withdrew blood from your extremities – your ears, your nose, your toes and fingers – to conserve your core heat. It meant that ice crystals formed where the blood had been, splitting the cells open. The cells died and became infected. Ultimately a doctor would have to remove the dead limb to save your life.
No, they did not want frostbite.
While Tikaani held the two ends, Beck lashed them together with some of the wire from the plane. Next he took a rectangle of canvas that he had cut out of a shirt from the bags, and used more wire to tie it to the frame he had created. With the canvas in place he tied thin, sturdy sticks in place across the tennis racket. They strengthened the basic frame and would provide support for his foot when he came to put the snowshoe on.
With that done they repeated the procedure three more times so that each of them had a pair. Then they gathered up their things into their rucksacks, kicked earth over the campfire, and set off with the snowshoes tied to their backs.
It didn’t take long to reach the snow. They left the trees behind and the ground grew hard beneath their feet. No more soft pine needles now; just dark, frozen earth with scraps of wiry, stubbly grass.
The first patch of snow was only about a metre across. It was draped like a sheet over a hummock of rocks. But these patches became more and more frequent, and closer and closer together, until eventually there was just snow and ice beneath their boots. It formed a very thin, frozen layer over dry, powdery snow beneath. With every step they took there was a little resistance, then a crunch beneath their feet as they broke through the crust.
‘OK,’ Beck decreed. He brushed the snow off a rock and sat down on it. ‘Shoes on.’
He fastened Tikaani’s first, then his own. He used more wire to fasten them around Tikaani’s heels.
‘They’re going to feel a little weird at first. You might find they knock together as you walk. You just have to get used to that and take care. And from now on, while we’re on the snow, keep wiggling your fingers and toes. Always. It keeps the blood flowing. Don’t let it stop for a moment.’
‘I know, I know.’ Tikaani took a few experimental steps. ‘Frostnip.’
‘Right. It can get you in sixty seconds.’
Frostnip was the first stage of frostbite. It only affected the surface layers of the skin – but it was painful and the damaged cells never grew back.
‘I will wiggle,’ Tikaani promised. He waddled off across the snow in his snowshoes. ‘I feel like a duck!’
Beck grinned. He could see his friend’s point. ‘Quack-quack!’ he said, and then laughed and ducked as Tikaani threw a snowball at him.
But the air was too thin for much of that; they needed to keep their strength for walking. The snow and ice rose up around them as they headed towards the peaks. It was a pristine field of white. Beck strained his eyes up ahead for any sign of the pass they were heading for, but he couldn’t see it yet. Well, he told himself, they were still some distance away.
The ground undulated between rises and dips but always the average direction was up. Where it got too steep Beck told Tikaani to walk up the slope in zigzags, which gave them a shallower and easier rate of climb. The sun was still low in the sky – in fact it was about the same height above the horizon as they were – and their long shadows danced over the ice next to them.
After a while the ground levelled out again. It was a kind of plateau, halfway up the mountain. There was a cliff ahead with just a small gap in the middle that led on upwards. On their left, the cliff swept up to a sheer drop. On their right it merged with another cliff at right angles to the first.
The flat ground made the going easier.
‘Keep your eyes open and watch out for snow that looks a little darker than the rest,’ Beck said. ‘And it might be sagging slightly too, like there’s a slight dip beneath it.’
‘OK . . .’
No, they did not want frostbite.
While Tikaani held the two ends, Beck lashed them together with some of the wire from the plane. Next he took a rectangle of canvas that he had cut out of a shirt from the bags, and used more wire to tie it to the frame he had created. With the canvas in place he tied thin, sturdy sticks in place across the tennis racket. They strengthened the basic frame and would provide support for his foot when he came to put the snowshoe on.
With that done they repeated the procedure three more times so that each of them had a pair. Then they gathered up their things into their rucksacks, kicked earth over the campfire, and set off with the snowshoes tied to their backs.
It didn’t take long to reach the snow. They left the trees behind and the ground grew hard beneath their feet. No more soft pine needles now; just dark, frozen earth with scraps of wiry, stubbly grass.
The first patch of snow was only about a metre across. It was draped like a sheet over a hummock of rocks. But these patches became more and more frequent, and closer and closer together, until eventually there was just snow and ice beneath their boots. It formed a very thin, frozen layer over dry, powdery snow beneath. With every step they took there was a little resistance, then a crunch beneath their feet as they broke through the crust.
‘OK,’ Beck decreed. He brushed the snow off a rock and sat down on it. ‘Shoes on.’
He fastened Tikaani’s first, then his own. He used more wire to fasten them around Tikaani’s heels.
‘They’re going to feel a little weird at first. You might find they knock together as you walk. You just have to get used to that and take care. And from now on, while we’re on the snow, keep wiggling your fingers and toes. Always. It keeps the blood flowing. Don’t let it stop for a moment.’
‘I know, I know.’ Tikaani took a few experimental steps. ‘Frostnip.’
‘Right. It can get you in sixty seconds.’
Frostnip was the first stage of frostbite. It only affected the surface layers of the skin – but it was painful and the damaged cells never grew back.
‘I will wiggle,’ Tikaani promised. He waddled off across the snow in his snowshoes. ‘I feel like a duck!’
Beck grinned. He could see his friend’s point. ‘Quack-quack!’ he said, and then laughed and ducked as Tikaani threw a snowball at him.
But the air was too thin for much of that; they needed to keep their strength for walking. The snow and ice rose up around them as they headed towards the peaks. It was a pristine field of white. Beck strained his eyes up ahead for any sign of the pass they were heading for, but he couldn’t see it yet. Well, he told himself, they were still some distance away.
The ground undulated between rises and dips but always the average direction was up. Where it got too steep Beck told Tikaani to walk up the slope in zigzags, which gave them a shallower and easier rate of climb. The sun was still low in the sky – in fact it was about the same height above the horizon as they were – and their long shadows danced over the ice next to them.
After a while the ground levelled out again. It was a kind of plateau, halfway up the mountain. There was a cliff ahead with just a small gap in the middle that led on upwards. On their left, the cliff swept up to a sheer drop. On their right it merged with another cliff at right angles to the first.
The flat ground made the going easier.
‘Keep your eyes open and watch out for snow that looks a little darker than the rest,’ Beck said. ‘And it might be sagging slightly too, like there’s a slight dip beneath it.’
‘OK . . .’
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