Antarctic Survival in the Wilds

Found a good "Antarctic (South Pole Region) Survival" link? Let Us Know!

COLD WEATHER OPERATIONS ~ SUSTAINING HEALTH & PERFORMANCE: US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, TECHNICAL NOTE NO. TN/02-2, October, 2001

Winter Travel ~ Snowshoes & Toboggans: To the moose hunter snow-shoes are often an absolute necessity, and trapping in many cases would be impossible without them. They are thus brought fully within the scope of our volume, and we give a few simple directions for their manufacture. For winter traffic over deep snows there is no better sled in the world than the Indian toboggan. Our illustration gives a very clear idea of the sled, and it can be made in the following way...

How to Build an Igloo by Susan Witmore: During the winter season, a companion and I spent two nights in an igloo near Carson Pass, California. At 8,570 feet the snow was too deep for hiking without snowshoes, and night temperatures dipped to minus five degrees Fahrenheit. Despite the cold, we kept relatively warm in our igloo. I learned to make igloos from Kim Grandfield's Snow and Igloo classes at Sunrise Mountain Sports, not from an Inuit elder. If you have an opportunity to watch and participate in building an igloo with someone who knows the process, that is the best way to learn...

Survival Stories Attacked by a ferocious leopard seal, plunging into a bottomless crevasse, lost overnight in a near-hurricane-force blizzard, poisoned slowly by carbon monoxide. These four dizzying tales of survival in the Antarctic wastes will leave you shivering with fright, aching with sympathy, and above all, thanking Providence it was them and not you.

Australian Antarctic Division: Expeditioner Handbook All expeditioners are expected to read the Expeditioner Handbook 2005 to ensure that they understand the terms and conditions of their employment with the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). In particular, Chapter 16 is very important and is a complete version of the Antarctic Service Code of Personal Behavior that outlines expeditioner's personal responsibilities with regard to the station community and to the AAD. [Link updated 4/12/11]

Antarctic Fact Files - A fascinating departure point to explore the natural history, geography, environment, science and other human activity in the world's most remote region. [Link updated 4/12/11]

Cool science – a regular feature where various research groups provide an insight to their work

Australian Antarctic Magazine – published twice a year, keeping you up to date with the activities of the Australian Antarctic Program

Antarctic diaries and stories – an insight into how people live, work and play in Antarctica.

Can You Survive in the Antarctic? Instructional Module #8: In the Antarctic, most of the food people eat goes directly to generating heat. For example, even when a person feels comfortably warm, they are using over half their total caloric intake just to maintain their body temperature. The colder it gets outside the body, the more food people need. Humans are so ill equipped for intense cold that they soon reach a state where they cannot stay warm no matter how much they eat. Stripped naked at 32 degrees, humans die of lowered core temperature in as little as 20 minutes. Traveling in the Antarctic requires that humans eat high energy or calorie-rich food and wear specially insulated clothing.

Happy Camper School Our class was taught by two very skilled and experienced outdoorsmen, Brennan Brunner and Scott Metcalf (aka Scooter), from the Field Safety Training Department, better known as FSTP (fstop-acronyms are big here at McMurdo!). Our day started out in the classroom and the first thing we discussed was the contents of an emergency survival bag. Survival bags are filled with essentials that will help two people to survive in the harsh Antarctic environment for two to three days.

Training for the Antarctic - a Personal Perspective In the United States Antarctic Program it is often necessary to train people from all walks of life to cope with the special difficulties of life in the Antarctic. Anyone who is assigned to a field camp or whose duties take them out of the boundaries of McMurdo Station must be trained in Antarctic survival by taking the Snowcraft I course also known as 'Happy Camper Camp'.

Happy Camper School Today we have come back from 2 days of happy camping out on the Ross Ice Shelf.. Each person that comes here must go through this basic training course to learn the essentials of Antarctic survival. It is particularly important if one is planning on working in a remote field camp where you actually stay in tents. (That may be my situation) The course consists of some classroom time discussing hypothermia and frostbite, use of HF and VHF radios, what to do in a "Herby" (hurricane force blizzard) and then of course the fun part, building snow shelters and sleeping outside.

Field Manual for the U.S. Antarctic Program [PDF] This edition of the Field Manual for the USAP has been revised to include both common and area-specific information. When a chapter contains information specific to both regions, the chapter will begin with common information, followed by McMurdo-area information and then Palmer-area information. If you are new to the program, this manual will help prepare you for the time you will spend in Antarctica. Read it thoroughly before packing and leaving, as you will find helpful and important information regarding planning and preparation, clothing, extra equipment you may wish to take, and what to expect in the field.

Field Manual - Appendix G Palmer Station Survival Cache Contents [PDF]

Live From Antarctica - Remote...alien...distant...Terra Australis Incognita, the 'Unknown Southern Land'...the 'last place on earth'.... For most of human history, and still for most people today, Antarctica is a blank, a great white continent covered with ice, unconnected to daily life back in the industrial world. Scientists know better, and now you can see why through their reports From the Field.

Photos from the current 'Live from Antarctica 2' team, - What can you expect to see in Antarctica?

Cool Antarctica - A travel-oriented view of Antarctica with pictures, maps, history and more.

Antarctica: The World Fact Book Speculation over the existence of a "southern land" was not confirmed until the early 1820s when British and American commercial operators and British and Russian national expeditions began exploring the Antarctic Peninsula region and other areas south of the Antarctic Circle. Not until 1840 was it established that Antarctica was indeed a continent and not just a group of islands or an area of ocean. Several exploration "firsts" were achieved in the early 20th century, but generally the area saw little human activity. Following World War II, however, there was an upsurge in scientific research on the continent. A number of countries have set up a range of year-round and seasonal stations, camps, and refuges to support scientific research in Antarctica. Seven have made territorial claims, but not all countries recognize these claims. In order to form a legal framework for the activities of nations on the continent, an Antarctic Treaty was negotiated that neither denies nor gives recognition to existing territorial claims; signed in 1959, it entered into force in 1961.

Antarctica: The Frozen Continent at the South Pole Antarctica is the icy continent at the South Pole. It is covered by permafrost (permanently frozen ground), is surrounded by water, and is about 1 1/2 times larger than the United States. The world's largest desert is on Antarctica. 98 percent of the land is covered with a continental ice sheet; the remaining 2 percent of land is barren rock. Antarctica has about 87% of the world's ice.

Two Women...in Antarctica - Ann and Liv are dedicated to sharing stories of their journeys, such as their historic Antarctic crossing during 2000/2001, as a way to ignite people to find their own dreams and passions. As former school teachers, Liv and Ann are dedicated to creating inspiring education programs such as the Dare to Dream and their Antarctic curriculum. Their 1,717 mile journey across Antarctica pulling 250 pound sleds took 97 days and sparked the imagination of over 3 million schoolchildren around the globe as they followed along in the news and on their website.

Scientific Journeys to the South Pole Relive the expedition! On Thanksgiving Day 2001, we sent Mary, Noel, Paul, and Julie to explore the scientific wonders of the Last Continent. They reported back to us live each day, from locations around Antarctica. Explore this website to discover live Webcasts, stories, features, and notes from the field about scientific life in Antarctica.

Nature: Antarctica: and The End of the Earth - From PBS.

The Seventh Continent Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station Perched on nearly two miles of solid ice, the South Pole station is home to 270 people in the summer but much less in the winter. This past year, the winter-over population was 54, somewhat smaller than the past few years (in my first winter at Pole, 2004, there were 75 winter-overs, a record 86 in 2005, then 64 in 2006), but not as small as the traditional 21-28 in the days before the new Elevated Station.

Arctic/Antarctic Ecosystems Project - Lots of information.

Classroom Antarctica Each Unit has a selection of activities. Mix and match activities to meet your own school or States learning objectives. Adapt the activities to the range of abilities in your class and the particular interests of your students. Some activities are designed around Expeditioner Profiles (pdf). There are hundreds of useful web links throughout and a wealth of support material listed in the Classroom Resources.

Antarctic clothing. By Ray Young A few days before leaving for Antarctica we all go down to the Antarctic NZ clothing warehouse and get issued with various items of clothing designed to keep us from freezing during our stay on the ice. [Link recovered 4/12/11 ~ Now hosted on site!]

SOME ANTARCTIC E-BOOKS:

An Antarctic Mystery: or, The Sphinx of the Ice Fields (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1899), by Jules Verne, trans. by Frances Cashel Hoey (HTML in Israel)

The Boy Aviators' Polar Dash: or, Facing Death in the Antarctic, by John Henry Goldfrap (Gutenberg text)

The Home of the Blizzard, Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914, by Douglas Mawson (Gutenberg text)

The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the "Fram," 1910-1912, by Roald Amundsen, trans. by Arthur G. Chater (Gutenberg text and HTML)

The Worst Journey in the World: Antarctic, 1910-13, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, illust. by Edward Adrian Wilson (Gutenberg text)

South! The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914-17, by Ernest Henry Shackleton (Gutenberg text)

The Voyages of Captain Scott, by Robert Falcon Scott and Charles Turley (Gutenberg text)

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