Sleeping in a makeshift igloo, living in temperatures of -25°C and going for days on end without a change in underwear might not exactly be everyone’s cup of erm, frozen tea, but a group of Maltese adventurers are willing to undertake this and more, in aid of charity.
“My only experience of cold has been the Dolomite mountains. So I don’t really feel prepared for the extreme weather in the wilderness of the Arctic Circle,” said Winston Pirotta, 37, one of the participants in the Arctic Survival Challenge expedition in aid of SPCA Malta.
A total of 17 Maltese twenty- and thirty-somethings, chosen out of 1000 applicants, will be leaving Malta on March 3 to brave the elements for a whole week and attempt to survive out in the open, in northern Sweden, just 150 km south of the Arctic Circle.
“For the first two days we’ll be staying in a traditional log cabin to acclimatise to the cold. Although mind you, the cabin has no electricity – just a wood burner, make-shift tables and the floor for sleeping-bags,” said Mr Pirotta, an IT manager by day and a self-confessed adventurer whenever he’s off work.
From the cabin they’ll move out to the survival phase of the expedition where, with just a 25-litre rucksack containing all their needs, they will be manning husky dog sledges, building shelters and constructing snow-holes: “We have to tunnel into it with spades and ice axes and carefully carve a domed ceiling,” said Mr Pirotta.
Inside it will be a cosy, relatively warm, zero degrees. “At night time, we’ll have to take it in turns for the ‘candle watch’, so I don’t think there’ll be much sleep,” he said.
‘Candle watch’ has nothing to do with prayers – although that might come in handy too. The lit candle is a crucial indicator that sufficient oxygen is present inside. If it goes off, then they have to get out of the snug den and, at about -30 degrees Celsius, dig a ventilator hole.
Other perils include acute frostbite and hypothermia. But the team is packing its stuff wisely: “We’ve all become experts in thermal layering now. And also we have to make sure that we carry no metal, as in the cold your hands will get stuck to metal,” said Mr Pirotta. Even metal-framed specs are off, as they would stick to one’s face.
Each participant had to roughly raise some €3,000 in order to qualify to take part. “The SPCA has lots of daily running costs, like vets and full-time employees. So, thanks to the money raised, the SPCA Malta will be able to carry out a much needed refurbishment of its Floriana quarters, as well as plan new premises in Ta’ Qali,” said Mr Pirotta.
The participants have been given a two-day training session by the Swedish expedition leader, who taught them how to cut ice and chop trees.
Mr Pirotta was initially attracted to the challenge because of the lure of the extreme conditions: “I am sure that I’ll come back appreciating even more the luxury that we live in.”
Indeed, luxury will be a thing of the civilized world they’ll leave behind at the airport. They won’t even have the extravagance of basic comforts. Toilet facilities will be just a hole in the snow – “and you always need to take someone with you in case you doze off in the cold”. Body excretions will be recycled and used as fuel for fire. Food will be in powdered packs, not unlike military provisions, unless they are successful at ice fishing. The water pack has to be kept under the layers of clothes for body warmth or else it would freeze.
Sleeping arrangements will be elementary: “We’ll have to sleep with the camera and mobile batteries under our arms so they won’t freeze. Also, change of underwear – if you’re brave enough – has to take place when completely zipped up inside the sleeping bag,” said Mr Pirotta.
The plus point is that no one will notice really, if they give the change of lingerie a miss – because up in the Arctic Circle, the air is so dry that whiffy smells will be a thing of the past. “We’ll be working hard and sweating heavily but even though we won’t be having a bath a whole week, we won’t be smelly – apparently,” said Mr Pirotta, fervently hoping that the expedition leader, who imparted this information, is right.
“In any case,” joked Mr Pirotta, “My wife gave me one condition: I need to shower before I set foot in Malta again.”
His wife is in fact slightly worried that he might not be physically fit enough for this unknown territory.
“But really, for a challenge like this you don’t have to be particularly physically fit. It’s motivation and determination that counts,” he said.
They will not have internet access and even mobile phone reception will be limited. They will be making contact with the outside world through the expedition leader’s satellite phone.
“We plan to make daily contact with 89.7 Bay Radio in order to keep everyone up to date on our survival,” he said.
Mr Pirotta looks forward to having the chance of viewing an aurora borealis. “I just would like to thank my personal sponsors – Computime, STL computers and Bowline Ltd, for helping me to raise my sum to be able to take part in this challenge. But of course, the biggest thanks goes to my wife – she is my biggest sponsor.”
For more information check out www.wix.com/wpirotta/arctic-challenge.
Donations to the SPCA Malta can be made through www.spcamalta.org or SMS 5061 8199 €4.19 or 5061 9299 €10.49.