Last Training Weekend-Ogmore
On a wet Friday evening we congregated in the Pelican pub just south of Ogmore, in the aftermath of the snow which covered much of Southern Wales, now melted on the frozen ground causing fields to swamp, rivers to burst their banks and even cattle grids to overflow. It was this that greeted us on our last training weekend before we leave the UK at the end of March. From now on when we meet for a weekend we’ll be doing the long, painstaking task of checking, packing and rechecking all the equipment we’ll be taking with us.
This weekend was simply to revolve around tents, stoves and sledges on the Saturday, a team dinner on the Saturday night and on Sunday a long walk – a good opportunity to get to know the team better and discuss any queries and concerns.
After getting soaked in torrential downpours on the Saturday morning however, and with most of our tents, sledges and stoves covered in wet sand from Ogmore’s sand dunes – a perfect environment to practice pulling sledges on the many other occasions I’ve been down here – we decamped back to the pub to dry out, and took the opportunity to piece together all the maps which chart our anticipated route to the Magnetic North Pole.
Camping in our groups on Saturday night was a good opportunity to go through the routines which will become our daily lives, although thankfully we won’t have wet mud to contend with! It was also an opportunity for those who haven’t done similar Expeditions before, to discover what it’s like cooking and sleeping, while packed in like sardines, with 4 to a tent!
On Sunday the sun dried us out and we got back to the skills training which will become essential to our success – understanding importantly the MSR stove which will be our lifeline for all heating, water and most of our food. The other essential components on which our success will depend are our shelters – tents were put up, taken down and put up again, taking it in turns in our teams of 4 to make sure each person knows how they operate, and the weak points to look out for.
Although there is a lot of detailed planning and organisation behind these Expeditions, fundamentally their success comes down largely to the basic elements of survival – water, food, shelter and warmth. A solo Expedition to the Geographic North failed last year after just 2 days – sending £250,000 down the drain – because two plastic pressure stove-valves costing £60 failed in the cold. These are the realities of Arctic exploration and our success will depend on our diligent attention to the small details which keep us watered, fed, warm and sheltered from the wind.
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Tags: North