Open invitation arctic meet 2017

[bopdude]

Nice one Dave, that's good, has anyone heard from Dewi, I know he has said he's going but this needs finalising, DEWI, in or out mate, I'm going to be harsh, lack of input from you is a bit disheartening we're making plans mate, if you can't make it just say so, no hard feelings, if you're in, speak up and commit We could do with your sense of humour on what will be a testing trip

 

[bopdude]

6 hours per day, when we arrive and 7 hours per day when we leave should be fine.

We'll be around a campfire no doubt on an evening.

and no light pollution for the night walks on the lake! Cool stuff.

And the aurora borealis as well.

Sounds good, I've been 'trying' to swot up on camera usage, I won't be taking an expensive set up, I've read about battery drain etc and hand warmers, read Waylands IceRaven pages etc, so what to do, I deffo need this capturing on still and video, thoughts please

 

[Dave]

Yeh, I didnt mean to leave Dewi out. Whats going on there? I get the impression Dewi's got a lot on his plate at the moment.
And I know you bought the tipi, instead of Dewi. I kind of assumed Dewi had dropped out. Sorry mate if I was wrong about that.
I wonder if they would put another bed in, and just charge us another £26? They might do. Probably would do I reckon.....


Jeez no idea Al. on photography sorry mate. Im taking a small bridge camera, in a case. With a spare battery. All my electronics are together in a snugpack bumbag, closeted in aluminium foil, over bubble wrap, insulation type stuff. Supposed to keep them close to your body. I'll just use them until I cannot.

 

[bopdude]

Yeh, I didnt mean to leave Dewi out. Whats going on there? I get the impression Dewi's got a lot on his plate at the moment.
And I know you bought the tipi, instead of Dewi. I kind of assumed Dewi had dropped out. Sorry mate if I was wrong about that.
I wonder if they would put another bed in, and just charge us another £26? They might do. Probably would do I reckon.....


Jeez no idea Al. on photography sorry mate. Im taking a small bridge camera, in a case. With a spare battery. All my electronics are together in a snugpack bumbag, closeted in aluminium foil, over bubble wrap, insulation type stuff.

Yeah I know from his recent post that he has a lot on, still, we need to firm things up, yes I bought the BT-2 when he didn't, I had to at the asking price I have the snugpak response bag, may steal your idea

 

[bopdude]

Ok so spoke to SWMBO and she's cool with two weeks peace and quiet what ever that means lol, so, do we want the sat phone ? Even if just for emergencies ?

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[Skookum]

Yep, that's exactly why we need a sat phone, just for emergencies...Hopefully it'll be money down the drain but if we need it were really gonna need it!

 

[bopdude]

Fair enough mate, butterflies are going crazy, again

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[Dave]

Note to self. earplugs!

Ive texted with Pete and he's sorting his days off out.

 

[bopdude]

That's good, 5 confirmed, I'll call the camp site tomorrow to book an extra tent pitch

 

[bopdude]

Well, I've been looking at how to get to the airport for the given time and all I can find at the moment is the train the night before getting in before midnight, I suppose that's not too bad, 4 hours before check in and it's straight into the airport ( apparently ) didn't know that was possible at Brum, I may look at leaving from Newcastle to arrive at somewhere near the same time, of course now we're digging in Kiruna I suppose it's not 'that' critical ?

 

[Dave]

In your kit list Al, youve got 1 pair of mittens, and gauntlets. Get a pair of these from your local screwfix;

http://www.screwfix.com/p/skytec-argon-thermal-grip-gloves-black-large/76311

They work well when using tools.

 

[bopdude]

In your kit list Al, youve got 1 pair of mittens, and gauntlets. Get a pair of these from your local screwfix;

http://www.screwfix.com/p/skytec-argon-thermal-grip-gloves-black-large/76311

They work well when using tools.

I'll get a pair, these would be the contact gloves we / Pete talked about at the meet ? My list is growing, I now have 2 pair of mitts, 1 pair British army gortex 1 pair Swedish army leather, some more liners needed, there are still a fair few bits and bobs but I'll be fully sorted this side of New Year, most of it being small clothing items

I had a look at Megabus, they do local to me to Birmingham International for £5, couldn't go far enough forward on their calendar booking to see exactly though

 

[Dave]

I'll get a pair, these would be the contact gloves we / Pete talked about at the meet ? My list is growing, I now have 2 pair of mitts, 1 pair British army gortex 1 pair Swedish army leather, some more liners needed, there are still a fair few bits and bobs but I'll be fully sorted this side of New Year, most of it being small clothing items

I had a look at Megabus, they do local to me to Birmingham International for £5, couldn't go far enough forward on their calendar booking to see exactly though

No these are not contact gloves. Contact gloves are just thin gloves. [You know how thin liner socks are? Like that]

These are issue contact gloves:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-USED-...hash=item2cacf45692:m:maNnjgt4_mbgDuA5OD2B6vw

But any pair of thin woolen gloves will do.

Ive booked a hotel at the airport and am getting a train down the day before, and trying to get my head down early, for the 4am check in.

[Its a single room, for one person, booked with airmiles, through avios, i had left, otherwise you'd be welcome to stay in it]

 

[bopdude]

No these are not contact gloves. Contact gloves are just thin gloves.

These are issue contact gloves:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-USED-...hash=item2cacf45692:m:maNnjgt4_mbgDuA5OD2B6vw

But any pair of thin woolen gloves will do.

Ive booked a hotel at the airport and am getting a train down the day before, and trying to get my head down early, for the 4am check in.

[Its a single room, for one person, booked with airmiles, through avios, i had left, otherwise you'd be welcome to stay in it]

Ah right, I'll add them to the list lol, the Megabus is a evening / night haul, looking like I'll get to the airport around midnight, hopefully get a couple of hours on the bus and an hour or so doze in the airport, no worries over the room

 

[TinkyPete]

Sorry for the late reply.

Yes I am doing the extra days till the 6th. will booking flights later this month as I have had to pay for boiler work at home and has left me tight for a bit.

Yes to the sat phone, and I may well be able to get a PLB as well, hopefully have an answer on that soon.

Yes to the hotel room, it gives us somewhere to sort kit out and make sure we have everything.

I will be taking one of the back up stoves and so will Chris so that is them covered but will will need to get fuel for them before we set out, so we are covered.

My insurance is covered I have travel insurance with my kit insurance, so that is sorted for me.

just to let you know the best way of glove coverage is 1 set of contact gloves on hands, 1 set in jacket or day sack. 1 set of mittens worn, 1 set of spare warm gloves (ski type or warmer) in pockets/day sack. 1 spare pair of contact gloves in bag, 1 spare set of mittens in bag. May seem like a lot of gloves but you can not take your hands and extremities lightly. I will be carrying about 5 hats in all as well for different conditions and temperatures. If your feet are cold put on a hat is a very good adage. I have a couple of sets of wristlets as well which will be coming with me and they do not replace gloves only add to them.

I will place up a kit list soon once I have finalised my kit due to weight restrictions, I have to find my hockey bag and empty it once I have found it in my storage

Something may be refined especially once I look at the food front.

 

[bopdude]

Hi Pete, thanks for the update, all sounds good, look forward to your list. Right, phone call to camp site now.

EDIT: that's us booked in Pete, 02/03/04/05 four nights

Something may be refined especially once I look at the food front.

That is probably the next biggest thing to sort out, as a group and for self catering, what to buy and take with us, and what to buy once there. I'm looking for a list of allowable items food stuff wise.

 

[Dave]

In other news, we have hit a glitch.

I found out yesterday, after talking to Greger that the Line 93 bus which runs from Porjus to Vietas, [up the side of the lake] does not run in January/February.

[There was no indication of this on their website, I asked Greger to call and double check, which he did.]

So we are working on the solution. Greger kindly called around for us yesterday.

Apparently, we do not ask for a bus ticket from Kiruna to Porjus. We buy a bus ticket in Kiruna bus station, from Kiruna to Stora Sjofallet.
[Which is the national park where Vietas is located]

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@67.5396829,18.0246335,9z

It seems the Bus company may have an agreement with a company called 'Emma's Taxis' in Porjus, who will offer a discounted rate when we show this bus ticket. So we could get the taxi from Porjus to Vietas. [At a discounted rate]

Greger tried to get in touch with Emma's taxi's yesterday, and got an answering service. When they return his call, Im sure Greger will let us know what has been said.

Bearing in mind, we will each have at least 2x100 litre bags. I dont know how feasible that will prove to be.

So Greger also talked to a fellow called Tomas at Stora Sjofallet AB for us [www.storasjofallet.com] who said that if the taxi does not pan out, he would sort something out for us.

The travel page for Stora Sjofallet AB, is here: [This is the mountain centre in the area/hotel/training camp/guide centres etc etc]

http://www.storasjofallet.com/en/travel/

And it does say that they can arrange buses. [Im guessing normally for their own guests, but it sounds like with Gregers hard work they may make an exception for us. And pick us up]

No idea as yet to cost. Will keep you informed.

 

[bopdude]

Ah the joys of travel in foreign lands Thanks for the effort Dave and Greger, I can't find any info on banned food stuffs, only munitions and flammables are banned as far as I can see, also sharps must be properly wrapped ( of course ) also, I can't see what service we're on, standard, SAS go etc, that makes a big difference to checked baggage ?

EDIT: scrap that, just looked properly and seen that it's economy

 

[SGL70]

Will have to doublecheck, but coming from the EU you can bring what you want, food-wise.

 

[bopdude]

That's what it looks like to me, and officially, we're still in the EU

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