A British Columbia woman seeking spiritual insight through “ego death” during a solo venture into the Colorado backcountry lacked basic navigation skills and was not properly outfitted for emergencies by her guides, according to a report compiled by authorities.
But Gina Chase survived four days by building a shelter with tree branches and filtering stagnant water through her campfire’s charcoal – skills she said she learned from watching television shows.
Searchers spent four days looking for the 53-year-old last month outside Norwood. Chase was deliberately fasting as part of the experience.
Chase paid $1,400 to a Durango-based non-profit adventure service, Animas Valley Institute, for the multi-day excursion. She was one of 11 participants. The group camped together for five days, then split up for “solo quests.”
The loneliness and physical stress of the outing would, by design, bring the explorers into a clearer state of mind.
However, no sufficient attempt was made by the organization to measure Chase’s personal survival skills, nor of those possessed by any of the other members of the group being led and released into the backcountry, according to the report from the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office. Plus, they were encouraged by their guides to leave their cell phones behind. It was meant to curtail access to social media as the campers isolated themselves from civilization.