Originally Posted By lori

The problem is that the "bushcraft" sort of skills die quickly and are not often practiced.

Contingency planning is what I encourage... Prevention, prevention and prevention, with a healthy respect for edges, steep slopes, fast water and gnarly weather.

Convincing people who have survived bad conditions to reconsider hiking into the night in the driving rain up a high pass while wearing shorts and tank top is a lost cause, since their "experience" tells them you're just making unnecessary noise. Convincing them they need survival skills would be about that hard...

I agree. Prevention is definitely the first and best defense.

Isn't survival training hands-on contingency planning? Such as, "how do I avoid hypothermia after slipping and losing my pack and getting soaked at the swift water crossing?"

Some "bushcraft" sort of skills die quickly and are not often practiced. Essential ones, such as knowing how to start a fire with wet wood, or even just how to start a fire is more at the training wheels level where it's not easily forgotten even if not practiced often. Some essential survival-related knowledge is of the easily-remembered "trick" type, such as stuffing clothes with dry grass or leaves for insulation or knowing that wet wood will usually burn well if de-barked or split.