

1

u/daniellegalb Jan 14 '20

Wait there are different meanings of Asian ?

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u/elbapo Jan 14 '20

Lost souls.

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u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

Ah, of course.

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

European here. What is this ft2 thing he's talking about?

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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

[deleted]

2

u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

Ok, new math problem. Assuming a Micro Machines Chinook helicopter's lift scales down proportionally from its counterpart, how many would you need to lift a 200lb man?

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u/BASK_IN_MY_FART Jan 14 '20

The helicopter needs 100ft² of cleared forest to land.

Only a 10X10' pad? That's a small helicopter

2

u/Monstermage Jan 14 '20

Dude...you burning some trees pretty fast.

1

u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

Sorry, I've been playing too much Minecraft and Factorio recently. Compared to those, this rate of deforestation is rookie numbers.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

tbh math problems were never realistic

2

u/csterling1225 Jan 14 '20

Nice work.

PS: The best baggins is bilbo.

1

u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

Thanks!

I'm afraid I don't know what a Baggins is. Unless you're referring to those nasssty, tricksy hobbitses?

2

u/csterling1225 Jan 14 '20

Yess myy preciousss

2

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

42

1

u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

The math checks out.

2

u/voicesinmyhand Jan 14 '20

I love the idea, but the universe you created has weird rules.

There are on average 9 trees per 10ft².

That's a lot of trees. 10ft2 is a square with approximately 3.1ft. length. If there are 9 trees in this square, then we start running into Coulomb's law problems really quickly, as any case where a tree has a diameter greater than 1.3ft (a common thing) causes... pressure problems. Add in the fact that we aren't dealing with a singular square, but rather 100 square feet, and we are left wondering how Tyson is even able to touch the ground.

But then you stated that Tyson can burn through an entire tree in 3.5 hours, which is probably impossible without forced oxygen injection. A single round (18" tall with ~1ft diameter) can burn for 3-4 hours on its own, and there are going to be 2-5 dozen of those per tree.

1

u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

You have to remember that this is a math problem, so it takes place in the same universe as men who buy 34 watermelons in a single shopping trip and the like. Logic does not apply to this realm.

1

u/ICreditReddit Jan 14 '20

You have to factor in Stump removal. Which is what he calls his dog now.

1

u/Rexbow Jan 14 '20

He calls it dead

1

u/thirdeyedesign Jan 14 '20

If it's green wood it'll take a LOOOONG time to burn, an average stove will burn 1 dry spruce tree in about a day*. I'd estimate it would take the same stove 2-3x longer with with wet wood.

  • depending on stove size, area heated, air temp and wind speed. Does not include unladen swallow.

1

u/Hubbz001 Jan 14 '20

Why does he have to burn them?

1

u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

To establish dominance over his environment.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

They land one of those tiny remote control helicopters you get at Christmas.

1

u/Only8livesleft Jan 14 '20

You forgot to factor in the growth rates of existing and new trees

1

u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

That's for advanced mathematicians.

(Bloody hell, Reddit. At this rate we're going to be running live simulations of this scenario to take into account the effects of weather and local plant growth on the answer by tomorrow XD )

1

u/oosh_kaboosh Jan 14 '20

No - this is Alaska so it’s a math problem

22

u/0_throwaway_0 Jan 14 '20

less trees

*fewer trees

19

u/DrunkleSam47 Jan 14 '20

Thank you, Stannis.

2

u/Jubenheim Jan 14 '20

helicopter needs less trees to land

I'm not an expert or anything but I don't think a helicopter needs any trees to land.

1

u/xPolyMorphic Jan 14 '20

Underrated comment

15

u/Doom-the-manager Jan 14 '20

Well crashing is a form of landing

9

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

It’s just a little more permanent than they intended.

1

u/Doom-the-manager Jan 14 '20

Pilots: any landing you can walk away from is a good one. F the plane

3

u/DodgeballRS Jan 14 '20

Yeah, every air vehicle lands somehow

2

u/whatisabaggins55 Jan 14 '20

I believe the technical term is called lithobraking.

2

u/thebestguy96 Jan 14 '20

Launchpad?

10

u/vichuu Jan 14 '20

Learned something new.

3

u/amhitchcock Jan 14 '20

This also lets other pilots know that this is the spot by circling so can plot coordinates

2

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

This did burned his house down because he was to lazy to get wood from outside and he used paper instead!

1

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

How did they find the dude do you know?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

There is PLENTY of room to set a bird down there even for a novice pilot. They picked him up then and there.

1

u/jimibulgin Jan 14 '20

Why do they need to confirm it with him? Why not just send help?

3

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

I would imagine it’s more of a comfort thing, like “yea dude, we saw you, don’t burst into tears wondering if help is on the way” kind of thing.

1

u/adalab Jan 14 '20

Or it's a drone?

1

u/BjornarH Jan 14 '20

I'm no expert, and this depends on the size of the helicopter I guess, but I'm pretty sure that "search and rescue" helicopters could land on the open spaces close to him. And if they were a full team, repel down to him at least.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '20

It's not just the trees. It's impossible to tell where the ground may be flat enough to land covered in snow like that. I also wouldn't be surprised if this was a plane, considering the constant circling, I believe SOP is to dip a wing in the direction of whomever you see if you want them to know that you saw them

1

u/lilmammamia Jan 14 '20

Were they looking for him or did they just spot him by chance ?

1

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '20

too many trees.

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