Serious Survival: How to Poo in the Arctic and Other essential tips for explorers. Bruce Parry

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      © Flip Nicklin/Minden Pictures/FLPA

       HOW DO YOU fight off a polar bear?

       With great difficulty, truth to tell, so the real answer is never to get into the situation in the first place. Polar bears are the world’s largest land carnivores. There are many horrific tales of how they’ve stalked and attacked humans, unlike, for example, grizzly and black bears, which don’t see humans as prey, tending to attack only when surprised or threatened. Despite the horror stories, polar bears also generally avoid people unless they are starving, and fatalities are rare.

       An adult male is immensely strong and typically weighs around 350kg (800lb), four times the average adult human. It is essential to have with you an armed local guide who should help you avoid encounters in the first place.

       Common sense rules include never approaching a bear for any reason, and avoiding the kill site of a seal or other animal. Choose a campsite well away from bear ‘highways’ and den sites, and pitch your tents wide apart in a line so that a bear wandering into your camp won’t feel surrounded and threatened. Husky teams with a track record of scaring away polar bears are always a good deterrent.

       If a bear does show signs of stalking and hunting you, there are no guaranteed strategies for scaring it away. It’s important to stay together as a group and stand your ground. It may help to make lots of noise by banging pots and pans together and throwing things like firecrackers, but if the animal is very hungry and determined you will have to rely on your armed guide. Sadly, if all else fails, it may ultimately be a case of kill or be killed.

       CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE ARCTIC

       It is now an accepted fact that the Earth has been warming up in recent years. While there may still be some dispute over how much of the climate change is down to human activity and how much is part of a natural cycle, it is clear that global warming is already having a dramatic effect on the Arctic.

       Local studies such as the glacier survey carried out in part by the Serious Arctic team suggest the Arctic is heating up at almost twice the average global rate. The area of frozen sea is shrinking, the spring ice thaw is happening earlier and the autumn freeze later each year. If the temperature continues to rise as scientists predict, there could be devastating consequences for both wildlife and local people.

      Taking an ice core sample from the Grinnell Glacier.

      An aerial view of spectacular ice formations where the frozen sea meets the open ocean.

Frostbite

       Horrendous pictures of blackened fingers and toes mean frostbite is high on the list of concerns when in the Arctic – and with good reason. Many explorers and mountaineers fall victim, especially as frostbite creeps up on you without any real warning or pain (the cold actually numbs the area).

      Frostbite is caused when parts of the body get too cold and the skin and flesh literally start to freeze, with ice crystals forming in the tissue. Most at risk are exposed parts such as the face and ears, and extremities like fingers and toes where blood circulation is at its weakest. If caught at the earliest stages frostbite can easily be treated, СКАЧАТЬ