So I just got back from Snow Craft 1, aka Happy Camper, course. In this class we had to learn how to survive for a few days in Antarctica until someone finds us or we die. Because, let's face it, if you aren't picked up after a couple of days, the chances of making it much longer are pretty slim. We started out in the classroom learning about how to recognize and treat frostbite and hypothermia, then we headed out in a shuttle to our campsite on 
the sea ice. We started in the "warm" (probably around freezing) instructors' hut where we learned how to light the stove and how to fix it if it wasn't working. Then we moved outside to set up camp.
the sea ice. We started in the "warm" (probably around freezing) instructors' hut where we learned how to light the stove and how to fix it if it wasn't working. Then we moved outside to set up camp.We first set up the Scott tents then started to quarry snow to build a wall to protect us from the winds and blowing snow. The 
snow is extremely packed together and is almost like ice, so we could cut blocks with a saw then pop them out with a shovel. We learned how to set up a standard mountain tent, build a quinzy (a hollowed out mound of snow), and dig a trench to sleep in. After all our instruction for the day, the instructors left us alone to fend for ourselves. Of course, they were only a short walk away in the "warm" instructors' hut. The rest of the night, most people just kept digging or ran around to keep warm. I had planned on sleeping in the quinzy with another person, but we dug and dug for about 8 hrs until 1 AM when we decided to give up. It was big enough for 1, so I decided to just sleep in a mountain tent. I was sweating some while I was 
digging and was pretty warm in the sleeping bag, but taking off my outer layers to get in the tent was hard. You get cold very quickly down here and it's hard to warm back up. I took a hot water bottle to bed with me, which helped a lot. Unfortunately, my bladder didn't cooperate and I had to visit the "pee flag" twice during the night. That was really hard, and I was having trouble getting my boots off because my hands weren't working very well. That really made me appreciate the pee bottle. I will definitely keep one nearby from now on so I don't have to get out of bed when it's -25 F. The next morning, we broke camp, learned how to use the radios, searched for someone in a whiteout condition (i.e. with a bucket over our heads), and headed back to McMurdo. The official low for the night was -23 F, but the next morning, the wind chill at McMurdo was -51 F and probably around -60 F at camp. It makes you appreciate the 
landscape, weather, clothes, and knowledge needed to survive down here. And how quickly you could be dead. But we made it, albeit a little uncomfortably. I apologize for the lack of pictures, but cameras don't like to work in such cold temperatures.
snow is extremely packed together and is almost like ice, so we could cut blocks with a saw then pop them out with a shovel. We learned how to set up a standard mountain tent, build a quinzy (a hollowed out mound of snow), and dig a trench to sleep in. After all our instruction for the day, the instructors left us alone to fend for ourselves. Of course, they were only a short walk away in the "warm" instructors' hut. The rest of the night, most people just kept digging or ran around to keep warm. I had planned on sleeping in the quinzy with another person, but we dug and dug for about 8 hrs until 1 AM when we decided to give up. It was big enough for 1, so I decided to just sleep in a mountain tent. I was sweating some while I was 
digging and was pretty warm in the sleeping bag, but taking off my outer layers to get in the tent was hard. You get cold very quickly down here and it's hard to warm back up. I took a hot water bottle to bed with me, which helped a lot. Unfortunately, my bladder didn't cooperate and I had to visit the "pee flag" twice during the night. That was really hard, and I was having trouble getting my boots off because my hands weren't working very well. That really made me appreciate the pee bottle. I will definitely keep one nearby from now on so I don't have to get out of bed when it's -25 F. The next morning, we broke camp, learned how to use the radios, searched for someone in a whiteout condition (i.e. with a bucket over our heads), and headed back to McMurdo. The official low for the night was -23 F, but the next morning, the wind chill at McMurdo was -51 F and probably around -60 F at camp. It makes you appreciate the 
landscape, weather, clothes, and knowledge needed to survive down here. And how quickly you could be dead. But we made it, albeit a little uncomfortably. I apologize for the lack of pictures, but cameras don't like to work in such cold temperatures.
1 comments:
I'm so glad you and your bum survived.
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