Moondog, a few observations from across the three threads that are covering this epic trip :
That yellow shovel you've bought has a flaw – metal handle – very very cold. Maybe fit a length of poly pipe over it. Here’s a wooden-handled snow shovel of 1970s vintage and only 610g.
- 1970s snow shovel - 610g with removable wodden handle
- snow shovel.JPG (219.83 KiB) Viewed 7981 times
The dampness in the down sleeping bag, as I’m sure you know, comes mostly from your body so it will get damp come what may. For an extended trip you just have to take advantage of any sunny/dry conditions and try to dry out the down.
If your Paddy-made tent needs those short shafts on the corners that can be seen in your photo, don’t forget a base for them as well as for the poles.
In 1977, with a group of around a dozen, I did a 10-day base camp at the Pretty Valley huts. As part of the outdoor component of a Dip Ed, we skied up from Howman’s Gap (past Mt McKay). We built a 5-person igloo and lived in that (and a few tents) for the duration. On the 3rd last day, a few day-trippers from Falls skied past and had lunch (I had twisted a knee and was resting up) and checked out the igloo. Well, the guy went in but came out very quickly and the two girls suddenly lost interest. I knew something was odd but didn’t work it out until the trip back to Melbourne in the back of a Land Rover with 5 others – the igloo must have stunk after 7 days of unwashed bodies !
The igloo was great – we marked out the base circle, scraped off the soft snow and used the shovel to cut blocks for the roof, placing each layer leaning in until meeting at the top (leaving a small air hole). The entrance was a curved tunnel sloping uphill a little to aid sliding in. One candle lit the whole inside with virtually no shadow; it was very warm and amazingly quiet – could not hear someone yelling outside. The inside needs to be smoothed (to prevent drips) and a small ledge at the base of the wall catches any melt and allows it to re-freeze.
BTW, we carried everything we needed for the 10-day trip – including a large bag of dried potato I’d bought from Nordic Ski & Backpacking in Murrumbeena (which turned out to be dried onion flakes !)
Have a great trip.