Arctic 2010 Exped attendees discussions

[Chris the Cat]

Good question about the floor!?
Tom,what knives are you bringing!! I can't make my mind up?! ( I have collected quite a few over the years! ) I am bringing an axe so do not need a Leuoko, decisions-decisions!!
Maybe a TK4 as my folder,or a SAK.
C da C.

 

[Leonidas]

Good question about the floor!?
Tom,what knives are you bringing!! I can't make my mind up?! ( I have collected quite a few over the years! ) I am bringing an axe so do not need a Leuoko, decisions-decisions!!
Maybe a TK4 as my folder,or a SAK.
C da C.

Leuko for chopping and a detachable piggy back puukko for general use...
Job done
Plus axe, saw, bow, spear, grenades...oops wrong exped......

Recall we will have axe's and small saw's readily available, the most useful blade will be a small / medium one or even a multi-tool, they will suffice for most stuff.

Tom

 

[wolf man]

Is it just me, or is time dragging its heals as we get closer to the exped?

Can't wait for this term to finish, so i can get out and have some fun.

I want to bring some whiskey along for the cold evenings, what do you think would be the best solution? I'm not keen of putting it in my bag, sods law it'll break. It's bloody expensive in Norway, but buying it at Heathrow and taking it as duty free, is likely to cause problems from Oslo onwards.
Any suggestions??

How many of us are flying out on Sunday morning???

 

[Chris the Cat]

No ,buying duty free is cool,the kidney shaped half bottles are good for passing around and all makes come in plastic ( which can be burnt. ) All you have to do is keep them sealed in their duty frre bag!
C da C.

 

[Leonidas]

I want to bring some whiskey along for the cold evenings, what do you think would be the best solution?.....It's bloody expensive in Norway, but buying it at Heathrow and taking it as duty free, is likely to cause problems from Oslo onwards. Any suggestions?

It will probably be vat free only not duty free as it will be classed as a European flight.....(So full RRP minus vat unless they have a special offer)
So probably cheaper in the supermarket or check out the BA web site as you can look at what they sell in-flight. Check the in-flight stuff here
It is only worth it on international flights nowadays....

Reminder! Being under the influence in extreme cold is simply a no-no....end of.
At best you'll be ejected from the exped (as is their right per T&C's) at worst you'll end up in hospital.
Even brandy only gives the impression of warmth by drawing more blood to the stomach, it most likely will draw the blood away from the areas where it is most needed!

you have been advised.....

PS Good as....Post Office had my NOK's ready this morning......Bless em

Tom

 

[wolf man]

Reminder! Being under the influence in extreme cold is simply a no-no....end of.
At best you'll be ejected from the exped (as is their right per T&C's) at worst you'll end up in hospital.
Even brandy only gives the impression of warmth by drawing more blood to the stomach, it most likely will draw the blood away from the areas where it is most needed!

I totally agree, being drunk or even a bit tipsy is a total NO NO .
But it is nice to have a wee dram in the evenings. I was only planning on taking a half bottle for that exact purpose.

 

[Leonidas]

I totally agree, being drunk or even a bit tipsy is a total NO NO .
But it is nice to have a wee dram in the evenings. I was only planning on taking a half bottle for that exact purpose.

Was not suggesting anything else wolfman
Now where's my hip flask....

Just providing info to the massiv...

I am soooo looking forward to this......now all we need is for that illusion created by the swiss (Time) to speed up......


Tom

 

[wolf man]

I remember Woody saying that it may be the best year for the Northern Lights. I really want to get a fews pics of these while out, can anyone suggest the best way to get a good pic.

I presume that it will have to be a timed exposurem with a tripod, but what sort of time length?

What are you guys doing about cameras?

 

[Leonidas]

What are you guys doing about cameras?

Just taking a small digital........I am not much of a photographer.
Am hoping there will be some photo Guru's attending who will be kind enough to share their digital pictures

Tom

 

[Agile]

On the note of camera equipment - remember that this environment really saps your batteries. I'm taking a few spares & chargers which can be used when near civilisation. Woody - is there power on site for recharging?

Last time I took a small canon IXUS and whilst the camera was fine, the memory card actually died completely in the cold (it was a 2 gig SD card if I recall correctly). I would imagine something compact which you can keep on your person would be ideal.

For general use, I'm taking a "freezeproof" waterproof camera made by Olympus, but it's already rather travel weary. I'll also be taking my fathers Canon G9 with the specific intention of taking the northern lights. Whilst not in use, that will live in the "hottest" place I can find.

I'm also dragging along a gorillapod to try and stabilise the cameras, but am going to have to improvise some kind of spreader for the weight, as the tripod legs would likely dig into the snow.

Anyone got a clue on how deep the snow is currently in our location - are we talking about the 6ft+ we saw last time?

As a final point - is anyone taking the Norwegian flight from Gatwick early morning this Saturday?

Cheers,

Ag

 

[Tony]

Good luck with it guys, I know that you're going to have a fabulous time over there in Norway and i'm looking forward to hearing about your adventures and seeing the pictures.

Look after yourselves and enjoy yourselves, although i doubt you need any encouragement for that

 

[Agile]

On the subject of "Northern Light" photos - it's looking possible given two recent articles about increasing solar activity - fingers crossed it will hold for when we are arriving!

"Over the past few days, active sunspot 1045 has hurled a series of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) toward Earth." 10th Feb.

http://spaceweather.com/ - "GEOMAGNETIC STORM WARNING"

And in the longer term:
"Researchers say the Sun is awakening after a period of low activity, which does not bode well for a world ever more dependent on satellite navigation."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8494225.stm

However, like everything on the internet, this pours cold water on it a little:

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/today.html

Only time will tell...

Ag

 

[nickg]

Good question about the floor!?
Tom,what knives are you bringing!! I can't make my mind up?! ( I have collected quite a few over the years! ) I am bringing an axe so do not need a Leuoko, decisions-decisions!!
Maybe a TK4 as my folder,or a SAK.
C da C.

Im taking my normal bushy clone plus a scandi fir any carving/craft, my laplander and a swedish carving axe for general work and i may pack my collapsable bush saw for firewood trimmimg etc

Nick

 

[Leonidas]

I'm taking a few spares & chargers which can be used when near civilisation. Woody - is there power on site for recharging?

RTFM
From the course 'Additional Information' PDF file downloadable here Bushcraft Expeditions
It is password protected, you will have received an email already from Woody with the same download link and password.....


Electric
• Electric will be provided in the firehouse if you need to recharge batteries etc
• 240v two pin round plug
• Plug adapters will be required (some UK entensions/adapters may be available)

Also....Be mindful of limited electrical points, with many folks present you may need to schedule recharge time within your group accordingly

Tom

 

[Agile]

• Electric will be provided in the firehouse if you need to recharge batteries etc
• 240v two pin round plug
• Plug adapters will be required (some UK entensions/adapters may be available)

Thanks.

I'll be dragging along an everything into everything adaptor for my end, those who need to borrow it, may feel free.

As for RTFM - accepted, but I don't have the password at work, so cannot see the document

 

[Leonidas]

As for RTFM - accepted, but I don't have the password at work, so cannot see the document

Check your PM

Tom

 

[Agile]

Check your PM

Tom

Cheers mate - like I said, I do need to RTFM, and now I can

 

[GearGuru]

Looking forward to it now

a question for baggage

I understand that main bag needs to be just below 20kg for both flights

but how heavy can the hand luggage bag be????

cheers Chris

 

[Gailainne]

Hand luggage I believe is 10kg for both BA and Norwegian, best to check your airlines faq's to be on the safe side.

I'm taking my canon 450d and a small video camera, gorilla pod and maybe a monopod, my Manfrotto is a bit big and heavy unfortunately. still plenty of snow about , should be easy to construct a stand.

Woody has suggested just a mora type knife is sufficient, so that's what I'm taking, plus a leatherman wave, leaving the big stuff at home this time, anyway, means I can legitimately look for a Leuku

Anyone taking an early express from Paddington on Sunday morning ?

btw I still haven't packed its all spread about the living room floor, I've been adding and taking away stuff for 3 days, and yes I am single , loads of time

 

[peds8045]

Baggage limits are:

BA leg - 23kg in the hold and 7kg hand baggage

Norwegian leg - 20kg in the hold and 10kg hand baggage.

if you stick to 20kg and 7kg you can't go wrong.