April 8, 2024
The System is the System
Another day of preparation and practicing. Another day of making sure that we have enough food, fuel and equipment to sustain our small adventure to the North Pole. Another day of refining and the systems that will help us be safe and hopefully successful.
The latest report from the floating ice camp near the pole is that conditions are windy and cold, -35 C. The ice runway should be completed in a couple of days and then we can begin our adventure for real. After that, its anybodys guess what happens out there. The Arctic Ocean is crazy!
Which is why I focus so much on the small details and removing the weakest link in everything I doâ?¦ me! The many systems and routines I use allow me to be both efficient and safe.
On an expedition itâ??s not always your best foot that goes forward. Add to that the physical and mental stress of skiing and camping in one of the harshest environments on the planet and you have a recipe for disaster. I think one of the reasons Ive been able to successfully complete so many polar expeditions is the awareness of the simple fact that mistakes can be made by anyone at anytime.
We spent much of the day packing food. This involves removing excess packaging, adding extra calories (butter) to things soups, dinners and breakfasts as well as arranging food in daily rations. Our 10 days of meals go into two stuff sacks (or ration bags) and each evening we bring one of these into the tent.
We organize the rest of our gear in other stuff sacks that have the not so sexy names of tent bag, food bag, snack bag, spares and extras.
Of course there is a reason behind each, what goes into it and where it is stored in the sled, but I will save that explanation for another time.
Hopefully, we will fly tomorrow.
The latest report from the floating ice camp near the pole is that conditions are windy and cold, -35 C. The ice runway should be completed in a couple of days and then we can begin our adventure for real. After that, its anybodys guess what happens out there. The Arctic Ocean is crazy!
Which is why I focus so much on the small details and removing the weakest link in everything I doâ?¦ me! The many systems and routines I use allow me to be both efficient and safe.
On an expedition itâ??s not always your best foot that goes forward. Add to that the physical and mental stress of skiing and camping in one of the harshest environments on the planet and you have a recipe for disaster. I think one of the reasons Ive been able to successfully complete so many polar expeditions is the awareness of the simple fact that mistakes can be made by anyone at anytime.
We spent much of the day packing food. This involves removing excess packaging, adding extra calories (butter) to things soups, dinners and breakfasts as well as arranging food in daily rations. Our 10 days of meals go into two stuff sacks (or ration bags) and each evening we bring one of these into the tent.
We organize the rest of our gear in other stuff sacks that have the not so sexy names of tent bag, food bag, snack bag, spares and extras.
Of course there is a reason behind each, what goes into it and where it is stored in the sled, but I will save that explanation for another time.
Hopefully, we will fly tomorrow.