December 19, 2009
Day 33: Heat wave
The people who avoid (or survive for that matter) life threatening situations generally observe changes around them, then act accordingly. Those who can not or will not notice things devolving or those who refuse to change their plan are those who perish.
Most days we are traveling in a very narrow margin of warmth and safety. If we're not wearing enough layers and the wind picks up, our body core temperature lowers quickly and we can be hypothermic in a matter of minutes. Frosbitten after that. Conversely, if we are wearing too many layers, we can easily overheat and sweat. Stopping for a break in this state is equally dangerous.
One of our main safety (and survival) goals is to constantly observe the snow, temperature, wind, our bodies and equipment. When something changes we adapt. In this manner , we actually travel quite comfortably toward the pole.
Today was a carbon copy of yesterday: soft flat snow, overcast... Whiteout. Navigating in these conditions is more of an art form than physical skill. Basically, it involves staring down at a compass and trying to ski in a straight line withou looking up. Bill and Dongsheng have performed admirably to date, but the flat snow provided no reference points. Bill got off to a rough start during his shift and almost doubled back to the north.
'It's a bit of a crap shoot because you have absolutely no perspective,' Bill said. Later in his shift he managed to straighten out (literally). 'I was determined to stick with it.' he added.
Dongsheng took an avant garde approach to whiteout navigation and held the compass in one hand while skiing. Luckily, the weather cleared and he returned to two pole locomotion.
With the sun and blue sky, we found ourselves skiing on a smooth white plain of snow for as far as we could see in every direction. It was also completely calm and so warm that we stripped down to our long underwear tops.
Like all other survivors, we adapted to the situation.
Image: Bill 'veering' while Dongsheng follows .
Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.
For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com
For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/
For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com
For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net
Most days we are traveling in a very narrow margin of warmth and safety. If we're not wearing enough layers and the wind picks up, our body core temperature lowers quickly and we can be hypothermic in a matter of minutes. Frosbitten after that. Conversely, if we are wearing too many layers, we can easily overheat and sweat. Stopping for a break in this state is equally dangerous.
One of our main safety (and survival) goals is to constantly observe the snow, temperature, wind, our bodies and equipment. When something changes we adapt. In this manner , we actually travel quite comfortably toward the pole.
Today was a carbon copy of yesterday: soft flat snow, overcast... Whiteout. Navigating in these conditions is more of an art form than physical skill. Basically, it involves staring down at a compass and trying to ski in a straight line withou looking up. Bill and Dongsheng have performed admirably to date, but the flat snow provided no reference points. Bill got off to a rough start during his shift and almost doubled back to the north.
'It's a bit of a crap shoot because you have absolutely no perspective,' Bill said. Later in his shift he managed to straighten out (literally). 'I was determined to stick with it.' he added.
Dongsheng took an avant garde approach to whiteout navigation and held the compass in one hand while skiing. Luckily, the weather cleared and he returned to two pole locomotion.
With the sun and blue sky, we found ourselves skiing on a smooth white plain of snow for as far as we could see in every direction. It was also completely calm and so warm that we stripped down to our long underwear tops.
Like all other survivors, we adapted to the situation.
Image: Bill 'veering' while Dongsheng follows .
Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.
For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com
For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/
For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com
For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net