HE-MEN

Hokitika Guardian, 3 December 1929, Page 2

HE-MEN

RIGORS OF ANTARCTIC.

GRUELLING TASKS

HELPING DOGS OVER HEAVY

COUNTRY

LITTLE AMERICA, Antarctica, Ist October

The total load to be carried on the ten sledges of the geological party, pulled by five dog teams and by the men themselves, is about 5368 pounds. Huge loads have to be pulled by men and dogs in the Antarctic.

EVery item of equipment has been weighed, and everybody not essential to health, safety, and the carrying out of the scientific work of the party has been eliminated from the loads.

Following are the weights of the various things carried on the sledges: Personal equipment, 33-5 pounds • 2 ounces; man food, 1221 pounds 20 ounces; camp gear and fuel, 331 pounds 5 ounces; dog food, 2674 pounds; dog gear, 58 pounds; extra sledge equipment, 12 pounds 4 ounces; navigation,' surveying, and meteorological equipment, 91 ounces; skis, 27 pounds 12 ounces; trail markers, 173 pounds 8 ounces; motion-picture equipment, 65 pounds 2 ounces; still-camera equipment, 18 pounds 5 ounces, radio gear, 300 pounds; safety devices, 40 pounds 9 ounces; tools, 20 pounds o ounces; total, 5368 pounds 14 ounces. This equipment was brought together as the result of duties in connection .with various parts of it being delegated Jby , Corpmander Byrd to a committee of two or three men who made reports to- him on ’the best methods of handling amr meeting various problems. He in turn considered their recommendations and made his decisions after checking by his own experience and observation. The great enemy of men on the trail is not so much cold as dampness caused by exertion, dampness wmcn collects in tents and sleeping bags at night. Damp clothing and sleeping bags mean cold arid bodily misery, if not actual danger. .

All polar expeditions have faced this problem, and it has never been altogether overcome, -but experience has shown that r,with proper .precautions wet clothing can -be ,avoided tp- !a large extent.

When men, are -sledging several h'oriirs •x day running on foot,-or on. sms o. helping dogs! over difficult places,-they generally ■ come to- their; camping place with their., feet? and. ;iheir' clothing -lamp from perspiration;. Arid unless; .hey are taifeful-this;moisture is transit, ferred to.their sleeping bags at night and the bag. becomes 1 wet-and coll}. ■ The best; ;way, to avoid such a condition is to wear a-s few clothes as posable on the trail and to change anything which i-s wet as" soon as camp is made. All,the clothing used on the trail has been selected to meet these conditions., m-: .

Furs are; beiyg taken, but. they will •irobably seldom. 1 be used, except in the ; ;ents or if very cold weather is enjountered.,-, Jii.wind, they must be protected • by". a, : covering, : of ‘wind r proof .lothing to keep" snow out of the fur, otherwise i,t,.will g<et.-wet and shed,hair until there,is none left. While travelling, a paij\.,pf troqsers-,.and a parka, with hood made of light, wind-proof cloth, is worn over woollen clothing, and in .summer., jweather .it, has. been found that this wind-proof stuff over underclothes is more than sufficient and keeps the traveller from becoming overheated and wet.

Last summer it was common to see Jog drivers pull off garment after garment until they were wearing only a woollen undershirt and windproof trousers over .woollen drawers.

When camp is made fur clothing may be put on if it is very cold, or a woollen parka under the windproof. The feet must he protected most carefully on, the trail. While travelling, ski boots or mukluks may be worn, depending on whether or not skis are used,

T,Wo pairs of socks are put on, and inside the boots or mukluks may be either inner soles.of felt' of senna grass. The felt is split thin so that it dries easily, and if moisture collects on the senna grass it may be shaken off .when it freezes at night.

Windproof socks of the same light material as the outer clothing are valuable as moisture collects on them and may be shaken or beaten out. When camp is made at night the footgear worn on ffhe trail is taken off, dry socks are put on, and then big canvas boots with reindeer socks or felt soles are put on for use around the camp. In this way, the feet are kept warm and comparatively dry at all times and the footgear used during the day may be dried. Woollen liners for mits serve the same purpose for the hands and may be changed at night and dried. Wet socks or mits may be hung on the sledges if the sun is shining. Evaporation, even on ice, is very rapid down lie re.

The fur sleeping bag is warn as long as it is dry, but the moment it becomes wet it is a snare and delusion, ft is uo easy matter to keep it dry, although it can be done. Moisture must be kept from getting into the bag from clothing, and this can best bo done by removing tlie outer clothing so that no snow, is taken into the bag.

One must not breathe into the bag. as moisture will collect this way in a short time. So the hags are made in such a way that the head may be put outside and the windproof covering drawn around the neck, or, if the bead is inside an opening is left for the breath and a shield of some sort of cloth keeps moisture from penetrating into the interior.

Many devices have been adopted to accomplish this, varying according to the • individual desires or experiments of the men, but they are all based on .this’ principal of keeping the breatn from'the inside of the bag. After one gets out of the bag in the morning cold air will rush in and condense. the warm air, which then deposits- • moisture. To avoid this one arm is put inside the bag, and with the other, hand on top the hag is pumped up. and down until all the warm an has been expelled ana the bag is cold.

Then the air should be forced out of the bag from the bottom toward the top. In this way it hits been found that the bag may be kept fairly dry, although it is still necessary at t fmes to turn it inside out and air it in the sun.

The sun will even dry things hung outside the tent at. night, for it must be remembered that, except for a brief time at the beginning of the journey, the,sun will be shining 24 hours a day in clear weather. 'And its rays are quite sufficient even in cold weather to cause rapid evaporation. Tlie only other difficulty in using sleeping bags is that the warmth of the body causes them to get wet on the bottom, where they rest on the canvas bottom of the tent, which is on top of the snow. To prevent this as much as possible, a mat made of thin boards, a sort of ply wood used in aeroplanes and fastened together by webbing, is used. Experiments have shown that it not only prevents moisture getting into the bag from below, but that it seems to make the ling warmer. Living on the trail is a constant struggle against cold and dampness, and it can he seen that only the greatest care and thorough preparation will prevent suffering. It is believed, however, that with change of both inside and outside clothing, proper care of footgear and of the sleeping bag, much of tlie discomfort of a long sledging journey can be avoided.