[Cc-webedit] [Fwd: [climatecamp-london] Surviving winter in Copenhagen]

[tim]

This is perfect for the blog, surely.. I say get it up there!

T

On Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 4:48 PM, Jonathan Stevenson <
jjjstevenson at fastmail.fm> wrote:

>  What do people think about putting this on the site as a blog post?
>
> Kriptick says he's happy for it go up!
>
> I feel like the blog at the moment when it's not inactive is a bit top-down
> propaganda and it would be good for it to give more of a flavour of what
> it's like to be part of climate camp. However I don't mind if people think
> this wouldn't be appropriate.
>
> J
>
> -------- Original Message --------  Subject: [climatecamp-london]
> Surviving winter in Copenhagen  Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:24:58 -0000  From:
> kriptick <kriptick at riseup.net> <kriptick at riseup.net>  To:
> <climatecamp-london at lists.riseup.net><climatecamp-london at lists.riseup.net>  References:
> <12bf69900911131615g3a6df39x1dfe75d5424d40c8 at mail.gmail.com><12bf69900911131615g3a6df39x1dfe75d5424d40c8 at mail.gmail.com>
>
> Someone told me the temperature can drop to -10C in Copenhagen which is
> probably outside most people's experience and certainly outside their
> comfort zone. Googling for weather statistics for Denmark however, reveals
> that that -10C figure looks very much the exception and around freezing
> point seems to be the norm there for December. Copenhagen is on the same
> lattitude as central Scotland though so it may feel distinctly nippy there
> for us soft southerners. Since the British are notoriously crap at dressing
> for cold conditions and since I've ventured onto a few cold mountains in my
> time, I've necessarily learned a bit about staying warm in such conditions
> which I'm thinking may be useful to pass on to those going to Copenhagen. I
> could just suggest everyone goes to a good outdoor shop and buys loads of
> high tech survival stuff but since many activists are on low incomes this
> advice wouldn't go down very well so here's various cheapo options.
>
> First off, don't just dress for fashion. Fashion clothes are normally fairly
> hopeless at keeping you warm so even complete style junkies are going to
> have to compromise and dress a bit more functional. Besides which, it's a
> situation where you probably don't want to stand out from the crowd too
> much. Next check your garment fabric labels. In particular, avoid cotton as
> this is a cool summer fabric and not good for winter. Not only is cotton a
> very poor insulator compared to other fabrics, but when it becomes wet, (do
> the Danes have water cannons anyone?) it has no insulating effect at all and
> also takes days and days to dry. Anyone who's ever been drenched while
> wearing jeans or a cotton sweatshirt will have noticed just how cold they
> became so avoid both of those garments.
>
> The secret to dressing warm is to trap static warm air using several layers
> of insulating clothing. Firstly an absorbent but low cotton content garment
> should be worn next to the skin that can draw sweat away from your body
> should you have become too hot at any stage of the day. Next, wear one or
> two well insulated fluffy layers. Two or more thin layers are much more
> versatile than one thick one as you can regulate your temperature more
> finely. Wooly jumpers are good but can take ages to dry should they become
> wet and you will smell like a wet dog during that time Acrylic ones don't
> suffer from these drawbacks. Best by far are synthetic fleece jackets or
> shirts as they are light and absorb very little water and even if they do
> become wet, their insulation value doesn't drop much and they dry in a
> trice. You can sometimes find fleeces at second hand shops, car boot sales
> or Lidl often sell naff looking but functional ones at this time of year.
> You can buy cheap new ones at street markets but they're often the shape of
> a sack and fall apart quite quickly. Dunno if he's still there, but last
> year there was a guy selling some really nice second hand ones in Sclater
> street off Brick lane Sunday market. You can also try an outdoor shop called
> mountain warehouse in Southampton St below Covent Garden that sells all
> sorts of stuff much cheaper than its more up market neighbours. Your outer
> layer should be something densely woven or waterproof to prevent the wind
> from penetrating your fluffy layers and blowing the warm air away.
>
> For your legs, no jeans but low cotton content or acrylic track suit bottoms
> from street markets are good or you can go for the trick of wearing thick
> woolly women's tights underneath some regular closely woven trousers. On
> your feet, obviously boots and thick non cotton socks - wool is best. Good
> gloves can be quite expensive although Lidl again often do affordable ski
> gloves at this time of year. If you're really skint then one thing I've
> found is that during cold spells, loads of people drop gloves on the streets
> especially at bus stops which you can hoover up if you ride a bike around
> town regularly. If you keep finding same sided gloves then turn one inside
> out. If you can find widely differing sizes then you can stack small ones
> inside larger for double the warmth.
>
> People often complain that their hands and feet always get cold no matter
> what they wear on them. This is to do with humans having evolved as social
> animals and the trick to prevent your extremities becoming cold is to really
> concentrate on keeping your core temperature high. If your core temperature
> drops even slightly, your body minimises its chances of developing
> hypothermia and so starts to shut down the blood supply to the peripheral
> parts of the body in order to prevent that chilled blood from cooling the
> vital organs any further. So if you're wearing insufficient warm clothes on
> your torso then even with the most expensive gloves, your hands will
> continue to feel cold.
>
> Don't forget to cover as much of your head as possible. Peruvian(?) hats are
> probably good but I've never worn one. Balaclavas are brilliantly warm
> though scary looking and if everyone wears them it'll give a very negative
> image. They're quite versatile though as you can fold the sides up and wear
> them as a regular non-threatening wooly hat if conditions aren't so bad.
> They're actually very expensive to buy from outdoor shops - often 20 quid
> though you can try army surplus shops. It may well be that conditions there
> are quite mild so remember to carry a rucsack of sufficient size to stash
> excess clothing if you become too hot. This is why wearing several thin
> layers rather than one thick one is important.
>
> I'm guessing some of the sleeping  accomodation may be fairly basic and
> heating could be minimal. If so, the best sleeping bag you can acquire and a
> sleeping mat is equally important. It's worth knowing that most heat loss
> when camping is downwards into the ground so try and put as much locally
> acquired insulating material such as layers of carpet or cardboard beneath
> you and not on top. Watch how homeless people do just this. You can wear
> some extra clothes inside your bag but if you try to wear too much inside a
> tight sleeping bag, you can actually prevent the sleeping bag from working
> properly. If you know it's going to be a very cold night then it's important
> to go to sleep while still feeling warm, ideally immediately after having
> some hot food inside you otherwise you will never recover lost heat once
> your metabolism drops and you'll get crap sleep. On the subject of food,
> remember that in cold conditions, your body is having to work harder just
> staying warm so eat  more than you normally do.
>
> Finally where you place yourself outdoors can greatly affect your warmth
> level. Do your utmost to stay dry. Standing on anything metal or in a puddle
> will chill your feet and sitting or leaning on anything cold and hard will
> suck the heat right out of your body so try and stand/sit on some wood or
> cardboard. If there's much standing around and it's windy then avoid the
> effect of wind chill by ducking into the lee of any kind of obstruction like
> wheely bins, barricades etc.
>
> Have fun!
>
> --
> Keep list traffic down:
> - use the Ning group to discuss: http://climatecamplondon.ning.com/
> - use the Wiki to collate info: http://climatecamplondon.pbworks.com/
>
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>
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