Things to remember when going to the Arctic

The Arctic Circle is the area surrounding the North Pole that stretches out for around 2000 miles south in every direction. In some of the countries it covers it doesn’t reach quite as far as in others due to factors such as warmer southern winds and ocean currents moving north.

(A map of the Arctic circle and the countries it covers)

It covers the northern areas of Russia, Canada, Iceland, Alaska, and a few European countries. Average summer temperatures are between −10 and +10 °C, though it can get as hot as 30°C in some areas of Russia during certain months. Winter can see temperatures between −50 °C and −30 °C, which is cold enough to kill you very quickly.

There are many things to remember when going to the Arctic, but here are some of the most useful and important.

1) Beware of the wind

If you are unlucky enough to be in −30 °C weather with a wind speed of 40mph, then any exposed skin will freeze in less than 4 minutes. When skin freezes it does so in layers, with the outer thin layers freezing before the muscle and fat underneath. If the freezing effect reaches the lowest layers of tissue next to the bone then you are guaranteed to lose that part of your body.

Wind is the fastest way to get yourself in trouble from the weather, short of falling in water of course, so do everything you can to protect yourself from it. If you have a spare pair of socks to use as extra mittens, or in the event of an emergency you could even rip off your boxer shorts or anything you can spare to use as hand wraps. It may sound silly but if you lose your fingers then you can’t do anything else, including lighting fires and zipping your jacket up.

2) Keep dry

Moving through the Arctic is hard work, and no matter the air temperature, you’ll still get hot gathering wood or digging snow. Sweat can freeze within your clothing and you won’t realize how cold you are until you stop doing whatever made you hot in the first place. If you get ice within your clothing then you’re in trouble, as water drains heat away from the skin over 200 times faster than the air does, and combined with high winds can cause flash freezing.

To see just how lethal flash freezing is you can do an experiment yourself in the winter. Whenever the air temperature is −10 °C or colder, wet a t-shirt and spin it around like a helicopter above your head, It will take less than 30 seconds to freeze solid.

3) Drink more than you feel you need

Most people don’t realize that the colder the region, the drier the air. Antarctica has the driest air on the planet, as whenever moisture touches the air it instantly freezes and falls as frost.

Apart from being very hard work moving through such a hostile environment, the air sucks moisture away from your body and makes you thirstier than you may feel. If you don’t keep up your moisture levels then it’ll sap your energy, which could lead to a whole new range of problems.

4) Get fat before you go

( Pemmican – One of the best high-fat foods to have in cold regions)

Researchers at McMurdo station in Antarctica eat between 4000 and 6000 calories a day on average, with the field workers being at the higher end of the range. Fat helps to keep you warm and makes a huge difference to how comfortable you can be in cold weather. If you are lucky enough to not be stranded and can plan what to bring, all of your food should be high calorie and high fat, with things like cereal bars and salad being a complete waste of time.

5) Don’t risk getting more lost

The Arctic is huge, spanning up to 2000 miles from the North Pole and covering some very harsh terrain. There’s simply no chance to just keep going until you come of it, as it would take months of walking to travel that distance. If you are stranded through a vehicle crash of some kind, then stay with it instead of trying to find help, as you will have a higher chance to be found if you’re with your vehicle than on foot since this is the first thing rescuers look for.

In the event of thick mist or blizzards don’t even try to keep going, as no matter how sure you are of what the right direction is, you’ll probably get lost. The best and safest thing to do is hide somewhere until it passes, as not only will this help you to actually see where you’re going, but you’ll save heat from escaping the wind.

The best example of why you shouldn’t continue to travel in low visibility conditions in the Arctic would be the story of Pauloosie Keyootak. He’s a Canadian native of the Inuk people and lived in the Arctic Circle all his life and one day decided to travel north to another settlement on his snowmobile.

The trip was 190 miles north of his starting point, but after getting hit by a blizzard he got lost but kept going. When he was eventually found he was 100 miles south of where he started, making him a total of 290 miles away from where he wanted to be.

6) Equipment is everything

In the event of a survival situation such as a plane crash, you have to work with what you can find. If you are planning to go out there and actually be within the wilderness regions, then there’s no excuse to not be properly prepared.

A proper jacket and snow pants can save your life, and GPS equipment and signaling gear in case of emergencies should always be taken. If you plan to go to such a hostile environment and think that you’ll be fine with an extra jumper and woolly hat, then reading any amount of survival tips won’t help you, but if you’re sensible enough to do it properly, then you should always be well stocked with supplies and know exactly how to use your gear before heading out.