This is my new duffel bag. It is very important to have something like this at the remote location where we are installing our system. Let me explain.
In this duffel is all of my insulated arctic gear, boots, gloves, face cover, hat, parka with hood and bib overalls. These cannot be worn inside for very long, including inside the car. Now we never go out alone, we are always in pairs, but there exists the possibility that we could get stranded. Since the range is more than 45 kilometers from the nearest town and from the main airbase, it could be quite a while before any help can get to you. We have radios, and there are guards (they are called 'commisionaires'), but given bad weather and that parts of the range are even more remote, maybe 20 or more kilometers from the guard shack, you have to have your gear with you in order to survive. A few hours exposed in -40f (or c, they are the same at -40) is deadly and it could be the car and your gear are your only survival tools.
I have only had to wear all this gear once, so far. We had to reset the limit switches on one of our pedestal positioners and that takes about 25 minutes lying on the cold metal floor of the system trailer.
But the weather is good today.
4 comments:
Tim,
simple question,... why do this in the dead of winter??? Are the mosquitos too big in the summer time??
Dave
Dave,
We were about 4 months late delivering the equipment up here. Doing the install in the dead of winter is our punishment.
If you could fly over this airspace on Tuesday Feb 21st I would be grateful.
Tim
Sorry Tim,
I do not get to go that far north unless it is summer time, we usually fly west of there even ont the direct flights from ATL to ANC.
ps
Word on the street is that we are going after Jet BLue after we emerge from BR.
Thanks for the tip. I don't think I will get in to either end of that. But JB does look vulnerable after their dismal performance in the snow.
Wish you could fly by, today while trying to test the system I had to track a front end loader scraping off a parking lot. Well, maybe we'll get some CF-18's tomorrow.
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