It's cold out here!
Studying wolverines on Alaska’s North Slope is a warmth-sucking endeavor. In the early season, the sun crests the horizon for just a few hours each day, and temperatures will settle below -40 degrees for over a week on end. Winds whip across the treeless landscape, flash freezing any exposed skin and driving you into melancholy daydream of your bed, so warm, so soft, that you left (willingly?) mere hours ago.
The first thing I do in the morning is check the wea ther. Honestly, this is mostly a formality, since it doesn’t usually matter how cold it is: I’m wearing all of my clothes regardless. What exactly are "all of my clothes," you ask? From the feet up, a thick pair of wool socks, boots rated to -100F, thick long underwear, wool pants, insulated overalls, a fleece sweater, a wool shirt, a wool sweater, a synthetic insulated jacket, a balaclava, a beanie, an insulated full face helmet with a heated visor, multilayer mittens, and an enormous parka. I feel like an astronaut. My arms stick out to my sides, propped by my layers, and I clutch objects between my mittened hands like a little kid. It is difficult to maneuver food past these layers to my mouth, so I typically enjoy my meals by pulling my arms (and food) inside m y parka and eating completely inside this small, insulated tent. Bonus: my hands are nice and warm when they would otherwise be exposed.
When it’s severely cold, or the wind is blowing, I take breaks often to do jumping jacks. In these moments, as I’m getting blown six inches downwind every time I jump, I remember the wolverines. Those incredible animals are out here too! Nothing but fur and determination, they’re plodding through the wind to their next meal. How on earth do they do it?
2 comments