Temperatures:
Malmö 9 degrees Celsius (48.2 F)
Yakutsk -48 degrees Celsius (54.4 F)
Verkhoyansk -49 degrees Celsius (56.2 F)
There´s certainly a degree of stress being created at this precise moment!
Of course, the Russian Orthodox Christmas isn´t the same as the Christian one over here, so in that part of the world, everything is closed until after the 10th of January, leaving us only a 5 business days to get things done. What to do? I hardly sleep at night and feel as tired as on any expedition. But such is the Expedition life!
One of the positive aspects is all the new Equipment arriving. One just came now, a text message from the post office reading….Books from Amazon….I have ordered as many good books on the area and extreme cold as Icould find, one is Apsely Cherry Garrards classic The Worst Journey in the World. A book which should be read by anyone contemplating a extremely cold journey!
Today my specially made facemask arrived. And just to give you an idea what the kit list looks like so far, see below: (It will change)
Base kit
1 full reindeer skin kit made in Lower Kolyma
1 cup (kåsa)
2 Sleepingbags
1 Inner sack of fleece
1 Headlamp
1 Fur hat
1 Cap hat
2 Pairs of wool underwear with wind protection
1 pair of down socks
1 down vest
1 pair of skigloves
1 pair of fleecegloves, windstopper
2 pairs of trousers
2 pairs of shirts
3 pairs of other thick socks
1 Compressionbags for the down sleepingbags
1 Ski glasses
1 Julbo sunglasses
1 pair of Gaiters
Skis
1 Sparepartkit for the bindings (kables, and more)
1 pair of skis
1 pair of ski poles
2 pairs of short skins
2 pairs of long skins
Mixed ski wax (W)
Technical equipment
1 Canon XF 105
2 Canon CA-930 Compact Power Adapter
8 BP-975 Lithium Ion Battery
1 Canon XA10
1 Panasonic Lumix G 3
1 Panasonic recharger
1 BP-Lithium Ion Battery
3 B-819 Lithium Ion Battery
2 GoPro Hero
2 GoPro Battery Pack
8 GoPro Hero Rechargeable Batteries
1 Go Pro Chest Mount Harness
1 GoPro Head Strap Mount
1 GoPro Wall Charger
1 Gitzo GT2540LLVL tripod/Head kit
24 8GB San Disk Compact Flash Memory cards
10 16 GB San Disk SDHC Memory Card
8 LaCie 1TB Rugged Mini portable hard drive
1 Sennheiser ew 112-p G3 Microphone
1 HP Expedition Notebook
1 Iridium 9555 Satellite phone
1 SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger
1 HET Pelican Case 1400
2 Pelican 1564 Waterproof Case with dividers
1 PortaBrace Polar Mitten (POL-MHM100)
2 Pelican Dessiccant Silica Gel
4 Pelican 0945 Memory Card Case
1 heating Pad for Harddrives
2 Transcend USB 3.0 Memory Card Reader
Cleaning kit
Instruction handbook video camera.
Medicine kit
1 tin with tiger balsam (R)
1 First aid kit
1 Nail scissors (R)
1 Tweezers
10 sun sticks for the nose and sensitive places
1 tube Helosan
Alvedon (R)
Antibiotics (R)
Anti-inflammatory medicine (R)
Antiseptic crèmes and powder (R)
Antiseptic means (R)
Blood stoppers (R)
Diarrhea cure
Elastic bandages (R)
Foot powder (R)
Cannulas (R)
Surgeon tape
Knee protection
Compresses (R)
Leukastrips (R)
Leukoplast (R)
Immodium
Losec
Novalucol, 2 pills per day
Penicillin (R)
Plasters (R)
Chafe tape
Painkillers (R)
High sunprotection
Sterile dressings (R)
Wound cleaners (R)
Safety pins
Talcum (R)
Petrolatum
Zincsalve
Eyedrops
Eyesalve
Eardrops
Additional kit
1 Binoculars
1 Compass
Maps
4 Rolls of duck tape
2 Rolls of Electric tape
1 Tube Epoxy glue
A couple of locks
Sewing needles, thread (Expeditionset)
Repairs kit for ThermaRest
Other items
Insurances
Passports with visas and all permissions
1 Moneybelt
Money (rubles and dollars)
3 Toothbrushes
Notebooks
A couple of pens
A couple of toilet paper rolls
Photocopies of important documents
2 Towels, middle-sized
Credit card
Shampoo
Toothpaste
Soap (R)
Books
The family are as restless as me at the moment. Thank God they´re coming. It is becoming very difficult leaving them behind. They all wanna be part of the adventure. And why shouldn´t they come?I can´t see a better upbringing than this life!
