More Winter Reading

[prudenceb]

Make sure the heat is turned up and you have an extra blanket to throw over you as you snuggle on the couch reading either of these two books:

Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World by Andrea Pitzer.  About Dutch navigator William Barents' (of  Barents Sea fame) three expeditions to the Arctic north of Siberia (island of Nova Zembla) in the 1500's.  On the last, his ship was iced in over an Arctic winter.  Cold cold cold and LOTS of polar bears.

The Last Traverse - Tragedy and Resilience in the Winter Whites by Ty Gagne.  About a fatal attempted winter traverse of a route many of us (even me!) have done in the summer.  The author interviewed a survivor and many of those involved in the attempted rescue in February 2008 of two hikers caught on the Franconia Ridge Trail in sub zero temps with winds up to 95 mph.  There is discussion of risk assessment and heuristic thinking (and its traps), both of which are relevant to anyone - including sea kayakers - who venture out into challenging outdoor conditions.

Prudence
 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by prudenceb

[EEL]

Gail just finished the Last traverse and was absorbed by the story. Unfortunately some never get the word. In the last week or so two trail "runners" tried to to do same route using lightweight trail running shows.  It did not end well.  One had his shoes slip off in the snow and  ended up trying to get out shoeless.  Ended up spending the night and rather badly frozen feet as one would expect before being extracted.

Ed Lawson