January 22, 2017
On the Ice... Kind of?
After two days of training and practice my clients Tim, Joseph, Pierre, my assistant guide Darcy and I are finally camped on Lake Winnipeg ice... That is there is ice underneath us, but we are surrounded by slush and water.
Rewind to last Wednesday, I drove up to Canada from Boulder with Joseph coming along to help with the epic late night road warrior thing. We arrived in Winnipeg Thursday afternoon and were treated to unseasonably warm temperatures - and on Friday while shooing and transferring gear to the cabin - rain. That's right rain!?!
The reason I choose Lake Winnipeg for polar training is the intense cold and Antartica-like snow surface conditions. At some point over the past several years during this course we've regularly experienced 40 or 50 below with the windchills. Today it was 31 degrees.
The lake surface has become a combination of very soft drifts, small pools of water and large swaths of foot soaking slush. I'm not going to lie, it's not fun. To make camp, we had to shovel snow islands to protect us from the water. It took nearly two hours to get our camp completely set up.
Of course, just like on a big expedition, our worries were forgotten as we got into the tents and began dinner prep - which usually consists of melting snow. Tonight, we simply scooped up slush into our large MSR pot.
We are optimistic that tomorrow will bring colder temperatures and firmer surface conditions. The wind has already picked up and a thin crust is forming on our watery ski tracks. Still, that is a problem for tomorrow with our bellies full, wile are more concerned about climbing into our sleeping bags than navigating thin ice.
Overall, we have had a successful couple of days going over the skills needed for our trip across Lake Winnipeg. I call this my level 1 polar training course so everything we do is a primer. Still, it is a great opportunity for all to increase and expand their winter camping and expeditions skills. See you next year? In the mean time... Enjoy your bed, as comfortable as you may be, I wouldn't trade with you :) Think Snow!
Rewind to last Wednesday, I drove up to Canada from Boulder with Joseph coming along to help with the epic late night road warrior thing. We arrived in Winnipeg Thursday afternoon and were treated to unseasonably warm temperatures - and on Friday while shooing and transferring gear to the cabin - rain. That's right rain!?!
The reason I choose Lake Winnipeg for polar training is the intense cold and Antartica-like snow surface conditions. At some point over the past several years during this course we've regularly experienced 40 or 50 below with the windchills. Today it was 31 degrees.
The lake surface has become a combination of very soft drifts, small pools of water and large swaths of foot soaking slush. I'm not going to lie, it's not fun. To make camp, we had to shovel snow islands to protect us from the water. It took nearly two hours to get our camp completely set up.
Of course, just like on a big expedition, our worries were forgotten as we got into the tents and began dinner prep - which usually consists of melting snow. Tonight, we simply scooped up slush into our large MSR pot.
We are optimistic that tomorrow will bring colder temperatures and firmer surface conditions. The wind has already picked up and a thin crust is forming on our watery ski tracks. Still, that is a problem for tomorrow with our bellies full, wile are more concerned about climbing into our sleeping bags than navigating thin ice.
Overall, we have had a successful couple of days going over the skills needed for our trip across Lake Winnipeg. I call this my level 1 polar training course so everything we do is a primer. Still, it is a great opportunity for all to increase and expand their winter camping and expeditions skills. See you next year? In the mean time... Enjoy your bed, as comfortable as you may be, I wouldn't trade with you :) Think Snow!