Abbes Postmortem

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Abbe Osram

Native
Nov 8, 2004
1,402
22
61
Sweden
milzart.blogspot.com
Hi Abbe, As so many of us are thinking..Welcome Back. We wish we were as brave as you have been.

I am looking forward to more posts from you again because they were the most real & entertaining & we missed them. I stayed in Kiruna a few years ago and I loved it. Mrs Big Geordie & I are doing arithmetic to see if we can stay there longer next time.

I have bought some of your great books through Paypal. Post mortems happen after death....You didn't die / you survived, I think you will find you are our new BCUK Hero, in whom we are very proud.

Great work, welcome home.
George:You_Rock_


Hi mate,
Fenlander / Kevin bought my cabin near to Gällivare. If you like I can get you guys together maybe he has a cheaper solution for you so you can stay longer there in the north without a heavy duty arithmetic.

tell me if I should drop a line to Kevin
cheers
Abbe
 

Ed

Admin
Admin
Aug 27, 2003
5,973
37
50
South Wales Valleys
Welcome back Abbe .... I know you have been missed by many of the folk on here and all will welcome you back to the fold with open arms. I am truly glad you have made it home safe and sound and you have had a chance to live your dreams as far as you can go. Those memories will stay with you for the rest of your life, something that many of us here cannot even hope to expierence.

Great to see you here again.

Ed
 

Jodie

Native
Aug 25, 2006
1,561
11
54
London
www.google.co.uk
I am doing the 'current awareness' service for work at the moment and came across this
article in The Lancet. Thought it was interesting, although probably a bit too specific, on
the "Psychological effects of polar expeditions" - it can be downloaded from the link
below but I don't know for how long as that is a news wire type of thing, with a high
turnover of files.

There's quite a lot about Antarctic research station stuff but it looks at being a bit
solitary and out of your normal routine (which can be both bad and good! :))

The abstract will probably give you a good idea of whether or not you want to click on
the link! Anyway, interesting to read of your experiences Abbe.

"Polar expeditions include treks and stays at summer camps or year-round research stations. People on such expeditions generally undergo psychological changes resulting from exposure to long periods of isolation and confinement, and the extreme physical environment. Symptoms include disturbed sleep, impaired cognitive ability, negative affect, and interpersonal tension and conflict. Seasonal occurrence of these symptoms suggests the existence of three overlapping syndromes: the winter-over syndrome, the polar T3 syndrome, and subsyndromal seasonal affective disorder. About 5% of people on expeditions meet DSM-IV or ICD criteria for psychiatric disorders. However, they also experience positive or so-called salutogenic outcomes resulting from successfully coping with stress and enhanced self-sufficiency, improved health, and personal growth. Prevention of pathogenic psychological outcomes is best accomplished by psychological and psychiatric screening procedures to select out unsuitable candidates, and by providing access to psychological support, including telephone counselling. Promotion of salutogenic experiences is best accomplished by screening for suitable personality traits, and training participants in individual coping strategies, group interaction, and team leadership."

http://www.alphagalileo.org/nontextfiles/polarexpeditionsfinal.pdf
 

Spacemonkey

Native
May 8, 2005
1,354
9
52
Llamaville.
www.jasperfforde.com
Sorry it didn't work out for you Abbe, but glad you gave it a go. At least you won't be sitting in your chair at 70 years old wondering "What if?" like so many people will. You followed your dreams and realised they were just that- dreams. The reality was somewhat different, but you had to give it a go to find that out. Well done for that!
 

Abbe Osram

Native
Nov 8, 2004
1,402
22
61
Sweden
milzart.blogspot.com
Sorry it didn't work out for you Abbe, but glad you gave it a go. At least you won't be sitting in your chair at 70 years old wondering "What if?" like so many people will. You followed your dreams and realised they were just that- dreams. The reality was somewhat different, but you had to give it a go to find that out. Well done for that!

Absolutly, that was always my motto. You believe in something and have a go at it. What can happen? Nothing, only that one learns a lot about life!

the_lake_winter.jpg


For all the guys here going out to Kiruna or Norway this year, check out my clear out, I still have these great Reindeer boots for sell. They are very very good and not easy to get hold off.
The traditional Sami boot has this funny little hook there which holds ski or snowshoes in place.
fire_reinboot.jpg

reinbootunder.jpg

reinboot_front.jpg



Here you can see them in action, they dont slip out of the snowshoes at all not going up or going down a hill!
feet-1.jpg
 

Adrian

Forager
Aug 5, 2005
138
3
70
South East London
I've got to say that I'm very glad to see your posts again - I always enjoyed them. How is your little dog - I always wondered how he grew!
I'm sorry that you left the North, but as you said, it was time for you to move on. You'd given it a shot that few people will try and learned a lot about yourself in the process - we should all be lucky to have the courage to do that!
It was interesting when you said that you had stopped seeing the beauty of nature. We all spend time in the woods or wherever, love the beauty of it and think how wonderful it must be to live in the forest/bush/jungle or wherever and be surrounded by that beauty all the time. We forget or don't realize that the sheer drudgery of the necessities of everyday living gradually can erode that feeling.
My grandparents had a farm in a pretty part of Ireland before mains water, sewers, electricity or gas. I'd spend about 3-4 months of the year with them when I was young - playing and exploring the fields and woods, but I still remember the sheer hard work of cutting and gathering firewood, water from the pump for everything, washing, laundry etc in warm sun and cold driving rain and everything in between. You rarely had much time to just look around and admire or absorb what surrounded you.
People often forget that the "simple life" is often a very hard one and there was a very good reason why our parents/grandparents embraced many modern conveniences and services.
Personally, you have my deepest respect for what you achieved - as I said, it would be nice to have the courage to try as you did!
What became of your website with it's articles - is it still going? I've lost the address with my last computer crash.
 

TheGreenMan

Native
Feb 17, 2006
1,000
8
beyond the pale
Awesome thread starter, Abbe. Great to see you back on the forums, I've missed your posts. And I'm looking forward to the arrival of The Snowshoe Book :)

Cheers,
Paul.
 

Abbe Osram

Native
Nov 8, 2004
1,402
22
61
Sweden
milzart.blogspot.com
I've got to say that I'm very glad to see your posts again - I always enjoyed them. How is your little dog - I always wondered how he grew!
I'm sorry that you left the North, but as you said, it was time for you to move on. You'd given it a shot that few people will try and learned a lot about yourself in the process - we should all be lucky to have the courage to do that!
It was interesting when you said that you had stopped seeing the beauty of nature. We all spend time in the woods or wherever, love the beauty of it and think how wonderful it must be to live in the forest/bush/jungle or wherever and be surrounded by that beauty all the time. We forget or don't realize that the sheer drudgery of the necessities of everyday living gradually can erode that feeling.
My grandparents had a farm in a pretty part of Ireland before mains water, sewers, electricity or gas. I'd spend about 3-4 months of the year with them when I was young - playing and exploring the fields and woods, but I still remember the sheer hard work of cutting and gathering firewood, water from the pump for everything, washing, laundry etc in warm sun and cold driving rain and everything in between. You rarely had much time to just look around and admire or absorb what surrounded you.
People often forget that the "simple life" is often a very hard one and there was a very good reason why our parents/grandparents embraced many modern conveniences and services.
Personally, you have my deepest respect for what you achieved - as I said, it would be nice to have the courage to try as you did!
What became of your website with it's articles - is it still going? I've lost the address with my last computer crash.

Hi mate,
thanks for you kind word. I believe too that one should follow its own heart because only in this way we might learn and see the truth. Life goes on and on and there are no mistakes only thinking makes it so. I learned very much about myself and noticed that life can indeed be found in carrying water and cutting wood, as the Zen going says.
But there is too a creeping feeling of what now.....was it it now for me. Or do I want to do something else. I found out that Life starts AFTER Survival, for me that is.

Art, Beauty etc. I wanted to explore life as it is and did that. The Nature aware person might find god/Life/Spirit/himself in the simple work of cutting wood. I find myself in Art and Spirit. It was time to move on and I am happy as it is.

The website with my pictures and writings is gone, I have a small webpage where I sell my gear and I am happy if you guys have a look as I still have some nice stuff there.

http://hem.bredband.net/b796227/

sorry, forgot about the dog.....he is fine, but he misses the woods to run freely around...I got him a cat as a friend and they are here sleeping and playing around. Lets see if I have a picture from when he is bigger.....wait....
Alf as you remember him..
valpen-002.jpg

alf.jpg


all the best
Abbe
 

bothyman

Settler
Nov 19, 2003
811
3
Sutherland. Scotland.
As Adrian has said

I used to read your website (saved some stuff from it)
The spiritual stuff you had on there was interesting.
when are you doing another one??:rolleyes:

MickT

The earth is my mother.
The sky is my father
The animals are my brothers
The canoe lets me get closer to them
 

Chopper

Native
Sep 24, 2003
1,325
6
59
Kent.
Great blogg, you will really miss the life !!

And do I want those Sami Reindeer-boots, but SWMBO said if I buy them people wont be able to call me Chopper ever again :eek: :eek: :eek: shame, my size as well. :(
 

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