Igloo Building Photograph, 1924

The photograph was taken in 1924 and shows an Eskimo family building an Igloo.

It is amazing to think that 1924 wasn’t all that long ago. I’m not sure how much of those skills survive today.

Trip Report: Kaaterskill High Peak Airplane Crash Sites 10/26/13 – 10/27/13

Last December I made an attempt to locate two airplane crash sites on Kaaterskill High Peak in the Catskill Mountains. I made the attempt from the north side of the mountain, but was unsuccessful. You can see the trip report here, here and here.

This year, a few of the guys and I decided to give it another try from the south side of the mountain. It looked like the easier way to go because the starting point is about 1,200 higher on the mountain, which would cut off a full day of travel from the trip. The plan was to take a trail up the south side of the mountain. Surrounding Kaaterskill High Peak there is a snowmobile trail. We planned to bushwhack through the woods from the trail we were using once at the right elevation, to reach this snowmobile trail. Right off that trail we expected to find the first airplane crash site (#1 on the map). We would then follow the snowmobile trail for a bit to the southern section of High Peak. From there we would climb up to the top of high peak. There is a proposed trail there, so while not completed, we expected to see at least some indication of where to pass through the woods. That was my main concern because at about 3,400 ft, we would hit the spruce cap, and going through it without any semblance of a trail is very hard going. The second crash site would be tricky. There were reports that it is right at the top of the mountain (#2 on the map), so we could have seen it once we got there. There were other reports that it was further down on the north side of the mountain (#3 on the map), where I searched without success. If I had been alone, I would have bushwhacked down to search on the north side again, if we did not find it near the peak, but with the group, we planned to go down the proposed path until we reached the other side of the snowmobile trail. From there we would make our way out.

For this trip we had a sizable group. The usual guys were there, me, Rich, other Rich, J, and George. This time we also had James, Rich’s bother, and his friend, Vlad.

Once everyone had made their way to the starting point, we made our way up the mountain. The going wasn’t particularly tough; just a steady climb. We had a few small streams to cross along the way.

James had brought his camera equipment and show some video footage along the way.

A few hours of steady walking and we reached the elevation where we had planned to bushwhack to the snowmobile trail.

We were lucky, and it looks like others had had the same idea. There was already somewhat of a path through the woods, marked by a few rocks. We made our way through until we reached the snowmobile trail. From there we turned south, and soon after spotter the first airplane crash site, right off the trail.

We decided it’s a good spot to stop for lunch. It was close to 1 o’clock. We threw on our jackets and got some food.

After lunch we followed the snowmobile trail for some time until we reached the southern side of the mountain. As I had hoped, there was a marker for the location where people had been making their way up the mountain, and somewhat of a path going up.

The way up the mountain was steep and difficult. On more than one occasion it was nearly vertical.

Halfway up the mountain, we reached a section that was extremely steep. We decided to split up. Me, Rich and J decided to climb directly up, while the rest of the guys went further west to seek an easier way up, which they eventually found.

 

After a short vertical section, we reached a ledge that had been swept clear by the winds.

After a short rest, we continued up, quickly reaching the spruce cap. Fortunately, there was a visible path through the trees, which made the going easy. Soon we were at the top of High Peak.

Right at the peak, we found remnants of the second airplane crash. It was nothing more than a piece of fuselage and a crank shaft from the engine. Clearly someone had moved them there. We looked around for the actual crash site, but could not find it.

Without being able to find much else, we made our way down the mountain. The descent on the north side was easier. Eventually we got to the base of the mountain. We saw a small stream and decided to fill up on water. I was using the new Sawyer Mini Filter. It worked very well, although the design prevents me from using my usual pre-filter. I will have to figure out a solution.

From there we followed the snowmobile trail for a bit until we found a suitable camp site. Actually the spot we chose was right in the section where we had to bushwhack back to the trail that took us up the mountain from our starting point.

With a fire pit ready and wood gathered, we got the fire going.

We spent the evening hanging out by the fire. The temperature dropped below freezing, and we started to get some snow. Fortunately, none of it stuck around.

The night got pretty cold. It dropped down into the lower range of 20F (-7C). I had to wear my Patagonia DAS Parka in my 32F rated sleeping bag in order to stay warm. I had made the mistake of keeping my damp socks on, which made my feet cold.

In the morning, we got up, started the fire again, and ate some breakfast.

When finished, we set out again down the trail, and not long after, we were back at our starting point. The trip overall, was about 8 miles. Here is the GPS record.

The trip was not difficult in terms of navigation because we followed trails most of the time. The terrain was tough, especially going up High Peak. We were all pretty tired by the end of the first day. We worked well together as a group, and got it done. It is unfortunate that the second crash site managed to elude me again, but I am definitely going to need better information on it before I make another attempt.

The Scott Expedition – Retracing the Steps of a Legend

Most of us are well familiar with the ill fated expedition lead by the British Captain, Robert Falcon Scott. In 1911-1912, Scott and his men made a journey to the South Pole, only to perish on the return trip, freezing to death, short of food and fuel, only miles away from their storage depot. While Roald Amundsen managed to claim the South Pole for Norway only weeks before Scott managed to reach it, using a different route and dog pulled sledges, Scott gained significant fame, in large part due to the tragic end of his expedition.

This year, a two man team is attempting to retrace Scott’s steps. British adventurers Ben Saunders and Tarka L’Herpiniere are setting out on an expedition to Antarctica, attempting to follow the route to the South pole taken by Scott and his men. They will attempt to do it unsupported. Their journey began several days ago, and seems to be progressing. You can follow the team here.

It appears that the plan is to retrace the actual Scott expedition to the South Pole and back. Just like Scott, they will depot food on their way to the pole, and then retrieve it on their way back. Unlike Scott, they will be using modern equipment, and will have only a two man team, unlike Scott’s expedition style approach. They will also lack horses and motorized sleds which Scott used in the early stages of the expedition.  

The Importance of Breathability of Clothing in Cold Weather

Breathability is a very important aspect of clothing designed for the woods. Working and traveling through the woods is an energy consuming activity, which produces a lot of perspiration. A breathable material is one which allows that moisture, accumulating on top of the skin, to pass through the clothing and out into the surrounding air.

Many fabrics such as Goretex, eVent, and even older materials like oiled canvas and Ventile strive to balance the ability to be breathable, i.e. allow moisture produced by the body to pass through, with being waterproof, i.e. preventing rain from getting into the clothing from the outside. Each material does that with a varying degree of success. Some end up being more breathable, others more waterproof.

It is said by many that in cold weather, a material being waterproof, is not particularly important, as there is no rain to worry about. The colder the weather, the drier the snow, and the less likely it is to melt and get your clothing wet from the outside. As a result, breathability is prioritized when it comes to cold weather clothing. The image that is often presented and that comes to mind most often is a clothing system comprised of different insulation layers covered by a canvas anorak, resembling the clothing of Scott and Nansen.

The theory goes that since there is no moisture on the outside which can get your clothing wet, and all of the moisture which is produced by your body can pass freely through all of the layers of the clothing system, the clothing will stay dry, and consequently maintain its insulation. Speaking in general terms, all of this is correct. However, I would like to put forward some issues which I believe significantly complicate this thinking, and has lead me to the conclusion that breathability in cold weather clothing, while being a good thing, is overrated.

The issue which I have encountered, and I am certainly not the first to note it, is that when the temperature differential between the human body on one side of the insulation and the outside temperature on the other side of the insulation is significant, water vapor produced by the skin will not actually pass through the full clothing system, but will rather condense and then freeze within the insulation before it can escape.

Your body produces moisture. The heat from your body then pushes it out, usually in the form of vapor through the clothing. Under warm conditions, the process will continue until the vapor passes through all of the clothing and out into the surrounding air. That is why it is beneficial to have a shell layer which will allow the moisture to pass rather than trapping it just before it can reach the air surrounding the clothing. If the temperature outside is low however, the heat from the body will not be sufficient to push the moisture all the way out. Somewhere along the way, the water vapor will cool down enough to condense into liquid water, and then altogether freeze, while still within the insulation.

Imagine that the temperature right next to your body is 98.6 F. Also imagine that the outside temperature is 0 F. Since no insulation is 100% thermally efficient, somewhere within the insulation, between the 98.6 F right next to the body and the 0 F outside, the temperature will reach 32 F, the freezing point of water. When the moisture traveling outward from your body reaches that point, it will start to freeze.

The frozen or condensed moisture then starts to accumulate within the insulation, further decreasing its effectiveness. All of this occurs before the moisture ever reaches the shell layer.

The result is that all insulation, no matter how breathable the system, will accumulate moisture within the insulation when the outside temperature is cold enough. No matter the material, you will have to find a way to remove that moisture.

In the above picture you can see the effects of such freezing, happening in temperatures around 25 F. What you see in not snow on top of the jacket, but rather ice formed inside that is protruding through the shell material. It is in effect imbedded ice within the material.

This phenomenon is well known to people who travel in cold weather. On arctic expeditions, very often two sleeping bags are carried and layered. After some use, the top bag will become saturates with moisture and become a block of ice, at which point it is discarded.

All of this occurs not because of lack of breathability, but because the dew point (the temperature at which a particular density of water vapor condenses into a liquid) occurs within the insulation layers because of the temperature differential between the inside and the outside of the insulation.

An interesting side note is that if this wasn’t the case, and the insulation maintained the same temperature throughout, allowing for the water vapor to move through the full clothing system, the exiting vapor would be warm enough to melt the snow surrounding the person, and in turn requiring a waterproof layer to be worn. 

The breathability of fabrics is often held as a solution to the water management issue in cold weather. In my experience, for the reasons I have outlined above, I don’t believe that to be the case. No matter how breathable your shell layer, whether it be made from Gore-Tex, cotton, or mesh netting, the moisture from your body will accumulate within the insulation. Your clothing has to be dried out using an external heat source, or it will lose efficiency.