Happy Camper School - Day two
What an amazing view to wake up to - Mt. Erebus!
What an amazing morning view!
I enjoyed this beautiful site - but only briefly. There was a lot to do before Corey - our guide - came back to get us. My tasks were to fill in the sleeping trenched and break down the tents. So I got right to work! Other team members started the water boiling - for breakfast. We had a great team and all worked well together. When Corey pulled up we were all ready for our Day 2 lessons.
Debrief
After we returned our camping supplies, the Happy Camper crew trekked back to the heated I-HUT classroom, where Corey had warm drinks and other refreshments for us. That put a smile on our faces! Since Corey left after dinner the night before, the first order of business was to discuss the evening's events. This debrief session gave us all a chance to reflect on what we would do differently in a 'real' survival situation. Like not wasting so much energy digging a snow trench that didn't work.
Survival Bags and Radios
Survival Bags
The whole purpose of this training is to learn what to do in order to survive in the 'field' - where shelter is limited. Because of this, every time our team goes out to the field, we will need to take a survival bag and some sort of communication devise. The survival bag his is a very large, very heavy (about 85 lbs) bag that will help two people survive for 3days. Included in this bag is:
- A mountain tent - that sleeps two
- Two sleeping bags
- Stove, fuel and supplies
- A shovel and saw
- Dehydrated food
- And several other essential items
The essentials for survival!
Very High Frequency radio
We were also trained in how to use the VHF (Very High Frequency) and HF (High Frequency) radios. The VHF radios were more familiar to us and are similar to talking on a walkie-talkie. We learned uses and common responses. Here are a few of the calls:
- OVER - means I done with my transmission and I'm waiting for a response.
- CLEAR - means I'm signing off from the conversation but will continue to monitor the radio.
- OUT - means I'm signing off from the conversation but will NOT continue to monitor the radio.
- COPY - means I understand.
You may have heard the common phrase - 'Over and out'. My question to you is... Would I hear this phrase in Antarctica?
High Frequency radio
The High Frequency (HF) radio required a little more training - Tuning. So, we were trained on how to properly tune the High Frequency which required us to set three things:
- Frequency
- Length - of the wave
- Orientation
The team setting up the High Frequency (HF) radio. Boy, it takes a lot of space.
Now, let's test what we've learned in a few scenarios.
Scenarios
Bucket Head
The first scenario - A member of our team has not been seen in about 30 minutes - when he left to go to the outhouse. Worst yet, the weather is bad. It's Condition 1 - extreme winds and low visibility.
Our task was to try to find a lost camper.
The first attempt - was unsuccessful. We had nine 'rescuers' who all held on to a rope with buckets on our heads - to simulate 'whiteout' conditions. The plan was to go out the I-HUT door with one person attached to the stairs and make a sweep of the camp area. We quickly found this was a very difficult task. Communication was difficult and visibility was poor. We decided to regroup and try it again with fewer people.
Happy campers heading out the door in our bucket heads.
The Happy Camper (Bucket Heads) team searching for our 'lost' member.
This time two people went out. Although they ended up finding the 'stranded camper' it was still difficult and took a lot time.
Although it was funny to watch the campers try to navigate with buckets on their head, this scenario provided an excellent example of the real Antarctic dangers and the importance of making smart decisions.
Putting it all together - the second scenario
Bad weather is quickly approaching and we've only got 20 minutes to get ready.
The set-up begins! A team sets up the High Frequency radio, another starts building a snow wall for wind protection, one group puts up the tent and still another person gets water boiling. The scurry of activity was evident - but after the 20 minutes we were well on our way.
Sadly, this is the end of Happy Camper School - at least in the field. We clean up and make the trek back to McMurdo.
A successful two days!