Controversy 'don't die in Fansipan' (!?)

On June 9, many people were shocked to hear that the body of British "backpacker" Aiden Webb had been found in Fansipan.

Immediately after that, many people sent their condolences to his family. Besides, they also gave warning lessons to backpackers.

Phung My Trung's personal facebook page, known to everyone as a biologist, shared the article "Wildlife survival skills" from the tragic story of Aiden Webb.

Status line about wilderness survival skills causes controversy.

This person gave reasons and evidence to prove his point of view when he went backpacking and had an accident without following the rules.

However, immediately after sharing, this person's opinion also encountered heated debates.

Nickname Cuong Buxu responded to the post: “First, I thank you for the experiences you shared and what I learned from you in this post that many people shared. I have not had the opportunity to research who Aiden is in the climbing world, I only know that climbers not only in Vietnam are very anxious when they hear that Aiden is missing and most of those climbers do not expect someone else to talk to them, especially someone who has passed away like this.

You are not in Aiden's shoes, please don't sit there and speculate.

You may be a genius at survival but you've probably never broken a knee, never broken a vertebra.

Finally, with all the utmost respect for a climber who died on a trekking path in Vietnam, please stop at what you know about Aiden - a young man who traveled and died...

I look forward to reading and learning life experiences from you in new posts that the community shares."

Original text of Phung My Trung's post that caused a storm on the internet:

“I am sure that up to 95% of Vietnamese people, especially young people, cannot have the skills and be taught survival and escape skills properly like the English guy Aiden Shaw Webb. This is one of the very basic skills that any foreign backpacker who goes backpacking will learn carefully and thoroughly. But why did he still die so regrettably and what should most Vietnamese backpackers do when they do not receive basic training?

(Photo fb: Phung My Trung).

This article is entirely shared by an experienced backpacker, a person with more than 24 years of research on Biodiversity in all forests of Vietnam from North to South and many times got lost in the forest, bitten by poisonous snakes, and was so hungry that I had to eat dishes that I vomited on the table just by hearing about them.

Why did Aiden Shaw Webb die in Fansipan? In my experience, Aiden Shaw Webb committed suicide because he was too subjective and disregarded the basic principles of wilderness travel. He did not value his own life due to his overconfidence when traveling alone in a mountainous area considered the most difficult and dangerous in Vietnam. The fault was entirely his and the consequence he had to accept was his precious life. (In the scope of this article, I only write about the experience of surviving in the Fansipan mountain range).

1. Risking his life alone with only a smartphone in hand, he didn't understand that his smartphone was just a stupid phone when he entered the canyons with absolutely no 3G signal in Fansipan to notify his girlfriend. If he had a good GPS device, he might have escaped an unjust death. Why did I choose GPS and not a compass or other device because the compass needle will run wild if there are iron or heavy metal mines in the area you are using, and GPS, even if blocked by trees or clouds, still has holes or clouds to find the coordinates where I am standing.

2. Aiden Shaw Webb was too confident in his ability to hire a local or go with a group of friends. The group of friends would have been able to save him when he fell and broke his legs, arms, bled, and hit his head on rocks while crossing the streams in this mountainous area where the water was very cold and mossy. The most venomous snakes in Fansipan are the Jerdon Viper Protobothrops jerdonii, the White-headed Viper Azemiops feae and the Mountain Viper Ovophis monticol, the Beaded Viper Protobothrops mucrosquamatus. These species are very nocturnal, but some also eat all day. A snake expert like me, when meeting these guys, was still nervous with both hands and sticks, and with just one shot, even a wild buffalo would fall, but Aiden Shaw Webb was nothing.

3. Aiden Shaw Webb climbed the mountain with almost no rescue equipment, no tent, no hammock, no food, enough warm clothes to wear in case of an accident. This season, the erratic rains in Fansipan will make you get cold very quickly and lose heat, leading to quick death. Because in such a situation, your hands, feet, and body are so shaky that you can no longer light a lighter to smoke, let alone light a fire (if you have a friend with you, it will be easier, especially a local). I also don't understand why Aiden Shaw Webb didn't light a fire? It's very possible that he didn't bring a lighter.

But even with the high humidity in Fansipan, to have a fire, only fresh wood will help you start the fire the fastest. As for dry wood, it will take a long time to help you have a blazing fire. You must remember this experience by heart. Why? In a place with such high humidity, dry and rotten wood absorbs water and is very difficult to catch fire. Meanwhile, fresh wood chopped into small pieces with essential oils will burn very quickly.

4. 99% of Aiden Shaw Webb's death was due to an accident, lack of composure and panic made him have no chance to live. When lost, the best way is to stay calm, calm and calm (but those are experienced people, first timers don't panic, that's strange). If you are traveling with a group of friends, stand right where you feel lost. Especially at night, if you get lost, you should stand right where you feel lost (turn off the lights, reduce the light to save battery, light a fire to warm up and avoid wild animals and snakes, signal ...).

The group will come back to save you. You will die when you panic or try to find a way back, because the further you go, the more disoriented you will be and the deeper you get lost, making the group not know where to find you... If you are lost alone, the best way is to stop, calmly light a fire, cook food, find food and rest to forget that you are lost. These activities will make your mind clearer to overcome difficulties. It is at this time that the tools and equipment that you carefully prepared for the mountain climbing journey will be most effective and valuable to save you.

5. What will you do if you get lost in the Fansipan Mountains? My best advice is to stay away from the deep valleys (although there is water there, it is also very cold at night and poisonous snakes and wild animals often like to feed and live in the deep, dense areas…).

You should also not set up a tent or sleep under a large tree because heavy rain and strong winds will cause rotten branches to break and accidentally take your life as well as lightning strikes. You should find yourself an open space, or climb to a high peak to orient and send signals by cutting fresh wood, splitting it, and lighting a fire to signal. To have a lot of smoke after the fire burns, or find fresh branches and leaves to put in the fire, the smoke will be thicker and harder to dissipate than the smoke of the fire so that the rescue team can see the distance and orient to save you. Who knows, while climbing a mountain peak, you might have the chance to encounter a trail...

6. If you have enough willpower and strength to save yourself, the best way to return home in the Fansipan mountain area without believing in the trails or not finding the trails. Or go along the small streams to find the big streams and just keep going down, you will definitely find the way back (remember not to apply this style with streams in the Southeast forest). While crossing the stream, if you walk on the bank, shoes will be useful. But when wading on slippery rocks, socks will be much more valuable than shoes.

7. I often teach city kids when they go on jungle trips with their parents how to overcome fear, how to escape when lost in the jungle at night and how to make a fire to keep warm along with some basic skills if you let them join our program every year in the summer. But there are 2 things that you should never forget to bring when going to the jungle (absolutely not forget) which are a good knife and a new lighter. These two inseparable items will save you in the most difficult situations that you have to overcome.

There are many more experiences from many different places that I will share with fuckbookers in the next articles. Hopefully, my little experience (completely not theoretical) will be useful for you, as well as your children in situations where your life seems to be hanging by a thread and do not let unfortunate things happen to you like the British guy - Aiden Shaw Webb”./.

According to the Messenger