On March 18 , 1944 , a Finnish ski patrol scout troop was behind Russian note when they were ambushed . They managed to escape during the ensuing firefight , but the Russian soldier follow up on the men , beginning a good old - fashioned ski chase .
Still deeply in foe territory , the betting odds did not look good for the fleeing Finnish . sense exhausted , Finnish soldier Aimo Koivunen remembered he had the whole scout group ’s supply of Pervitin ( aka ice ) stored inside his scoop . This drug was given to soldier at the metre to keep them awake whilst on duty . He pop the good deal , like Popeye eating a giving can of spinach – he had n’t wanted to take all of them , but while being pursued in the cold it was difficult to take out an individual birth control pill , particularly while wearing mittens .
His get-up-and-go was before long boost , perhaps unsurprisingly given that he had just taken30 time the doseof methamphetamine he was supposed to . Koivunen , result the scout group and fracture the snow for the relaxation of them , helped the whole pack to speed up considerably . But you ca n’t just take an overdose that monolithic and look the only side effect to be " really good at skiing " . He presently start to note that his vision was distorted , and he waslosing cognisance .
The very next matter he canrecall , he was 100 km ( 62 miles ) aside , had no ammo , no solid food , and was completely alone . Whatever happened in the interim , he had somehow lost his intact squad .
Still substantially high on speed , Koivunen start out up and begin to ski on through the forest by himself . His appetite had been killed by the drug , which was rosy give the want of food . For the next few days , he survived by eating pine buds and a pocket-sized Siberian John Jay he ’d managed to catch , altogether raw .
Still under the influence , he managed to escape the Russian troops who are pursuing him , buttrod on a landmine . He lay there , unrestrained and croak out from clip to time , before realizing that no supporter was issue forth . His decision – and alarming amount of trash in his system – got him out of the ditch and kept him going through the freezing condition .
By the metre he was launch , he had traveled 400 kilometer ( 250 mile ) . In a Finnish hospital , they rule his heart pace was an telling ( or alarming ) 200 musical rhythm per minute , and he now weigh just 43 kilograms ( 94 pounds ) .
But he had live , and would go on to last to 72 , still unable to recall how he lost his intact troop while skiing through the woods and totally off his face on speed .
