Packing Weekend
This weekend we all met in a barn in Gloucester to pack up all the kit, food and equipment we’ll be taking with us to Canada. Aside from fuel – which we’ll pick up when we arrive in Resolute – every other bit of kit had to be tested, weighed and packed into the 12 sledges and 12 bags we’ll be transporting from Heathrow to Ottawa, then onto Resolute. Due to weight restrictions on Air Canada and First Air – one of the airlines we’ll use which services the Nunavut region of the Canadian North, our bags must weigh not more than 23kg and the sledges 32kg.
All our food was stripped of packaging and repacked into the day bags we’ll use for energy during the day – chocolates, sweets, nuts and so on – and tent food for breakfast and evening meals. Soups, tea, powdered milk, sugar and so on were emptied into freezer bags in tent-size rations.
Tents were put up, checked and taken down, fuel stoves lit and packed with repair kits and spares. Thermos flasks, pan handles and karabiners were taped to prevent the chance of cold metal coming into contact with skin and ski poles were measured, cut down to size, labelled and packed into ski bags with skis and bindings.
After the fabric and poles were checked for any faults, one of the tents being slightly wet from use was moved into the house we were staying in to dry out completely, and fuel bottles were washed with washing up liquid to remove any smell of fuel – which may prevent them being allowed on the plane if checked.
When packing we’re careful to distribute the supplies across all the sledges and bags – so if one bag or sledge goes missing we don’t lose all the stoves or all the bindings for example. It’ll be a lot easier to replace one fuel bottle than nine, and in any case we have spares of pretty much all kit. It’s a very long and tedious process, but essential to make sure we get to the start line with everything we need for our Expedition to stand a good chance of success.
In the evening we all went down the pub for a team meal, the last team meal before we leave, it’s now getting real, we are going soon!
Help me raise funds for the COINS Foundation Here:
Tags: North