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Frozen toothpaste

On my first field-trip in Antarctica I spent 7 days in the Hinge Zone, an area about 50km inland which was full of icebergs, wind scoops and crevasses. I stayed in a tent but it was only February so I didn't get too cold. In fact I could wander about in the evening in my thermal underwear.

The following spring I went to visit the Emperor Penguins who had eggs and chicks on their feet. This time the temperature was below minus 30 so I stayed in a caboose - a shed with bunkbeds and a stove.

Camping in Antarctica is no joke. We had to keep a careful balance between keeping warm with the stove and lamp and not getting carbon monoxide poisoning. At night when the stove and lamp were switched off - the only source of heat was my body, so I slept with my toothpaste and deodorant so that they wouldn't be frozen solid in the morning. It was hard work keeping my head covered as much as possible but still allowing enough air into my sleeping bag to breathe.

Camping in Antarctica is not light weight. For example two skidoos dragging two sledges will carry; a tent and a spare tent, two P-bags (containing sleeping bags, liners, sheepskin rugs, lilos and ventile cover), pots box (stove and lamp), fuel, shovels and bog chisels, medical box, radio box, man-food boxes, ski-doo spares box, ropes and harnesses and spare clothing.

Sledge and camping equipment

The equipment is lashed onto the sledge using ropes. The sledge is quite bendy so that it doesn't break.

Pyramid tent and boxes

Radio Alphabet
Radio transmissions rely heavily on the reflectivity of the atmosphere. Ideally you want a signal strength of 4 or 5. Signal strengths of 1 and 2 are unworkable. If signal strength is 3 you can communicated by spelling words out using the alphabet.

Alpha	Bravo	Charlie
Delta	Echo	Foxtrot
Golf	Hotel	India
Juliet	Kilo	Lima
November	Mike	Oscar
Papa	Quebec	Romeo
Sierra	Tango	Uniform
Victor	Whiskey	X-ray
Yankee	Zulu

Gary and a skidoo

The theory is that if one ski-doo fell down a crevasse two people could survive with the equipment left on one sledge.

Last updated 12th July 2006