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Butcher's Dog! Regular
outdoor fitness tips from the canine on creatine. Cold wet
nose and glossy coat guaranteed.
Coping With Cold
Now that summer's over and morphed
seamlessly into winter, colder times are almost upon us. A
relief for those of us with shaggy dog coats, but a new set
of considerations for your poorly constructed humans. Never
mind, here's pretty much all you need to know about cold in
the UK.
Wind Chill
First the good news, it's rare for UK
temperatures to be low enough to present a serious risk of
frostbite or even frostnip, a less severe initial variation
- though it does occasionally happen in accident situations,
benightments etc. What we do suffer from is wind chill.
Because wind strips away the warm layer of air close to our
body which would otherwise provide insulation, it reduces
the effective temperature considerably. The stronger the
wind, the greater the reduction in effective
temperature.
See this
chart but at around zero degrees
C, a wind of just 10 mph produces an effective temperature
of -7 C. The good news is that most of this data is pretty
meaningless, but it points out that windspeed makes things
much cooler.
Parts to cover...
The good news is that a combination of
windproof clothing and effective insulation will minimise
the impact of windchill. I'm not going to throw a load of
stats at you, but covering the trunk and head are your two
main priorities, the head and neck in particular since the
body pumps blood continuously to your brain to keep it and
you funtioning. A combination of a windproof outer shell and
insulating liner works best in cold conditions.
Remember too that simply drawing air into
the lungs and exhaling will lose heat, so you can't keep it
all in, no matter how effective your clothing system.
Dampness...
Damp air conducts heat far more
efficiently than dry air, so even though cold air can hold
only a limited amount of moisture compared to warm, it will
still feel cooler than dry air at the same temperature. The
UK's dampish climate means that it can often feel cooler
than it would, say, in the Alps, simply because the air
trapped in your insulation layers is less effective as an
insulator.
You can make things even worse either by
getting wet from the outside or sweating enough to dampen
your own clothing. Many walkers and climbers wear too much
when moving and not enough when stopped. Vent and remove
layers to keep yourself at a comfortable, non-perspiring
level.
Hypothermia - When It All Goes
Horribly Wrong...
If the amount of heat you're generating
is outweighed by the amount you're losing, you will,
eventually become hypothermic - your core body temperature
starts to drop, you become unco-ordinated, slur, stumble,
you die. Uncontrolled shivering is one of the first signs as
the body attempts to generate more heat.
The problem is that hypothermia victims
often deny being in trouble and one of the main symptoms is
a deterioration in the ability to make decisions. If you
find yourself out with a hypothermia case, the first
priority is shelter and rewarming using warm, dry clothing,
food and hot drinks. Put them in a sleeping bag, if you have
one and insulate them from the ground. Be wary of heating
using body to body contact as it cam warm the cold, pooled,
acidic blood in the exterior muscles too quickly , send it
rushing to the heart and cause cardiac arrest.
Once the casualty is partially recovered,
either call for help, or, if he she is capable, walk out.
Don't whatever you do, attempt to carry on as if nothing has
happened.
Strange But True...
Quite often hypothermia victims are
carrying all they need to survive in their packs, but lack
of judgement makes them carry on regardless until they die.
A drop of 4C in core body temperature results in
disorientation, a drop of 7C leads to coma, and a 10C drop
in temperature can be fatal.
Duracell People
Finally, an interesting observation
gleaned from the Gore comfort guys. Apparently some people
have the ability to tolerate exhuastion and low temperatures
better than others. They'll still be going strong when
everyone else is on the verge of collapse. Unfortuantely
though, when they do succumb, they succumb very suddenly, a
bit like the difference between a rechargable and an
alkaline battery. One minute they're fine, the next they're
out of it. So don't assume that because you or your mate
seem fine, nothing can go wrong. Watch out for each
other.
Roll on winter.
Woof!
The Buther's Dog
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