2012 bcuk Advanced Arctic Expedition

Chris the Cat

Full Member
Jan 29, 2008
2,850
14
Exmoor
More later ( just in, need some food! )
Trangia not viable for sub- zero temps, far too slow and heavy on fuel to melt snow with!
However, no problems lighting at -10.
Wool layers, an absolute must have.
Wool mits with Swedish leather over mit, fantastic ( again!)
Hestra guide gloves worked better than the first trip ( Not as cold this time.)
Simple DPM gortex over jacket ( Brit issue 90? 95? ) Simple, no fuss, got the job done. £20 from Kev at Endys.
Dutch 80/20 wool Helly Hensen zip jacket ( Endys £20-£30 ) fantastic.
Ration pack meals, a mixed blessing, too reliant on water, need to fry more next time.
Axe, SFA or bigger.
da C.
 

Chris the Cat

Full Member
Jan 29, 2008
2,850
14
Exmoor
Woodys tuition ( and Ross ! ), that worked.
BcUK members kindness and willingness to share and give of themselves.
Top companions!
THE BEST VALUE EVER.
 

johnboy

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Oct 2, 2003
2,258
5
Hamilton NZ
www.facebook.com
Nice photos thanks to all for sharing... Looks like a great trip. I wouldn't have minded a trip up that local hill.



More later ( just in, need some food! )
Trangia not viable for sub- zero temps, far too slow and heavy on fuel to melt snow with!
However, no problems lighting at -10.


So that seems to end the Trangia in the arctic viability discussion....

Cheers

John
 

Teepee

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 15, 2010
4,115
5
Northamptonshire
Stuff that worked;

Wool. It has little limitations out there. A Chris says, essential. The charity shop Cashmere sweaters were great
Paramo waterproofs. Keela waterproofs. The built in gaiters even kept snow out my booties whilst wading through knee deep stuff. Awesome ventilation and condensation control.
Cheap bomber hat
Thermos 1l
Primus omnifuels in trangia 27 set-jet powered snow melting performance
Beards
Synth sleeping bags-my Wiggys bag was unbelievably good.
Exped downmat 9
Exped shcnozzle
Alcohol to drink-essential
Nalgene bottle
MEC hut booties-they laughed at rain and snow.
Iodine spray
Hand moisturiser
Non stick frying pan
Klattermusen gere trousers-laughed at everything. Same material as Ross's trousers.
Mora clipper
DC4
Karrimor liner gloves-cheap as chips and super quick drying
My roll up dyneema toboggan-worked fantastically
MSR Lighning ascents snowshoes-every snowshoe you'll ever need, if a bit trippy!




What didn't;
Hatchet-too small. Decent sized choppers do the do better.
Food that needs added water. Save it to drink.
Snow smock-too warm for it this time. It just got wet.
Coyote fur ruff-not cold enough for it this time but would have been amazing.
Meindl Soelden boots- not warm enough underfoot without modding the insoles and a strange fit.
Army bivi-not breathable enough. It worked to keep the wet and ice out but wasn't ideal.
Firesteels-petrol/gas lighters are much better for a main user.
Powerbait maggots-wed have starved




Could be better;
Karrimor SF sabre 80-130-2 of them ripped at the seams, not impressed but did the job.
Trangia 27-should have taken the bigger 25
RBH VB socks- they delaminated. Thery are replacing them FOC although it didn't affect the performance. I only had cold feet when I took them off and wore 2 wool socks. (My feet are sweaty though which is the main issue)
Voile telepack-the t6 blade is far better and is the shovel of choice.
Trangia non stick pans-terrible quality coating but cleaned up much quicker than ally.
Amsteel-not as good as UK made lines in the snow.
 
Last edited:

Imagedude

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 24, 2011
2,005
46
Gwynedd
Worked

Exped Mat
Mora knife
Zippo lighter
Primus Eta 1.7L pot
Paramo kit if treated with care. I suspect prolonged use would not be viable though.
Army tarp, small and heavy but rugged.
Mountain cap
Buffalo shirt
Buffalo Parka
Buffalo mittens (suffered damage but repairable. Warm when wet and dry quickly)
Bahco 21" bowsaw
Alladin insulated mug
Uco candle
Thermos flask
Merino baselayers
Julbo glacier glasses
Voile pro snow shovel



Hit and miss

Sorel Caribou boots (liners damaged and not very warm)
Evernew meths stove (did the job but needed lots of time and fuel)
PHD down bags (struggled to stay warm at -5 in a bag rated to -21, had to use a 2nd bag as a liner)
Army bivi (big and strong but there were condensation issues)
Pod rucksacks (narrow bodied alpine sacks don't help with camp admin, a wide bodied sack with pockets would be better)
Smartphone (It's amazing where you can find wifi but battery life is a major issue)
Compo (OK but heavy)
Soldier 95 gloves (OK until they get wet)

Not So Hot

Cheap Karrimor foam mat (lost pressure overnight)



Things to take in the future

Gaiters (built in gaiters don't cut the mustard)
Leather outer mits
Pots suitable for camp fire useage
More bog roll
A big axe or maybe a billhook
A decent 'belt order' system (the constant adding and removing layers often made it hard to locate lighter, knife etc)
A 2nd tarp
More antiseptic wipes
Small diamond sharpener
Studded wellies or crampons
Lots of paracord
 
Last edited:

DUCky

Nomad
Aug 17, 2004
309
0
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Of the top of my head :)
What worked:
- Rho Bottoms Arcteryx (when not so cold or wet, just wore a shell over it)
- Merino base layers (nice and no smell)
- Haglofs goretex mitts with leather grip (warm enough and tough enough to handle pots and pans etc)
- Exped downmat with Exped cover (tough enough to sleep straight on bedding/twigs)
- Schnozzel (very easy and fast inflation of Exped mat)
- Wool pants (Codet 210) /jacket (Mackinaw) --> snow does cling to the fabric, but it can be brushed off easily
- PHD down bag --> I was cold at first but after using the collar and hood properly I was toasty
- Rab Event Bivvy --> enough room and breathable enough to even close the bag up completely (to cover the face)
- Snowpeak snowminer lamp/torch --> headlamp with combi of concentrated and dispersed light
- Wool socks --> dry feet every day
- Exped down booties with shell --> walk around in the slush, take off the shell and wear the booties to bed
- Snowshoes Salewa 999 --> they just worked well and have enough spikes for icy surfaces
- Merino buff --> exellent at keeping the wind out your neck/back/face
- Goretex shell (pant and jacket) --> kept the sleet and wind out
- Cheese, hartkeks, sausage --> just nice
- Or bottle parka --> lightweight, sturdy and makes an excellent sleepingbag heater
- Collapsible nalgene container as pee bottle --> worked well

What almost worked (could be better)
- pocket knife instead of fixed blade --> when used with an axe you don't need a fixed blade, but I still prefer to take a fixed blade next time
- Seil Marschall pack boots --> nice and warm but leather uppers and laces froze during the night making it harder to put them on
- OR PS150 liners --> excellent liner gloves (warm and good dexterity) but didn't stand up to stripping branches and the like
- Kifaru MMR packframe with waterproof bags--> did the job and good for organising stuff, but at times wanted to just have one big bag to stuff all my kit in
- Rab Photon --> brilliant, tiny and warm, but doesn't handle sparks or thorns well (excellent as a midlayer though)
- Eagle products 3.2 liter pot --> worked well in the fire but seemed to be unstable when filled with snow/water (perhaps bail handle was misaligned?)
- Fry Bake alpine --> good pot but when frying over the fire things tend to stick (will bring my Muurikka Picknick next time)
- Dried ingredients --> I actually ate quite a bit of vedge, but the recipes I wanted to make turned out to be "stuff it all in a pot and add cheese"
- Gransfors hatchet --> worked even for cutting down reasonable size trees, but could have done with a SFA or larger for two handed work
- Cord --> worked well but didn't have enough of it

What didn't work
- MSR Dragonfly --> always used it with unleaded without any issues but on Meths/Coleman it choked and coughed (didn't use it during the course at all)
 
Last edited:

DUCky

Nomad
Aug 17, 2004
309
0
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Of course it goes without saying that Woody has been a champ, taking us through the course mostly by himself (as unfortunately Megan was ill) even though he was not firing on all cylinders himself. He is one tough cookie ;)
 

Teepee

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 15, 2010
4,115
5
Northamptonshire
Glad you enjoyed yourselves- gutted I missed out. Where did people find their schnozzles? I can't seem to find any in the UK!

Lennart was the man for the Scnozzle. I found that a bottle of the drinking yoghurt from aldi has the same dimensions as the schnozzle. If you can team it to a stuff sack, you've solved it.

I'm going to make a longish tube from zero porosity parachute nylon and join it to the aldi bottle with seam grip.
 
Hi guys, got back last night, bags still in Oslo but I should get them in a few days.

Thanks to all involved from the B.E team to the guys on the course. A great trip that I will remember for many years I am sure.

I will try to get my pictures up at the weekend with a full trip report as well.

Glad to be home but sad not to still be there.

Looking forward to your photos and write up Gary. There is already some great images appearing from other attendees.
The 'worked' and 'didn't work' lists are fantastic guys, keep it up. Did you have any camera issues because of the cold?
 

Wayland

Hárbarðr
What worked well:

Wool layer system with windproof tops. (Canvas or synthetic according to need.)
Downmat and thin foam mat from mountain pack as an anti puncture layer.
Plastic space blanket/tarp thingie; really useful.
Big cooking pots for snowball soup.
Pulk; worked well but suffered when used on gritted roads. (Unavoidable at times.)
"North Face" style duffel bag. Snow resistant but easy to access and packed well on the pulk.
Trailhawk, better than my Leuko but a heavier axe would have been better still.
Canon G10; Constant companion and delivered the goods on just two batteries.
Disposable hand warmer sachets; taped to the hand grip of the Canon 10D to keep the batteries warm in the cold.

What didn't work:

Fishing kit; not a nibble.
Poly cotton tarp; did the job but ice stuck to it too much. (When frozen they are just as noisy as plastic tarps but heavier and demand more care.)
Cheap brand camera batteries; not worth a damn.

The cameras worked well with the proviso of the cheap batteries being rubbish. I have over a thousand photo's to sort out at the weekend and some of them look stunning.

A heartfelt thanks here to "Bikething" for the loan of his 10D which looks to have delivered some excellent results with the Aurora shots.
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE