Happy Camper aka Snow School aka Snow Survival Training aka . . . .

"Boondagool." Sounds like a made up word, but down here it has a important meaning - excursion. When people talk about boondagools, they're talking about trips off base. Helping diver's suit up so they can go beneath the sea ice to collect data. Flying to distant locations, accessible only by air, to inspect satellite equipment. Assisting film crews with their equipment while on location, going to Snow School, visiting a seal camp, or photographing penguin island. See boondagool ~ a very important word.

Well my boondagool came this week. Snow School, Snow Craft One, or Happy Camper as it is so affectionately called was my lucky lotto pick. (You don't actually get to pick. They tell you, "You can go do this . . ." and then you can accept or deny. No one has ever said no that I know of ) I was excited. Seems like everyone had been going. They talked non stop of sleeping outside in the snow, the labor, the learning and all had come back, sun burnt and brimming with stories of fun, facts and survival.

Suiting up in full gear and throwing things into a bag, I trudged over to F-Stop after just three hours of sleep. Pumped up on excitement I was wide awake and Kelsey was to be my adventure buddy. She's great. Calm, happy, easy going, someone you want in a "survival" situation.

She was giving me a hard time - the rest of the gang is in the background

First we had class for two hours where we learned about hypothermia ~ signs, causes and cures. We also learned about the sea ice and how long a person has before they slip under because of the cold temperature. Interesting fact: when you fall into cold water you will hyperventilate for at least 15 seconds, there is nothing you can do about it. Simple survival instinct by the body, so just tell yourself you'll get over it soon and try to concentrate on what you'll do next. We learned about frost-nip, trench foot, frost bite and why synthetic clothing is important in cold environments. Do not wear cotton layers. It does not wick away moisture and will get you colder quicker. They taught us about how and why we lose heat, how we can keep it, and how we can generate it if we need it. Interesting fact: You will transfer your heat to any surface you sit or lay on, so standing will keep you warmer longer as you are not trying to warm a cold surface. The class covered snow blindness ~ you won't necessarily suffer from it till a few hours or days later. It is caused by burning a hole in the retina. That's how strong the reflection and sun combined down here can be.

After the class we loaded up into the Delta for our outside portion.

Kelsey is ready

Leaving the Training Center

Our class consisted of 20 people and 2 instructors (Megan and Jen). Once we reached the intersection for Happy Camper, we were dropped off with our luggage and then had to walk to our new classroom.

Crammed in the Delta

20 people +20 bags = very little space

Check out what the driver is doing

Waiting at our first drop off

Nothing around to give you that isolated and helpless feeling

(at least until you learn how to survive)

The long walk from drop off to our new classroom - there in the distance

Inside it was large canvas tent with inner supports. Like a Field Camp Setup.

Once we reached our new smaller learning area, we had lunch and I finally got to eat what I've been packing for the last few months. See those boxes -

I pack those twice a week and now I get to eat from them. My handwriting is on those little white tags. Only Kelsey knew, so I quietly listened to the food comments and felt a little like a spy gleaning information from the unsuspecting eaters. Let me tell you, when you're starving, you'll eat anything even american cheese made in New Zealand. Still looks ands tastes like plastic, no improvement there. After lunch we covered fire. One of the top three things to know to survive. Most senerios were if we got caught in a Condition 1 and had a survival bag with us. Anytime you leave the station you must take one along and a Whisper Lite stove is always in the bag. Megan covered how to fix it if something was not working.

Then we got to go outside and do it ourselves . . .

After we could make fire, we then loaded up our gear and walked out to our campsite and survival scene for the night.

Those are sleep kits on the back that include one sleeping bag, two sleeping pads and one fleece liner. Again most items that would be in a survival bag and the one thing we did not have to lug ourselves. I will say that packing lighter would have have been a very smart "survival" technique that I should have implemented. But then again what does a girl wear when she's stranded outside in Antarctica? Hmmm that's a tough question I lugged around with me throughout the day. Sometimes less is better, not necessarily warmer, but definitely lighter.

That orange bag + big red (parka) +water bottle = heavy (sigh)

Once an acceptable plot of whiteness had been selected it was time to make our cargo line. This is so if a wind or storm comes up, you'll know where your gear is stored. You plant a flag at either end so you can find it once the snow has moved on.

The snowmobiles did not stay - they were instructor use only

Shovel Forrest

We pulled all these items (with the exception of the sleep kits) from a large storage crate a good ways from our site. Like dogs, we grabbed long ropes and pulled sleds laden with shovels, poles, stoves, saws, spikes, and tents. Nothing like a little manual labor to get the blood flowing and soon we were all stripping off our Big Reds and guzzling water.

This is before I took it off. Every time I see my shadow, I think, man I really need to lay off the muffins at breakfast.

First order of business was setting up the tents. There were two types, a Scotts tent and regular light weight pop up. The Scotts tent is warmer, larger, and has not really changed much since Scott used it on his expedition. Megan told us that before we started we needed to figure out where the wind was blowing from. This would more than likely tells us which way the storm was coming from and would determine which way we should set up the entrance so we didn't get a snow drift covering up our only exit.

Megan explaining the wind and how to position our tents

Once it was determined that the wind that brings storms usually comes from the south pole we pulled out the Scotts to set them up. Jen walked us through the steps.

The tent's in the bag, it's not a body

Kind of like a cold weather tepee

Once one of the Scotts were up and staked in (the second they left for us to do on our own later) we moved on to the smaller pop ups. The most important lesson was learning to stalk them down with the guide lines. Jen showed us the technique known as dead man's anchor. This type of anchoring ensures the tent will stay.

After one tent was up and anchored (there were six left for us to do on our own) we moved on to building a snow wall. The point of the snow wall is to buffer the wind which constantly blows here. It is to deflect the force of it around or over our tent to keep it intact and to help us stay warmer. Megan showed us how to dig snow blocks and how to construct a wall to protect our habitat.

It was amazing to see her just pop these blocks out. All you needed to do was saw a square and then hit the shovel underneath and wedge it out. Of course her blocks looked a lot better than ours, but at least they still looked somewhat like blocks. After the blocks was the trench digging and building, then they waved and left us to "survive" on what they'd taught us. Nobody panic, they didn't drop 20 nubies out in the middle of Antarctica and tell them to have fun. We had a radio and the instructors we only as far as our classroom building. ( a little under a 1/4 mile)

Breaking up into groups we finished the tasks of the putting up the second Scotts tent as well as anchoring the six remaining pop ups. But then tragedy struck. I reached into my pocket to take a picture of the whole finishing process and there was nothing there. No! I thought. It can't be. Searching the remaining 28 other pockets of my parka, fleece, pants and snow suit, it was no where to be had. My camera was gone. I was devastated and wandered around camp for a while scanning the ground, willing it to be there. Other's took up the search, looking around their feet, telling me to check all my pockets. Had I had it on me? Did I put it in my bag? What color was it? All in vain, for it did not reappear. Thankfully not all was lost as I had only the pictures of the Happy Camper to lose, nothing else. Slightly depressed but not willing to sacrifice all my happiness I took a deep breath and got back to "surviving."

After finishing the seventy foot snow wall we could concentrate on building our own trenches to sleep in for the night. (the rest of the pictures were taken by Kelsey or with her camera)

Documenting the shock of my loss,

Do I look like I'm surviving well?

My camera lost in the vast white nothingness

You had a choice to do either, sleep in the tent or trench it. Half of the group decided to do both. Those that slept in the tents were either older, or had "snow camped" before and didn't want to deal with all the labor. The rest of us went to work blocking, shoveling, hauling and building our "graves" for the evening.

Me in my snow trench ~ cozy

It took several hours to complete and by then you are not sure you would survive from being so exhausted. Before settling in for the night, dinner was served.

Dehydrated goodness

You had to wait ten minutes for the water to soak into the dehydrated powder. Once it did it was edible. If you wanted it to heat faster you could stick in your jack, but it was emphasized that you needed to make sure the zipper was sealed or you dinner could end up on you instead of in you.

Our Kitchen with two "burners"

Once dinner started cooking the clouds rolled in for a peek at our meal and blocked the sun from seeing. We quickly bundled back into our parkas as the wind howled it's grievances at not being asked to dine. Huddling down into make shift chairs on boxes and bags, we ate in silence, devouring our food as quickly as the calories we burned evaporated. Once the meal was finished and the bags tucked away for wast recycling the next day, we dragged our sleeping kits to our respective areas and began nesting in.

Once everything was in my trench and I had changed into dry clothes for the evening, I nestled down into my mummy bag and waited for the 36 hour exhaustion to wash over me. It did, at least the first wave and I woke two hours later needing to use the restroom. Figures, I never have to go back home during the night, but dig a trench outside, mummify yourself, and you'll have to go instantly. Unwrapping from my cocoon looking anything like a snowbutterfly, I strapped on my icy moon boots and trudged the half mile to the porta potty.

Outside our survival toilet

Inside - the seat is foam so it won't freeze or stick to you

Restless and awake, I dreaded going back inside my trench. Instead I enjoyed being outside, while society was sleeping and the world was breathing. The wind was gently moving, flapping the flags, and the sunlight was a flat line across the sky. Still suffering from mid-rat time change, I strolled back and forth for the next hour and a half, having a long needed talk with God and settling some matters that weighed upon my heart. It is easier to draw closer to him when you are alone in a vast cold wilderness knowing it is only his will that is keeping you alive. I had a wake up call of sorts you might say. Once issues were discussed and prayers given up to a much greater source than myself, I returned to my grave and still wearing my parka sat upon the entrance reading my book. There was no going back to sleep for me.

Once 5:30am came, the sounds of rustling tents and crunching snow underfoot gave way to signs of life. After a water heated breakfast of oatmeal and instant coffee, we broke down camp and waited for our instructors to arrive to complete our second day.

Our kitchen in the morning before we broke it down ~ that's a sled in the back ground

Kelsey keeping an eye on the water so we don't burn the snow ~ once a cook always a cook

Our camp before we had to erase all traces

As the tent line was being broken down, I hear a voice say "Look what I found." There, dangling from it's gleaming black cord is my camera. Held in the hand of Leslie, the electronic rescuer, it seems smaller and little more damp then I remember. As she gently places it in my hand, I clobber her with a hug, and feel the lightness of something being returned that you missed. Thank you Lord, I whisper knowing it has only been through his power it was found. "You know it might not work," someone warns and we all hold our breath as I hit the on switch. Instantly the shutter opens and the screen lights up. It's alive! You have got to love Canon. A four year old digital camera that has been to England, France, Ghana, Costa Rica, and now Antarctica, still works after spending the night buried in the snow in below freezing temperatures. Damp, cold and lost, it still comes to life at the touch of a button.

My camera has returned ~ standing on my snow trench

Heart lightened by the return of my "light capture box" we finish our chores and then snap a group picture.

Once our instructors arrive, we are told that we need to fill in our snow trenches so for all our hard labor now comes the fun of demolishing them.

The entrance to my snow cave before I destroy it

Once our campsite is cleaned we head back to our small classroom for lunch and lectures. We learn about how to use the radio properly, what the terms mean like "over" and "out" ~ not to be used together because they have conflicting definitions. We learn how to set up a long range radio and then go outside and do it. We radio the South Pole once we get it working and ask them how cold it is there. -27 degrees Celsius they tell us and no one can convert that in their head. After that we are given two survival scenarios where the first is we have twenty minutes before we are caught in a condition one and have to set up a survival camp. The second is we are in condition 1, a total white out and one our members has gone out to the restroom and has not come back. We are told to come up with a plan and then execute it in less than 15minutes. This last scenario is called the "Bucket Head" test, because you wear a bucket over your head to simulate the conditions. In a white out, you can't see or hear anything.

Our group came up with a rope anchor and broom sweep idea. Needless to say it was not as successful as we would have wished, but it gave us all an accurate idea of what it would take to survive in such conditions and how important it was to rely on observing our surroundings and each other.

Once both situations were over, we packed up and headed back to station. While there we learned proper Helicopter strap-in should we ever be given the chance to fly in one (the chances are slim but it does help to be prepared). When class ended everyone was blurry eyed and dragging their feet. Exhausted, over-dosed on Vitamin D and smelling less then rosy, we drug ourselves back to our dorms, took a longer than 4 minute hot shower and then crawled into bed for instant sleep. One last thing, we all returned safe and sound, and were all a group of "Happy Campers."