Travel In The Arctic

Experience shows the best policy is to stay near an aircraft or disabled vehicle. If the spot is hazardous establish a safe shelter as close as possible. A decision to walk out will be based on nearness to civilization and probability of rescue.

Decide early what to do -while you can still think clearly. Cold dulls the mind.

Movement in a blizzard is out of the question and, at all times, navigation is difficult on featureless ice and tundra. Ice movement pushes up ridges which make the going treacherous. Summer melt water makes the tundra boggy and even sea ice slushy under foot.

Mosquito, black-fly, deerfly and midges can all be a nuisance in the arctic summer. Their larvae live in water- avoid making shelter near it Keep sleeves down, collar up, wear a net over the head and burn green wood and leaves on the fire - smoke keeps them at bay.

When it turns colder, these nuisances are less active and they disappear at night. In Alaska, north western and north eastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland,Scandinavia, Novaya Zemlya , Spitzbergen and on other islands there are mountains where ice cliffs, glaciers, crevasses and avalanches are hazards.

Near the Arctic coastline frequent fog from may to august, sometimes carried far inland, increases navigation problems.