Logisitics and Equipment
Planning an expedition like this is different to one where you will be mainly based in and around a base camp. Our 1998 trip to Rigyns Berg followed that format but we also managed to put in about 200km on skis. The most significant factor in 1998 was we remained less than two days travel away from the Landing Site.
For this trip John and I will be covering over 200km pulling pulks the whole distance. With our timings we pretty much have to move everyday. To help us in planning our kit we considered it very carefully and decided that all our equipment fell into a few categories:
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Category
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Definition
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| Survival | Equipment in this category has a direct impact on life.
If kit is lost or fails then we move into a survival situation. As such
we considered that there should be some redunancy and we are prepared to
carry the extra weight. The redundancy could be a complete duplication or
a repair kit. As an example, we considered stoves should be placed in this category. Without stoves we would be unable to melt water to rehydrate with or prepare food. As a result of ths we have got 2 stoves in our bags with a small maintenance kit. Together this should give us enough redunacy to continue with our journey even if we lose a complete stove. |
| Move | If equipment fails in this category then it has an impact on our ability to move. Items in this category included skis, skins, ropes. They are not essential to our survival but losing a rope may very seriously hamper our ability to traverse heavy crevassed ground safely. |
| Camp | Things like this make life a little more pleasant around camp when doing things. A thermorest seat is an example here so stop back ache developing. Stove boards are also very useful - it stops the stove from melting into the snow. |
| Misc | Essential items that you can't really be without! |
| Luxury | Essential items that you can really do without! A book is nice to drag around but it depends on how heavy all the kit is getting. |