The colder it gets it seems, the more extreme and bizarre the clothing out here gets. Most of the guys wear huge rubber boots for starters with obligatory rubber and metal ice studs attached, massive company sallopets and jackets (if they’re riggers) or their own companies if they’re from one of the other 5 sub contracting companies out here. This array looks pretty bizarre in its own right, turning even the most skinny person into Michelin man, but it’s the face/head wear that really gets you. Helmets are adorned with hundreds of stickers (the riggers are like kids with sticker books, I kid you not. Collecting and incredibly proud of the stickers they get given from each job and company. We get well hassled for Discovery stickers, I tell you. They would do anything for them. Unbelievable how childish some of these great hulking macho men can be.)
Then there’s the masks – some of them have half neoprene masks that just fit over mouth, chin and neck – these look a bit disconcerting, kind of cyborg or dirt biker ish – with just multiple little holes instead of a mouth; others have full face with just eye and mouth holes. The mouth hole is usually a triangular downward flap open at the bottom - which looks a bit like a beak - but effectively stops the wind hitting your mouth. These are the ones that are seriously frightening. They look like a cross between the elephant man and Friday the thirteenth- they make any one look like they’ve stepped straight out of a horror film. On top of that they then put on goggles and multi coloured safety specs – very Mad Max and kinda cool.
Then there’s the icicle fashion craze, most people get frosty eyelashes pretty quick out here (you can feel them freezing together as your eyes water in the wind), some get frosty eyebrows if they’re particularly bushy, but the real genius look is the icicle moustache or beard. One guy who’s got a massive soup strainer was sporting a 2 inch icicle bogey off his ‘tache – no joke. (I just had to interview him, even if it’s a shit sound byte its worth it just for the record breaking ‘tash icicle.) Your mask inevitably ends up covered in a dusting of frost as the moisture from your breath freezes. Take off your sodden mask, wet from your panting, for a minute and try to put it back on and its gone from wet and warm to frozen solid. Similarly take a bottle of water outside and leave it in one of your outside pockets and with in 5 minutes its also frozen solid – no joke.
Obviously – we wear two pairs of gloves – one inner / one outer – all the time, quite often with hand warmers shoved down the ends to stop our fingers getting frostbite. Imagine operating a fiddly multitude of buttons on your camera in that. We’re also wearing inner long johns, fleece long johns and down sallopets, inner thermal top fleece top and massive down jacket. Silk sock liners, thick wool socks, - 100 degree inisulated boots. Full head neck and mouth covering face masks, goggles and I’m wearing my Russian rabbit fur hat with the jacket hood over the top. And guess what – it’s still fucking freezing !!!!!! (although I don’t have my snood – neck warmer – on.) Sorry I just had to get that word in.
Actually the gear is awesome – Sam and I – in our all black matching gear with gun leg holster style bags – look like Team Discovery. We’ve had lots of requests to leave stuff for people already.
Check out the photos and see for yourself.
It is also very time consuming. It takes about 15 solid minutes to get togged up anytime you want to get out – and if you forget something and have to do anything inside with your gear on – you start sweating in seconds. This is bad news because it means your heat transfer rate shoots up (water is a very good conductor) so you lose body heat way faster, when you do finally get outside.
Then there’s the masks – some of them have half neoprene masks that just fit over mouth, chin and neck – these look a bit disconcerting, kind of cyborg or dirt biker ish – with just multiple little holes instead of a mouth; others have full face with just eye and mouth holes. The mouth hole is usually a triangular downward flap open at the bottom - which looks a bit like a beak - but effectively stops the wind hitting your mouth. These are the ones that are seriously frightening. They look like a cross between the elephant man and Friday the thirteenth- they make any one look like they’ve stepped straight out of a horror film. On top of that they then put on goggles and multi coloured safety specs – very Mad Max and kinda cool.
Then there’s the icicle fashion craze, most people get frosty eyelashes pretty quick out here (you can feel them freezing together as your eyes water in the wind), some get frosty eyebrows if they’re particularly bushy, but the real genius look is the icicle moustache or beard. One guy who’s got a massive soup strainer was sporting a 2 inch icicle bogey off his ‘tache – no joke. (I just had to interview him, even if it’s a shit sound byte its worth it just for the record breaking ‘tash icicle.) Your mask inevitably ends up covered in a dusting of frost as the moisture from your breath freezes. Take off your sodden mask, wet from your panting, for a minute and try to put it back on and its gone from wet and warm to frozen solid. Similarly take a bottle of water outside and leave it in one of your outside pockets and with in 5 minutes its also frozen solid – no joke.
Obviously – we wear two pairs of gloves – one inner / one outer – all the time, quite often with hand warmers shoved down the ends to stop our fingers getting frostbite. Imagine operating a fiddly multitude of buttons on your camera in that. We’re also wearing inner long johns, fleece long johns and down sallopets, inner thermal top fleece top and massive down jacket. Silk sock liners, thick wool socks, - 100 degree inisulated boots. Full head neck and mouth covering face masks, goggles and I’m wearing my Russian rabbit fur hat with the jacket hood over the top. And guess what – it’s still fucking freezing !!!!!! (although I don’t have my snood – neck warmer – on.) Sorry I just had to get that word in.
Actually the gear is awesome – Sam and I – in our all black matching gear with gun leg holster style bags – look like Team Discovery. We’ve had lots of requests to leave stuff for people already.
Check out the photos and see for yourself.
It is also very time consuming. It takes about 15 solid minutes to get togged up anytime you want to get out – and if you forget something and have to do anything inside with your gear on – you start sweating in seconds. This is bad news because it means your heat transfer rate shoots up (water is a very good conductor) so you lose body heat way faster, when you do finally get outside.
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