i went to happy camper!
happy camper is an over night school that teaches the basic in skills needed to survive out during harsh polar storms.
we learned how to read the weather, put up scott tents, which are designed based on the traditional tents used by first antarctic explorers...
create strudy anchors for glacier/mountaineering tents,
and build a cozy little camp compound (a phrase. i ironically adapted from africa). i most enjoyed building the wind walls for our compound. using hand saws, we cut 4 feet down into the packed snow and pulled up perfectly square blocks.
then, with banana sleds, we transported the blocks to build a four foot wall that "blocked the harsh southernly winds that were starting to make it's way to our camp".
*grin* really, the night was calm and the storm slow--we just pretended for the sake of practice that we had harsh winds. my friend matt (one of the co-instructors) even went so far as to act like the wind, picking up things that we carelessly set down and stealing them for the night.
lastly, we learned how to build quinzy's: basically bonified snow forts. the experience was collaborative...and using the right techniques they become very strong!! and, to my surprize, they were warm. i slept all night without a peep.
the most noteworthy skill i learned in happy camper is to be physically proactive. to anticipate my bodily needs.
in order to prevent hypothermia, all people in the field have to consider their physical needs first and always think ahead. personally, i think most acedemic's are physically hypothermic. *laughter* but that is another story!
somehow all of this seems crucial to my art. that is beautiful and serene.
No comments:
Post a Comment