Every once in a while, while reading any random newspaper, one stumbles across a story about an expedition to the North Pole or some other extremely remote location. The stories usually make the international news treshold if a) an expedition has just started or b) they have just succesfully made it to the destination or c) someone gets lost or dies in the process. I just spotted a story in Helsingin Sanomat about a solo expedition to the North Pole. After a quick look at the website of Hannah McKeand it became obvious that she is one of the professional adventurers who make a living by planning, organizing and realizing expeditions. When she is not on the road, so to speak, she is available for motivational and public speaking engagements.

Adventurers like this usually have an extensive roster of corporate sponsors. On this particular expedition she has a separate shotgun sponsor and even a chocolate sponsor!

There is at least one professional adventurer, or “explorer” in Finland. The profession has a relatively high fatality rate. A highly controversial incident that many people still remember is the North Pole attempt by Dominick Arduin. She died while pursuing her dream. I tend to agree with the people who say it was mostly due to arrogance and lack of preparation. In the words of Benjamin Franklin: “Failing to Prepare is preparing to fail”.

If you are interested in the subject of people who venture out to the wilderness to find fulfillment in life, I highly recommend two films: Walking alone across Australia and the Oscar nominated film adaptation of Jon Kraukauer’s Into The Wild by Sean Penn. Into the Wild is not really about a professional explorer, but about a student who just wanted to get away from it all and find his inner self.

For a more technical overview of the field of adventuring around in the modern world, browse Explorersweb.com.

I wish fair weather and all the best to Hannah with her expedition. It is always inspiring to see people who have the guts, dedication and energy to get up and actually do this sort of stuff. I have nothing but utmost respect for people like her.

Switchback is a rather appealing product if your work involves performing tasks with a computer in adverse weather conditions. It’s water and dust resistant and can operate at -10 degrees celsius with the solid state hard drive option. You can also get an optional wireless package that includes a civilian GPS module. The display is a touchscreen enable 5.6″ LCD screen which is sunlight viewable.

The processor is a 1 Ghz Intel Celeron© M and if I understand correctly, the device can run multiple operating systems such as Windows XP and Linux simultaniously.

I have no idea how much it costs, but my estimate would be somewhere between 4000-6000 euros per unit.

If you already own a Hummer H2, this is the computer to get further enhance your ruggerized look and feel

I was seriously considering to build a charger like this myself. After googling around a bit, I found a company (Thermo-Gen) that has already designed a commercial product that allows you to keep low power mobile electronics charged up in the wilderness. It works with water, a heat source and the Peltier effect to generate electricity.

The mobile Thermoelectric Generator / charger (TEG) is based on a Trangia stormproof stove. The TEG can be used with all types of heat sources: LPG, alcohol, kerosene, open log fire, log fired stoves…

• Electric power output: 9W with cool water and 4W with boiling water in the
  kettle.
• Kettle diameter: 160mm
• The “all in one” packs into a compact unit
• Electric connection: DC plug connector
• Optional adapter: DC-plug to car cigarette lighter socket
• Cellular phones and other units are charged via a cigarette lighter charger
  adapter connected to the TEG output

As long as you have firewood and water, you could easily keep a GPS, a digital camera and a Nokia communicator infinitely charged with this ingenious device. I wrote about portable power sources some time ago, but unfortunately solar power is not a realistic option here in Finland.

During my last hike in Lappland I realized what a difference a little bonfire can make to a camp site. It immediately increases the general comfort level of a wilderness camp. You can cook food, dry your gear and stay warm much more easily when you are staying next to a fire. Unfortunately modern ultralight tent and clothing materials are usually very sensitive to heat. When placed next to fire, a typical tent or synthetic clothing can catch fire in no time.

Many Finnish hikers use a traditional lean-to shelter made of aluminium coated nylon such as the one pictured above. What I cannot understand is why hasn’t anyone made one out of Nomex. Nomex is a type of aramid fibre that is used in textile products used by the military, fire fighters and car racers. It is patented by DuPont and various fabrics based on it seem to be readily available from manufacturers such as Warwick.

A company called Massif even produces fire-resistant, waterproof, breathable outdoor clothing. I’d be interested in sewing a traditional lean-to shelter out of waterproof Nomex derivative. Please drop me a line on the comment section of this post if you know of a supplier that could sell a short roll or a leftover piece of suitable fabric.

EDIT: I’ve learned that Nomex is also used in hot air balloons in the part that is closest to the burner. I’ll contact a balloon pilot tomorrow to ask for more details. All I really need is an approximately 2 x 5 meter piece or 10 square meters… I can’t afford to buy a 500 meter roll.

Treetents

Originally developed by Dutch designer Dré Wapenaar—who was commissioned by a non-profit to make the lives of tree-sitting activists a little easier—these tear-shaped tents hang suspended several feet off the ground. Though never actually used to stop chainsaws, since 1998 they’ve been in use at the Hertshoorn campsite, sleeping up to a family of four on the interior platform, which has about a nine foot diameter. More recently Wapenaar’s also added a bivouac for mourning the dead and an orb-shaped birthing tent (featuring a central pool) to his repertoire.

I’ve slept in a hammock out in the woods a few times just to test it out, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not all that practical for most environments. For some unknown reason, all these different variations of tree based shelters really fascinate me. It must some sort of primal instinct of getting up there on a tree for safety during the night.

On a totally different note, I remember reading a detailed description of a radically different kind of tree shelter. I think it was in a Vietnam war related book (perhaps the sniper autobiography One Shot, One Kill which Reko borrowed to me?). Anyways, it was a square metal platform that was secretly placed to the upper foliage of a jungle by a transport helicopter. It acted as a base for a group of commando soldiers who lowered themselves to the ground every now and then to fight behind the enemy lines. The only safety it provided was that you couldn’t see it from the ground unless you knew what to look for. Somehow, metal doesn’t seem like the right kind of material to build a stealth base like that. One would think that every little trinket you drop on the platform would make a loud noise like a church bell.

Stealth camping is a concept that is closely linked to hammock camping in general.

camping overnight on land that is unmarked or signed, unimproved, unfenced and away from habitation without anyone’s consent or knowledge using the Leave No Trace principles.

Well, I’m back from the wilderness. The bogs proved to be way too deep for my Scarpa alpine hiking shoes. I spent quite a few nights by the campfire drying my feet, shoes & socks. I also spent two nights at one of the most scenic wilderness huts in Lappland, the Vaskolompolo hut. Two other outdoor enthusiasts joined me to spend the night at the safety and comfort of the hut. One of them was Reijo, a retired border guard and the other one was Ivalo-Joe, a friendly gold miner who was hunting for bears in the area. He had a superb hunting dog with him called K.A. Lotti. I spotted a few bear droppings myself.. and half a dozen moose who chose to run away with great commotion and noise when I approached them.

We spoke about the habits of the animals, gold mining legends and other interesting and very non-urban subjects. During the first night there were some nice Aurora Borealis on the sky and we took the opportunity to take a few long exposure shots of them. (The new Aurea models by Philips remind me of them, by the way)

Once again, I was completely enchanted by the nature and the people of the North. I plan to return over there again and perhaps even do some gold panning one day. I heard that many men have panned the gold for their own wedding rings in the old days.

After I’ve returned to Helsinki, I’ve been a bit busy with work and real estate deals, so I haven’t had time to upload photograhs from the trip, but I’ll try to do it later. We’ll be moving to a new address next week.

Great Worldwide Star Count

Bright outdoor lighting at night is a growing problem for astronomical observing programs around the world. By searching for the same constellations, participants in the Great World Wide Star Count will be able to compare their observations with what others see, giving them a sense of how star visibility varies from place to place. The observers will also learn more about the economic and geographic factors that control the light pollution in their communities and around the world.

“Without even being aware of it, many of us have lost the ability to see many stars at night,” Ward says. “The Great World Wide Star Count will help raise awareness of the importance and the beauty of the night skies.”

My father’s father was a bit of an eccentric. Among his other achievements (of being the director of an aeroplane factory and a fire station) he painted stars on the ceiling of his sauna. The exact reasons for this remain a bit unclear to me.

Light and sound pollution are an increasingly serious problem, especially in densely populated areas. In this year’s Banff Mountain Film festival I saw a collage-style animated film called Conversing with Aotearoa. In an interview segment, various outdoor enthusiasts were asked “When do you feel that you are out in the wilderness?”. I couldn’t agree more with the person who said “When I can no longer hear the sounds of the civilization.”

On Monday, I’m off to the most remote village in Finland. The village of Lisma is located deep within Lemmenjoki national park in the parish of Inari. It is my departure point for a 10 day solo expedition to the Øvre Anarjóhka area in Norway.

Suunto Lumi

The Suunto Lumi helps you navigate mountain trails and city streets with ease. This sleek outdoor instrument is designed with smart, strong, passionate and active women in mind – women like you.

It’s a cloudy morning, but the barometer on your Suunto Lumi says blue skies ahead, so leave your raincoat at home. The day counter reminds you that a special event is coming up – you still have time to make plans. The weather trend indicator and day counter are a few of Suunto Lumi’s intuitive features that you can use to navigate through life.

Props for a good idea and what appears to be a technically great execution. Suunto’s reputation for high quality products especially in the diving instruments product line is impressive.

For quite some time there has been a specific type of consumer that has been a prime target for market segment researchers… the “active yet trendy outdoor person”. Nokia, Nike, Apple, Sony and many others have been trying to come up with products that appeal to people who enjoy both the urban and outdoor lifestyles. New women specific products are popping up left and right every month. Suunto has finally entered the game as well with their Lumi “instruments”.

In their advertising they refer to the menstrual cycle with the same kind of discretion (“Special event”) as the tampon advertisers with their mysterious blue liquids. I like the way Suunto does their brand building. It is very logical and persevering.

The consumers who are interested in these type of products are usually very fashion conscious. The replaceable wriststrap is actually a rather clever innovation in this industry. I doubt that many women have bought or even considered buying the previous “wrist-top computers” that have been double the size of a typical gentlemen’s wrist watch.

“Polar madness” grips many people working at poles

“Say there’s somebody you go to lunch with and you don’t notice the way that they eat. But if you ate with that same person day in and day out for six months, suddenly the way they chew their food is enough to drive you crazy,” added Palinkas, who has ventured to the Antarctic seven times.

The Lancet paper detailed past cases of polar expeditions gone wrong, including an Arctic scientific expedition in the 1880s that descended into mutiny, lunacy, suicide and cannibalism, leaving only six survivors from a crew of 25 men.

Palinkas cited more recent examples of “polar madness” at research stations, including one staffer clubbing another with a claw hammer and another beating a co-worker with a pipe.

“There was a saying at the station for the remainder of the winter that ‘If you’ve got a gripe, use a pipe,”‘ he said.

The researchers mentioned several other symptoms among people on polar expeditions such as memory impairment, anxiety, reduced alertness, headaches, boredom, fatigue, inattention to personal hygiene, intellectual inertia and over-eating.

Intellectual inertia? I wonder what that means.

I have tremendous respect for people who can live in confined spaces with anyone for half a year or more. Some people can’t even manage to stay married for that long.

One can only imagine what the atmosphere is like at a place like the Halley research station, when one looks at Snow Girl’s collection of photographs from over there. It seems like most of the staff has lost their mind in one way or another, but for some it is a positive experience. Most seem to pursue all kinds of crazy activities just to keep sane. They even have a bar in a mysterious “building number 5″.

Recently polar and arctic regions have started to increasingly interest me. While researching the Kola peninsula as a potential hiking destination, I found out about Varanger in the most Northern part of Norway. It seems like a beautiful, yet easily accessible place. Kola might be a bit too demanding for a solo expedition for someone with my level of experience of arctic regions.

I am having real troubles trying to resume the previous, more or less regular update schedule of this blog. I’m finally back in Finland. In July everything closes down around here and people head to their precious little summer cabins to relax and enjoy the sunsets and mosquitos.

Anyway, our last leg in the long trip around the Balkan countries was a cycling trip down the Danube river. There are many companies that arrange such trips and we chose the “economical option” of one of the bigger companies. They take your luggage from hotel to hotel and all you have to do is to hop on a bike every morning and ride 50-80 kilometers to the next pitstop.

All in all, it worked like a charm. The overnight stops had been chosen very carefully to offer a delightful variety of different styles of accommodation. In Linz we stayed at Hotel Kolping, which is run by a christian social organization. In many other cities we stayed at smaller gasthauses and guest rooms run by Weinguts & Heurigens (vineyards & wineries, that is). They were often run by a single family and the staff was always very friendly and hospitable, yet completely professional in the way they handled the business.

Every now and then we would see the some of our trip companions, but you could easily enjoy the nature and the steady, satisfying downhill speed of the route all by yourself if you wanted to. The scenery was beautiful and the river made it easy to find the right way. We had a little well written guide book with us. It was provided by the company that organized the trip and contained detailed maps of the entire route. Sometimes it was a little hard to find the exact spot of the accommodation, but we didn’t have to ask for directions at any time.

I highly recommend this option for anyone who is interested in starting multi-day cycling trips, but isn’t keen on spending a lot of time finding out about accommodation options or carrying a lot of stuff with them. It is the most popular bike route in all of Europe and for a very good reason. The bike lane quality is excellent and there are plenty of choices for a quick snack or a lunch along the way.

I’ll upload some photographs once I’m back from my own personal summer cabin trip after a week or so. Until then… Peace out, brothers and sisters!

Astronautix – Rescue Ball

Before the Challenger disaster, shuttle crews wore no space suits. This presented the problem of how to move them from one shuttle to another – if – it was possible to launch a rescue mission before the supplies aboard the stranded shuttle ran out.

To address this problem, Johnson Spaceflight Center devised the most minimal spacecraft of all time – the Personal Rescue Enclosure (PRE) Rescue Ball. The rescue ball was an 86 cm diameter high-tech beach ball with three layers: urethane inner enclosure, Kevlar middle layer, and a white outer thermal protective cover. Crew members were to climb into the ball, assume a fetal position, and be zipped inside by a space suited crew member. They donned an oxygen mask and cradled in their arms a carbon dioxide scrubber/oxygen supply box with one hour worth of oxygen. The ball would be connected by an umbilical to the shuttle to supply air until the airlock depressurized. The crew member would then be floated over to the rescue shuttle by the suited astronaut. The process would be repeated until the entire crew was moved from one spacecraft to another.

Can you imagine yourself floating in outer space inside a little insulated plastic ball with a tiny window? Astronautix has a page describing dozens of different space rescue vehicles, but this has to be the smallest one ever. It was also apparently used to test the astronaut candidates for claustrophobia.

I have had a special interest in emergency and minimal shelters for a long time. Check out my earlier entries about hammocks, foam homes and kammi shelters.

Steve Roberts, the original technomad, has pioneered a lifestyle that combines outdoor life with electronics and engineering. The problem with going off the grid for a month or two is that you might not a have job when you return. Perhaps innovations in shelter design and other miniaturization techniques will provide a way to carry your own both your office and home tucked away in your backpack in the future. That is a concept worth pursuing, in my opinion.

I spent the weekend in the Imst valley area with my friend Armin and his girlfriend Sandra. He is designing and building avalanche control devices over there. I was originally planning to make a little hiking trip to the finding site of Oetzi the Iceman, but it turned out that snowshoeing at high altitudes is a lot harder than I thought it would be. It has also started snowing, so I’ll give it another go in April. Nevertheless we had a great time hiking up one of the local mountains and running down the ski slopes back to the valley floor. Here is an album of pictures from the trip.

The Austrian railways have a weekend ticket that lets you travel as much as you like on any given Saturday for only 11 euros. It’s a great deal, but unfortunately the offer expires at the end of March.

I’m back in Vienna now. The pit stop for next weekend is Bratislava, Slovakia.

What is tick-borne encephalitis?

Tick-borne encephalitis, or TBE, is a human viral infectious disease involving the central nervous system. The disease is most often manifest as meningitis (inflammation of the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord), encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), or meningoencephalitis (inflammation of both the brain and meninges). Although TBE is most commonly recognized as a neurologic disease, mild febrile illnesses can also occur. Long-lasting or permanent neuropsychiatric sequelae are observed in 10-20% of infected patients.

Check out the map of the endemic areas. Yup, it’s Austria right there in the center of it. I got my second shot of TBE vaccination today. It’s about 45 euros a pop and I highly recommend it to anyone who plans to spend extended periods of time in any outdoor environment in Central Europe. A friend of mine who works at a health centre that specializes in tropical diseases told me a graphic story about an aeroplane pilot who had caught the disease. He was just shaking all over. TBE can cause all kinds of neurological symptoms and it can be difficult to diagnose because it can mimic several other diseases.

Austria is the only country where the number of cases is dropping yearly. I think that they have adopted a rigorous vaccination program and practically everyone is vaccinated at 6 years of age. The vaccine also happens to be austrian.

I’m not sure if I’m a bit over-cautious here, but in my opinion it’s not a big price to pay for some extra peace of mind. Then again, pharmaceutics must be one of the most profitable industries in the world. It thrives on pathophobia – the fear of diseases.

Everest : The Highest Traffic Jam in the World : Discovery Channel

There have been much-publicized cases over the years of people on their way to the summit walking past dying climbers, and it happened again this year. A young Briton collapsed next to the summit route. Many climbers passed him on their way to the top.

Sir Edmund Hillary has been very vocal about this in the past and he had this to say this year: “I think the whole attitude toward climbing Mount Everest has become rather horrifying. The people just want to get to the top. They don’t give a damn for anybody else who may be in distress and it doesn’t impress me at all that they leave someone lying under a rock to die.”

I agree with his view that the attitude of climbing Everest has changed. In his day mountaineers had a code of conduct, and only real mountaineers would attempt the big mountains. You didn’t boast, you didn’t lie about your achievements, and you helped those in trouble. These were the values held dear by climbers like Mallory.

But there is more to it than that. I listened to one of our team members on the radio weeping as he tried to administer oxygen to the casualty. It was one of the most harrowing things I have ever heard. He did his very best to help.

Everyday Rescues

In fact, it was completely ignored by the press that our expedition had already rescued a fellow climber this season lower down the mountain. An Indian climber had lost consciousness on the descent from the North Col and had the luck to do this right in front of our group on the way up.

Far from climbing past him, our doctor, Terry O’Connor, started treatment while guides Shaun Hutson, Bill Crouse and Mark Wynton improvised a stretcher and organized the team to carry him down the mountain. He spent the night in Russell’s tent on our oxygen supplies and the next day he was on his way home. He was seriously ill from cerebral edema (swelling of the brain) and he certainly would have died without our intervention The last I heard from the Indian expedition leader, the climber was “95 percent OK.”

I have seen Russell’s guides perform this kind of rescue every season that I’ve been with them, with no mention in the press. Russell Brice never gets paid for the oxygen ($400 a bottle) and rarely gets any thanks. But when a dying climber is encountered high on the mountain there is a storm of criticism.

The simple truth is that it is very hard to rescue someone from near the summit. Everyone is very near their personal limit, everyone is self-absorbed, and it takes a huge effort of will to organize a dozen other people to carry the casualty, prepare tents and safeguard the route down.

And let’s be blunt, when people have paid $40,000 for a package holiday they are reluctant to turn away from their goal. In my experience, most climbers are decent people only too willing to help. But near the summit of Mount Everest, up in the death zone, your moral being is stripped away to a self-preserving core.

Money has perverted the spirit of mountaineering as it has perverted so many other things. Real climbers follow their passion well away from Mount Everest. I’m only sad that my boyhood dream of an impossibly remote Himalayan peak has evaporated like the clouds that embraced George Mallory.

Everest: Beyond the limit is an excellent documentary about the 70-day $40000 (per person) expedition that has lost a lot of it’s magic. Graham Hoyland has completed an unbelievably demanding project by directing a documentary at a location where a surprisingly big number of people get killed every year trying to survive in the ultra-harsh environment of the high camps. The local sherpas are superstious about touching or approaching the dead bodies. There must be about 200 bodies just lying there.

Christopher Molloy has kindly published The 10 Bushcraft books by Richard Graves on the web. They are a collection of excellent tips for camping and survival using primitive technology. Although Mr. Graves is australian, a lot of the tips can be adapted to various other climates and natural environments.

As you may or may not know, I’m one of those “couch survival experts” or “textile outdoorspeople” who like to spend a considerable time reading and preparing for all kinds of outdoor adventures. Sadly, I’m living in a big city and I seldom get a chance to actually go to the wilderness and spend longer periods of time with the nature. I’ve done it a few times over the past couple of years and I intend to go out and actually do it a lot more frequently in the coming years. I just ordered Mountain Walking in Austria to prepare for our trip to Austria next Spring.

I’ve also been keenly watching the various wilderness tv shows… Ray Mears Bushcraft, Survivorman and a more recent find, the glitzy Man Vs. Wild. Especially Survivorman is highly recommended.

Water

binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent

Wind

Air in motion relative to the surface of the earth. Almost exclusively used to denote the horizontal component.

• Snowfer video
• Ice surfing video
• Snowkiting video

Photo : onEdition

Bernard Stamm (Cheminees Poujoulat), fights to for survival in a Force 10 storm in mountainous seas the Bay of Biscay, the day after the start of the VELUX 5 Oceans solo round the world yacht race

Velux 5 Oceans solo round the world yacht race is the real thing.

I used to have a classic wooden yacht. The forecast for today promised winds of up to 24 m/s, which is about 14 m/s more than I would like to experience in a small sailboat. I guess the real sailors are just itching to get out to the sea today though.

EDIT: The wind speeds on the western coast of Sweden reached 32 m/s last night.

Rovaniemi is the 8th largest city in the world by surface area (8016 square kilometers).

I stayed there for a night while I was on my way to hike in the Urho Kekkonen National park.

Lapland is one of the biggest wilderness areas in Europe. It’s well worth visiting, if you are interested in hiking and other outdoor pursuits. Rovaniemi is one of the few urban areas in the region. There are reindeer crossing the road all the time, but yet people seem to have traffic accidents mostly with street signs.

Lapland – Wikipedia

The area covered by Lapland lies mostly north of the Arctic Circle. The western portion is an area of fjords, deep valleys, glaciers, and mountains, the highest point being Mount Kebnekaise (2,111 m/6,926 ft), in Swedish Lapland. Farther east, the terrain is that of a low plateau, containing many marshes and lakes, the largest and most important of which is Lake Inari, in Finnish Lapland. The extreme eastern section lies within the tundra region.

My friend Janne has been busy with his favorite skunkworks project.. an electric sailboat aptly called “Hello, World”. I went on a little test sail a couple of days ago and almost caught boat fever myself. There is something unreal about the way the boat silently glides through water when the sails are down. Janne told me that people are often scratching their heads when he nimbly moors the boat. The potentiometer or “gas pedal” is extremely sensitive and the minimum propulsion is feather light like an invisible djinni’s hand.

While not sailing, she is powered by a set of 14 lithium ion batteries.

What is Skunkworks

A skunkworks is a group of people who, in order to achieve unusual results, work on a project in a way that is outside the usual rules. A skunkworks is often a small team that assumes or is given responsibility for developing something in a short time with minimal management constraints. Typically, a skunkworks has a small number of members in order to reduce communications overhead. A skunkworks is sometimes used to spearhead a product design that thereafter will be developed according to the usual process. A skunkworks project may be secret

EDIT: After this trip, I designed a logo and new web site for Electric Ocean as a favor to help them launch the business.. it’s a worthy cause, I think.

Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso – Official pages

Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso was the first national park established in Italy. It includes a large territory of high mountains, from the 800 meters of the bottom of the valleys to the 4,061 meters of the Gran Paradiso peak. Larch and fir woods, wide alpine grasslands, rocks, and glaciers make up an ideal scenery for the life of a rich and various fauna and for a visit leading to the discovery of the wonderful world of the high mountains.

I’m off to Gran Paradiso National Park via Milan. To cut a long story short, I booked cheap flight tickets to Milan at Stockmann Hullut Päivät sale as a sort of an impulse purchase. It was a delight to find out that there are some magnificent hiking opportunities in the area. Nazim, my contact in Milan, kindly booked a night at Rifugio Vittorio Emanuele II, which is one of the mountain shelters near the Gran Paradiso peak. I’m also meeting one of the producers of the excellent Dialogue in the Dark exhibition. My old friend Ilkka Suppanen, a veteran Milan visitor also gave quite a few good tips for the more urban sections of the trip.

Resuming regular scheduele for blog updates around mid-June.

EDIT: The trip was a great success. Tons of fun and tons of excellent cuisine. I’m definitely returning there one day. Here are the travelogue photos from the Aosta valley.

A kammi is a type of traditional semi-permenent shelter typical of Lappland. Lappland is inhabited in part by natives called the Saami people. While hitchhiking to a little solo expedition at the Paistunturit area I got a ride from a friendly Saami lady. She was on her way to a funeral and she was wearing the full traditional costume for the occasion. I learned a few things about their way of life during the ride. All three of their most sacred Ailigas hills have a radio mast these days. She also inquired if I was able to kill a reindeer if we happen to hit one on the road. I told her that I haven’t done it before. She instructed me that there are two spots where to stab the reindeer with a knife to kill it quickly.. either the back of the head or stab directly in the eye. All in all, a very informative and thought provoking encounter. I found myself wondering why I know more about the life of Amazon indians and African bushmans that about the life of the indigenous people in my own country.

Anyway, where was I.. oh yes, the traditional shelters of Saami people. I hiked through the wilderness area near Kevo and found a few unmarked kammis on my way to Utsjoki. Some of them were made of natural materials such as the one above, but some of them were made of fancy modern roofind material and had mattrasses, gas stoves, books, mirrors and other luxuries. On occasion I chose to use my modern tent instead of staying at the kammi though. If interested, please check out a gallery of pictures taken on the trip.

Jouni Laaksonen maintains an excellent catalog of cabins in Lappland. Some of the known kammis are listed there as well.

Ever since I got interested in hiking and camping, I’ve been looking for a new, improved shelter to replace the de-facto standard shelter practically everyone is using for this purpose: the ubiquitous camping tent.

Designmai seems to have yet another bunch of most inpractical instant housing concepts for “urban nomads”. I’ve been testing hammocks and various ultralight weight tents and I still believe that there is a breakthrough commercial success just waiting to be made in this area. It is not entirely unfeasible to combine a sleeping bag, a sleeping pad and a wind/rain shelter to a single compact unit. Obviously the Designmai concepts are not designed to be very mobile shelters, but they still provide crunchy food for thought in this area.

Society for Barefoot Living Home Page

“Going barefoot is the gentlest way of walking and can symbolise a way of living – being authentic, vulnerable, sensitive to our surroundings. It’s the feeling of enjoying warm sand beneath our toes, or carefully making our way over sharp rocks in the darkness. It’s a way of living that has the lightest impact, removing the barrier between us and nature.”

- Adele Coombs, “Barefoot Dreaming”

I met these two girls in Motueka, New Zealand. They were happily walking on the sidewalk without any kind of footwear even though it was raining.

There are a lot of people walking barefoot in that country.

More pictures from the Abel Tasman national park area can be found at the gallery.

Presentation

The MARATHON DES SABLES is all about management ;for one week everyone must manage strength, food and water needs.
“A PLANNED RACE IS A SUCCESSFUL ONE”
Especially in Southern Morocco at a time of year when the temperature can exceed 100 degrees Farhenheit in the sun. Due to the nature of the terrain crossed throughout the race, the body is under strain, and thanks to the experience acquired by the doctors in previous years, we can advise you on how to avoid certain mistakes and how to prepare efficiently for this “extraordinary expedition”.

1. Your equipment may quickly become an unsurmountable handicap !
When you have to be self-sufficient for all your food and water needs, everything you carry must be carefully weighed so that you do not have to carry anything not adjusted to the physical performance it is meant to deliver.
The backpack : check that the frame will not cause injury to your back or shoulders because of frequent rubbing.

2. Select your food carefully.
There again, weight is a major consideration.There are now numerous food products which are vacuum packed or freeze dried and their small volume and weight make them ideal solutions for this kind of undertaking. When planning your meals you must include a solid breakfast and high energy snacks every 20 to 30 minutes during the race. The evening meal should, of course, replace all the calories lost during the day.

Another endurance sports related event happening right now is the North Pole expedition by Airborne Ranger Club of Finland.

Plan

As far a planning is concerned, simplicity and flexibility are the foundation upon which the success of this expedition is built.

The expedition is comprised of two main parts, the walker and the support team element. The journey began near the southern tip of the South American Continent, in the Chilean town of Punta Arenas. As a single and unsupported walker Karl is walking north through South America, Central and North American, crossing from Alaska into Siberia, using the frozen Arctic waters of the Chukchi Sea (north of the Bering Straits) as a land bridge.

The journey then heads south west down the eastern coast of Russia, before turning west across Asia and Europe. The finish will be (pending authorisation) through the channel tunnel and into the United Kingdom.

For planning reasons the route is broken down into eight stages, then phases and lastly legs.

The route corridor concept is being used providing an imaginary path drawn upon a map containing several possible detailed routes. This gives Karl flexibility on the ground.

I like this guy! He had an ambitious idea and the balls to make it happen as well. He’s over half-way through already after starting in 1998. A Russian federal judge will be deciding shortly if he can continue his walk after crossing the frozen Bering Strait and entering Russia at an unauthrozed entry point.

Pathfinder Travels

In a breakout performance, unknown skier Julian Carr explains the mindset and the tub science required to jump “ginormous” cliffs without injury. Not wanting to be perceived as a rock star driven only by adrenaline, Julian believes that it takes not guts but rather self-confidence and knowledge of the snowpack to go big. An introspective film featuring some of the biggest jaw-dropping cliffs ever recorded, including a front flip off a 165-foot (50-metre) cliff.

I’ve seen ads for this festival in National Geographic Adventure magazine. I’m glad they finally have a world tour and instantly bought a ticket (15 euros btw) at Camu when I found out they are coming to Helsinki. It’s a one night show with six different films.

Sarek

Sarek is strikingly alpine for Sweden with magnificent mountain ranges and narrow valleys, glaciers and wild rapids. It is a splendid piece of unspoiled wilderness. The park contains over 200 mountains over 1,800 metres. Six of Sweden’s 13 highest mountains are found here, as are about 100 glaciers. Rapadalen valley is the artery of Sarek. The Rapaätno river has an enormous flow and carries green glacial water from about thirty glaciers. Rapadalen contains dense thickets of mountain birch, osier and herbaceous plants.The flora is rather poor in most of the park, but the animal life in the great valleys is rich. If you are lucky you can see bear, wolverine, lynx or one of the unusually large elks. Sarek is not recommended for beginners. Those wishing to visit the park must have considerable alpine experience and the correct equipment and should be used to spending time outdoors. Sarek is an extremely inaccessible wilderness with no facilities whatsoever for tourists. Here, you are on your own. The foremost sights of Sarek are the alpine landscape with its sharp peaks, glaciers and narrow valleys, the animal life and the delta areas in Rapaselet and Rapadeltat.

I think I just found my holiday destination for summer 2006.

EDIT: Make that summer 2008. I visited Lappland and the Alps instead.

Silkbody – Silk Technical

Silk is made of proteins, so it has thermal properties very similar to other, more common, protein fibres, such as wool. It will warm to the body’s temperature and provide a protective layer, trapping warm air like a fine second skin. Like wool, silk is exothermic, releasing energy in the form of heat when moisture is absorbed and warding off the chilling effect in a cool, wet environment. This means your Silkbody is warm when wet, too. The silk fibre is completely smooth and very fine. Its feels amazing against the skin and will never itch. Silk has a natural resistance to bacteria (doesn’t easily retain body odours), inherent flame retardence (more heat resistant than wool), resiliency (garments won’t lose their shape), and will not pill.

Silk is a truly superior fabric for outdoor clothing, but most of the silk clothes available in regular deparment stores are evening gowns and pajamas. Silkbody from New Zealand is the only outdoor clothing brand that is using silk that I’ve found so far. If you know of any other brands, I’d be happy to hear about them.

Nepalese Porters May Be World’s Most Efficient Haulers

Twenty years ago Heglund studied African women in Kenya – who often balance loads atop their heads – to investigate their unique burden-bearing efficiency.

His latest study, which appears tomorrow in the journal Science, now suggests that the porters of Nepal are even more efficient at their tasks. Precisely why, however, remains a mystery.

So legendary are the load-carrying abilities of the Nepalese that the word Sherpa, a term for one of the country’s ethnic groups, has become synonymous with “porter.”

A typical Nepalese porter carries a load nearly as heavy as he is. When he does, the porter burns less energy per pound than a backpacker would need to shoulder about half the same weight, Heglund and his colleagues found.

Our guide at the Fox Glacier was a Sherpa called Passang. There was indeed something about the way he moved that made it look very effortless. He had climbed on the Mount Everest twice. I always try my best to get by with a miminum load and I was the only person without a backpack so he off loaded all the crampons of the party to me.

Get Outdoors blog by Barbary Foley is a treasure chest of witty articles about the outdoor gear industry. An article about the big players supplying gear for the military market was especially interesting.

I bought a Flashflo hydration pack by Camelbak recently. The military product section on their web site is quite a jaw-dropper. They have everything from concealed weapon kits to chem-bio resistant water reservoirs.

Here’s the advertising text for their military version of Flashflo:

CamelBak’s NEW line of concealed carry packs allows you to carry two of your most valuable pieces of equipment for hours without attracting unnecessary attention… your firearm and your water. High-quality, civilian design and color choices help operators blend into the crowd. Comfortably carries a handgun and extra clip.

Check out the lady in blue outdoor jacket between the “operators” who are sure to blend into any crowd with that gear.

Route Guide: Lake Angelus – Articles – New Zealand Tramper

Only another 400 metres higher is the fine peak of Mt. Angelus (2075m). The most spectacular hiking access to the lake, hut and mountain is along the Robert Ridge – a consistently high, sometimes narrow and usually beautiful route. There are great views into the basins above the Travers Valley and alpine herbfields for budding botanists.

The high altitude (up to 1600 metres) means that this area is subject to bad weather (including snow) at any time of the year. The steep slopes to either side are prone to avalanches in winter. This is a popular area even in winter with ski-tourers on the ridge and frozen lake and climbers tackling snow and ice on Mt. Angelus.

When starting this walk you have a few choices:

• Stay in St. Arnaud overnight to allow a full days walking along the ridge.
• Head straight up the ridge after travelling to the park (unless you are a local this means starting around noon and a late finish at the hut). Good for the fit or those in a hurry.
• Go up to Bushline Hut on the first day – a leisurely way to fill in an afternoon.

The trip can be compressed into 2 days but I suggest that you break the first long day (up to 9 hours) with a stay at Bushline Hut.

Be aware that Angelus Hut can get full very easily, especially during holiday periods. Don’t expect to be alone at the hut and large groups should carry tents.

The sun burned my neck in the high altitude and I almost hit my head on a rock a couple of times while slipping and sliding my way down via the Cascade Track to Lakehead hut, but other than that it was a truly excellent tramp. Lake Angelus itself had a really nice atmosphere.

About 60% of the trampers in New Zealand Department of Conservation huts are from overseas. There are about 900 huts around the country and some of them are serviced and have wardens. They are outdoorsy people with a lot of good advice things like route choice and make the whole tramping business a much more safe and pleasurable experience. The warden on duty at Angelus was a nice lady called Robyn.

The picture above shows the shovel that can be used to dig a hole to the entrance of the hut if it is buried under snow. More pictures of this tramp can be found at the gallery.

Extereme Ironing

Welcome to the home of extreme ironing – the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt.

The variety of outdoor activities that can be combined with extreme ironing is stunning. Check out the galleries

Survivorman Official Web Site

No food, no shelter, no fresh water, no tools… no camera crew. One man – alone in the wild for seven days with only his wits and stamina to sustain him.

Airing on “The Science Channel” in the U.S., and “The Outdoor Life Network” in Canada, each episode finds “Survivorman” Les Stroud abandoned in a remote location. He carries little more than the clothes on his back – and his cameras. Les not only needs to survive for a week without supplies, but he has to film everything himself, lugging over fifty pounds of camera gear the entire time. The Costa Rican rainforest, Arctic ice-flows, Georgian swamp and the high Sonora desert include a few locales where Les has overcome seemingly impossible obstacles.

Discovery Channel has an episode guide and some additional background information about this series. A number of reality shows have sensationalized wilderness survival and this show is obviously trying to ride the publicity wave and give a more serious and documentary style approach the subject.

Les Stroud’s british counterpart is Ray Mears who has been doing similar “simulated disaster scenarios” for BBC for some time. The difference with Survivorman and Ray Mears is that Stroud is actually stranded for one week and only has a satellite phone to pull the plug if things get too rough.

Tidalforce electric bike review

I have been riding electric power assisted bicycles for the last four years beginning with a Mercedes hybrid pedelec. I rode the Mercedes for over three years, logging over 7,000 miles in all. My daily ride includes mixed trails and roads and I rode the heck out of my Mercedes until the second motor failed and the second set of tires were literally worn bare. At that time, the Mercedes was the best electric bicycle I had ever had the pleasure of riding and I couldn’t conceive of getting anything else to replace it with. I was looking for another Mercedes when Wavecrest announced the release of its TidalForce M-750. Designed for the military special forces with a silent running motor and flat black Montague folding frame, it is a high testosterone ride to say the least and it got my attention immediately. The early reviews were very positive and it became apparent that this bicycle comes with miles and miles of smilage. I am happy to report that smiling is what I have been doing constantly these last few months. This TidalForce is a great replacement for my Mercedes Hybrid Bike offering superior performance and function across the board.

Electric bicycles have come a long way as well. Unlike the concept fuel cell electric motorbike below, TidalForce M-750 is available today. Not surprisingly, it has received rave reviews. I’ll try my best to test ride one while I’m in California in next December. $3000 is well within pain treshold for a high-end bicycle. They have three different motor options: 500W, 750W and a hefty 1000W for off-road riding.

The motor and battery pack integration in wheel hubs is pure genius.

EDIT: I just read two news items: In the European union pedal-assisted electric bikes are limited to 200W motors to be street legal and Wavecrest has apparently ceased the production TidalForce bikes

Kelly Kettle test

The Kelly Kettle is a unique water boiler that is essentially a water jacketed double walled aluminum chimney with a removable aluminum fire pan. To use, a small fire is built in the pan, the water filled chimney is placed on top and the fire heats the jacketed water.

Vigorous boiling was achieved in about 5-6 minutes. Additional cedar splits about 4-5 inches long were dropped down the chimney as needed. The kettle burned fast and hot using this fuel. These formed a sort of fire teepee as the splits were dropped in. The bottom seal again leaked but not as severely as the previous Laboratory Evaluation boils. A small amount of water was in the firepan, but because most of the burning wood was above the pan in the chimney this was not a problem. As the water got hotter, the leaking stopped.

Overall this is a fun and useful boiler. It is lightweight and has the ability to use found fuels; which makes it a very useful daytrip brewup kettle, and useful in boil only longer trips. This most likely will not replace my MSR stoves or other devices for longer trips where more than boiled water would be desired, but it will make its way into those daytrips/fishing trips/picnics that would benefit from a hot beverage or instant soup etc at the lunch break. The larger Kelly Kettle would be necessary for parties larger than 1 or 2.

Why on earth hasn’t anyone made one of these out of titanium yet?

Dermabond

DERMABOND Topical Skin Adhesive is a sterile, liquid topical skin adhesive designed to repair lacerations and to close surgical incisions. It reacts with moisture on the skin’s surface to form a strong, flexible bond. DERMABOND adhesive is the first cyanoacrylate adhesive approved for this use in the United States. DERMABOND Topical Skin Adhesive is intended for topical application only to hold closed easily approximated skin edges of wounds from surgical incisions, including punctures from minimally invasive surgery, and simple, thoroughly cleansed, trauma-induced lacerations. DERMABOND Topical Skin Adhesive may be use in conjunction with, but not in place of, subcuticular sutures

Tissue adhesive used extensively in Vietnam war was also cyanoacrylate based.

History and development:

In 1959, a variety of cyanoacrylate adhesives were developed, some types of which are now used for surgical purposes in Canada and Europe. These glues polymerize on contact with basic substances such as water or blood to form a strong bond. The first glue developed was methyl cyanoacrylate, which was studied extensively for its potential medical applications and was rejected due to its potential tissue toxicity such as inflammation or local foreign body reactions. Methyl alcohol has a short molecular chain which contributes to these complications.

Further research revealed that by changing the type of alcohol in the compound to one with a longer molecular chain, the tissue toxicity was much reduced. All the medical grade tissue adhesives currently available for human use contain butyl-esters, which are costlier to produce.

According to modern bushcraft lore a bit of super glue spread over a cut will seal it faster and better than any bandage. It can be used for small emergency sutures, as well. It should not be used for gaping wounds or to any wounds very close to eyes or mouth. You can use gauze to protect nostrils, ears, eyes, mouth etc.

(Quinn & Kissick, 1994) Current use: Although not labeled as such, over-the-counter Super Glue products contain methyl alcohol, because it is inexpensive to produce. Cyanoacrylates cure by a chemical reaction called polymerization, which produces heat. Methyl alcohol has a pronounced heating action when it contacts tissue and may even produce burns if the glue contacts a large enough area of tissue. Rapid curing may also lead to tissue necrosis. Midwives have not noted such reactions because minimal amounts are being used for perineal repair. Nevertheless, with a greater toxic potential, over-the-counter products are inappropriate for use in wound closure. (Quinn & Kissick, 1994)

I’ve found an equal number of comments from medical professionals saying that regular over-the-counter hardware super glue is sufficiently non-toxic. Still, I think that I’ll try to find some medical adhesive to replace the regular Krazy Glue container in my first aid kit.

While researching (read: googling) the subject I also found a couple of other interesting products such as a dental emergency kit and a venom extractor

EDIT: Since the writing of this post, I’ve bought the medical grade liquid bandage and used it quite often. It works really, really well!!

I have a Dakine High Roller snowboard bag, which is big enough for all my snowboarding gear including all the clothes and boots. Although it’s very heavy duty, it got nasty slashes in the bottom when it had to be crammed into an already full storage compartment of a ski bus. There was probably a screw in the top of that compartment and while the bag was being pushed in to the last remaining free space, the screw tore it open. I fixed it with some band aid, but in order to fix it in a more durable way, I decided to try ironing some heat activated seam sealing tape on the slashes. There is a little tutorial on the subject at the excellent and very friendly fabric supplier shelby.fi.

Well, it worked like a charm. The tape bonded to the fabric very well and it’s a much better fix than the band aid. Fabric welding seems to be the latest buzzword in outdoor clothes as well. Omega Jacket from North Face is one of the many examples of seam free construction. Arc’teryx and Klättermusen are two other high end brands that weld some of their products instead of sewing them.

At ARC’TERYX we take a different approach to hardshell construction. We select the highest performing waterproof/breathable membranes and fuse them with proprietary fabric lamination techniques. Our designs integrate revolutionary innovations like die cut components that eliminate bulk, WaterTight(tm) zippers that precisely seal and tiny seam taping that radically improves membrane performance.

I am not exactly sure what the “proprietary fabric lamination technique” means, but I suspect it has something to do with ultrasonic equipment. A little googling around revealed that Branson Plastics is selling some sort of ultrasonic fabric sealing system.

Tramp New Zealand

The Abel Tasman Coastal Track is a breathtaking, casual walk around a spectacular, unspoilt coastline. This is a haven for anyone out there who loves the sea. There are brilliant, blue lagoons, estuaries and tropical island sanctuaries. The beaches, oh those beaches are simply a delight covered with sand that is so soft on your skin it feels like powder. You will see dolphins, seals, oystercatchers and eels. Its accessibility and beauty have led it to become something of a tourist attraction drawing about 30,000 visitors every year. Its a park that caters for everyone. As water taxis are readily available to take you almost directly to the huts or camping grounds, the sights are available to anyone from little children to the elderly to the disabled. The more energetic may hire a kayak, water ski or swim with dolphins.

Next January, I’ll start my New Zealand tramping career with the most popular and easiest of the Great Walks. There are a few huts and plenty of camping sites along this easy trail, but the huts need to be reserved in advance. After much brochure studying, I found out that some days are better than others due to tides. There are a few crossings across water that can only be done safely during low tide. In the beginning of January there was luckily one spot left in the huts. All in all, the Department of Conservation has done a great job maintaining these trails and producing all the brochure material and an impressive on-line booking system which even used “Verified by Visa” which was a first for me. There was an additional layer of security there with an identification process with an online bank.

After this four-day tramp, I might continue to Heaphy track which is reasonably nearby or head down South to Travers Sabine Circuit. After that I’d like to do the Whanganui river journey with a canoe. Travel fever is rising at an alarming speed.

Ruskovilla Oy

Ruskovilla, established in 1981, is a pioneer of environment-friendly textile manufacture in Finland.

We wish to bring you closer to nature and its authenticity. What engineers attempt to invent in their laboratories, nature developed thousands of years ago.

Nature’s produce and their uniquely suitable qualities cannot be copied. They bear the hallmarks of life.

Not even the finest technological innovation can compete with the skills of a small silkworm, nourishing itself with mere mulberry leaves; nor with the sun of the Andes, producing warmth and life, caressing the rich soil and growing wonderful cotton; or with well-kept grazing sheep on lush pastures.

I’m a big fan of Ruskovilla underwear. They are 30% silk and 70% wool. I haven’t tried other modern wool underwear brands yet. Some of these include:

• Smartwool
• Brynje
• Ibex

Check these out next time your Ninja suit is starting to show signs of wearing out. Smartwool has a website that is using flash very creatively.. I like their logo and mascot a lot.

Mountain Gear – Stainless Steel Goblets – Pair

Everyone will appreciate the classy look of these affordable stainless steel goblets. The logical outdoor alternative to stemware or plastic cups, they are perfect for the cabin, car camping or making a date with the sunset. Tastefully etched with the Mountain Gear logo.

The wilderness often offers an ideal setting for a luxury dinner. The view is perfect, you are hungry as a wolf from hiking all day long and it is quiet and peaceful. A dehydrated camping ready meal can sometimes be quite disappointing, especially if you are a gourmet food connoisseur.

Well, if you are willing to leave other heavy items at home, nothing is stopping you from taking a bottle of estate bottled red wine and a pair of stainless steel goblets with you.

A miniature metal flask of cognac or some brandy in a plastic PET bottle is often included in the camping gear lists of older people. If you really are addicted to wine, but don’t want to carry a kilogram of extra liquid with you, you can always buy the wine in in instant powder form