April 3, 2017
Sewing Circle and skiing
I sometimes feel bogged down with all the tasks that are associated with this type of (polar) travel. It takes so much work to prepare for even something as short as a week-long trip to the North Pole. Then I remember, that each of these small details directly relates to our ability to move safely on the ice.
Sometimes, I feel like a broken record - talking about how harsh the Arctic Ocean environment is. While I may repeat myself a lot, there is a reason... It's true The Arctic Ocean is one of the most severe environments on the planet. People were not designed to be here. Most gear, while durable enough to endure the conditions needs to be modified in one way or another so mistakes and missteps don't cause additional damage. Tent poles are taped together, MSR fuel bottles wrapped in hockey tape (to prevent frost bite). I add longer zipper pulls to all my Helly Hansen outerwear.
During my 2010 North Pole expedition, my patner Darcy observed at the start of the expedition, 'This journey is 90% survival and 10 % travel.' Eventually, the scales tipped more in our favor, but a big part of being on the ice is simply trying not to freeze to death and fall in the water. Sounds fun, right?
Did I mention that the ice was moving too? There are few other adventures in that I know of where the surface conditions can change minute by minute. There is no real relaxation. Every step brings a new set of variables.
While I have set strategies, methods and practices to deal with the constantly changing conditions, one of my most common statements is, 'let's just go up there and see what happens.' We often lack the ability to route find more than a few hundred meters so we inch our way across always uncertain of the outcome. My demeanor is hopeful but realistic.
Victor, Bachir and I spent the morning in a 'sewing circle' piecing together nylon and fleece for our custom 'nose beaks' that we sew on googles to protect our noses and faces from frostbite. Used properly, a nose beak creates a warm (and surprisingly comfortable) environment for our face and head. Problems arise when the fleece is sewed too tightly across the goggles or next to your skin. Without good airflow, googles have a much greater change to fog and then freeze. Side note: the main reason googles fog is because you are too hot (you may not feel like you're too hot, but you are) and your face produces moisture which fog the goggles. In cold weather this will freeze. I rarely have that happen; however, this year I'm covered as my new Zeal goggles have quick change magnetic lenses!
We fitted Granite Gear harnesses, set up the MSR tent, loaded sleds and divided the the group gear then headed out on a short ski. The wind was blowing and the new nose beaks were a huge success. Along the way, we used the ice blocks and snow drifts to simulate different techniques of sea ice travel.
Initially our plan was to go on an even longer ski tomorrow, but when we had a final debrief of the day and went over our dwindling 'to do' list, we received information that our sleds would be relayed to the hangar at noon tomorrow. It looks like we may fly to Barneo tomorrow at some point. Very exciting!
Image: Victor and Bachir skiing in Longyearbyen.
Sometimes, I feel like a broken record - talking about how harsh the Arctic Ocean environment is. While I may repeat myself a lot, there is a reason... It's true The Arctic Ocean is one of the most severe environments on the planet. People were not designed to be here. Most gear, while durable enough to endure the conditions needs to be modified in one way or another so mistakes and missteps don't cause additional damage. Tent poles are taped together, MSR fuel bottles wrapped in hockey tape (to prevent frost bite). I add longer zipper pulls to all my Helly Hansen outerwear.
During my 2010 North Pole expedition, my patner Darcy observed at the start of the expedition, 'This journey is 90% survival and 10 % travel.' Eventually, the scales tipped more in our favor, but a big part of being on the ice is simply trying not to freeze to death and fall in the water. Sounds fun, right?
Did I mention that the ice was moving too? There are few other adventures in that I know of where the surface conditions can change minute by minute. There is no real relaxation. Every step brings a new set of variables.
While I have set strategies, methods and practices to deal with the constantly changing conditions, one of my most common statements is, 'let's just go up there and see what happens.' We often lack the ability to route find more than a few hundred meters so we inch our way across always uncertain of the outcome. My demeanor is hopeful but realistic.
Victor, Bachir and I spent the morning in a 'sewing circle' piecing together nylon and fleece for our custom 'nose beaks' that we sew on googles to protect our noses and faces from frostbite. Used properly, a nose beak creates a warm (and surprisingly comfortable) environment for our face and head. Problems arise when the fleece is sewed too tightly across the goggles or next to your skin. Without good airflow, googles have a much greater change to fog and then freeze. Side note: the main reason googles fog is because you are too hot (you may not feel like you're too hot, but you are) and your face produces moisture which fog the goggles. In cold weather this will freeze. I rarely have that happen; however, this year I'm covered as my new Zeal goggles have quick change magnetic lenses!
We fitted Granite Gear harnesses, set up the MSR tent, loaded sleds and divided the the group gear then headed out on a short ski. The wind was blowing and the new nose beaks were a huge success. Along the way, we used the ice blocks and snow drifts to simulate different techniques of sea ice travel.
Initially our plan was to go on an even longer ski tomorrow, but when we had a final debrief of the day and went over our dwindling 'to do' list, we received information that our sleds would be relayed to the hangar at noon tomorrow. It looks like we may fly to Barneo tomorrow at some point. Very exciting!
Image: Victor and Bachir skiing in Longyearbyen.