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The weather can change rapidly without
warning and there is usually a strong breeze blowing though Akshayuk Pass
and down the fjords. Day 3 saw that change - cloudy skies, a
temperature rise to a balmy -15°C and a head
wind, with wind chill so powerful I could not tell if my skin was feeling
hot or cold, despite the vaseline and sun protection cream I layered on
every morning. This is where I learned to fold toilet paper as it
comes off the roll instead of pulling off a length and then trying to manoeuvre
it into a useful shape. I learned this because it is inadvisable to use
toilet paper whilst wearing gloves - a certain level of finger sensitivity
is required - and because a length of toilet paper immediately becomes a
flag in strong winds that will not fold. Trouble is, it took a
little while to learn that lesson. By the time I did, my fingers
could have been made of plastic for all the sensitivity they had left, after the wind had stripped away all heat and my body's' natural
defences had withdrawn all blood supply, giving them up as a lost
cause. The tips on my right hand are still numb, 10 days
later. TOP TIP - use latex surgical gloves to protect against wind
chill, whilst preserving sensitivity. TOP TIP 2 - pre-fold your
paper!! I wondered at the time what the wind would feel like if the
skies were clear and the temperature lower ... I was to find out.
 The route overland follows the Weasel River passing
several small lakes as it twists and turns, gaining height sometimes quite
steeply over frozen rapids. We had to pass Windy Lake,  where the wind can be so
strong that there are stories fully laden skidoos being
simply flipped over. For us, it was not that strong, but it was
strong enough to whip up the moraine into a blinding desert-like sand
storm. Our consolation as we battled against it was that after our
skin had been frozen, it was being sand blasted to complete a whole skin
rejuvenation programme to make us all look young and shiny again!
 
   
[ Why? ] [ Preliminaries ] [ Getting There ] [ Days 1 and 2 ] [ Day 3 ] [ Days 4 and 5 ] [ Days 6, 7 and 8 ]
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