Early Polar Clothing
The first explorers to the Arctic were English, French and Dutch explorers not in search of the Arctic, but a sea route to China over the top of the world. Explorers like William Barents were literally sailing in the unknown as they looked for two possible routes to China:
`The North-east Passage' - A sea route to China, east along the top of Scandinavia and then east, over the top of Russia.
`The North-west Passage' - A sea route to China, west along the top of North America.
These early European explorers had no special clothing for the weather conditions they had to face. All they had were the ordinary clothes that someone of the time would wear in winter: woollen shirts, felt jackets and leather boots. These clothes had no insulating properties and once the clothing became damp from the icy cold, hypothermia, a condition that happens when the body loses heat faster than it can produce it, quickly set in.
Also, one of the basic requirements of polar clothing was unknown at this time. Good polar clothing needs to light - with the ability to keep you warm and dry. Your chances of survival in the polar regions are reduced considerably if your body has to use up enormous amounts of energy just to keep warm.
Later explorers to the Arctic like Fridtjot Nansen had studied how Arctic people like the Inuit survive in extreme conditions. In 1894, when Nansen's ship the Fram got stuck in Arctic ice, what should have been a 5 month expedition, turned into a battle for survival that lasted 18 months and one that Nansen won, thanks to this special knowledge.
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Polar Clothing
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Introduction
Early Polar Clothing <<
Native Arctic Clothing
Early Antarctic Clothing
Modern Antarctic Clothing
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