…and I was doing a pretty good job of it, too - I was at that point where you’re still awake but part of your mind is dreaming, making vivid images of the things you’re thinking about, which are starting to loosen and soften and get less thinky and more dreamy. You know what I mean.
And then my thoughts drifted for some reason to the idea of being trapped in a bottomless crevice in ice, and what that would be like. And it got vivid - the whole idea of it, the claustrophobia of being trapped and unable to move, the cold, the fear, the knowlege that you were definitely going to die here (because nobody knew, and you probably were injured from the fall, and you were wedged in and couldn’t get out), but that it would probably take you a while to die from hunger or thirst, and that you’d probably be conscious for most of that time, and what that would be like with so little time to live but so little to do during that time except think about pain and impending death. And I had to force myself to wake up before it turned into a full-fledged nightmare.
And I think I got myself a whole new phobia.
Here’s a tip: Next time you’re falling asleep, don’t think about stuff like that.
With the immobility element to it, it sounds like you may have triggered something like a hypnagogic hallucination. Your body not wanting to move on the edge of sleep may have reinforced what you were thinking about. That’s a sucky feedback loop to be stuck in.
So, yeah, thinking about being paralyzed/trapped/stuck while you’re falling asleep is probably something to avoid.
That makes sense! I’ve still sworn off exploring any glaciers, though. Not that I was likely to do so before. Still, it’s DEFINITELY not on the bucket list now.
And don’t think of Aron Ralston, who had to amputate his own arm with a dull pocket knife. Here, you can see the boulder that had his arm trapped.
I think I’m not gonna click that link, but thanks! :eek:
The Matanuska Glacier in Alaska is a popular spot for glacier walking. I’ve done it several times. But it pays to be very careful, especially around the runoff streams. They’re usually very shallow, but fast and – you know – icy, and there is nothing to grab onto.
You could always read Touching the Void, about a man who survived this situation by managing to climb out on his own. The movie is good too.
Great book about determination and survival against really huge odds. My favorite genre.
