Been there, done that, in a mid-August thunder-rain-sleet-snowstorm in the White Mountains in New Hampshire many years ago. One of our threesome got chilled enough to take leave of his reason for a while. Scary.
Rick http://photo.net/photos/RickW --- On Sat, 10/9/10, David Mann <[email protected]> wrote: > From: David Mann <[email protected]> > Subject: Dave's tip of the day (OT) > To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" <[email protected]> > Date: Saturday, October 9, 2010, 4:53 AM > Do not get hypothermia. Not > even mild hypothermia. It is not fun. > > I went to Hanmer Springs today, about 2 hours north-west of > Christchurch where I live. It's a lovely little town, > popular for its hot springs, bungy jumping and skiing. > I was there to race in a duathlon event which consisted of a > 12km off-road run followed by a 28km mountain bike (only > barely, it was on gravel roads). > > The race sounded like it'd be quite straightforward and I > thought I should finish within 3 hours. > > The forecast had been for rain in the Canterbury district > but the problem with Hanmer is that it tends to make its own > weather. The town sits in a bit of a basin surrounded > by mountains. I packed thermals and wet weather gear > just in case but it was fine and sunny when we > arrived. The women's race was in the morning and > they'd had great weather. > > For the mens race in the afternoon, we had some light rain > fall during the run. Nothing to worry about so at the > transition I just followed my plan for clothing, pulling my > MTB shorts on over the top of my running ones. They > have padding in the rear, and I'd stuffed a nutrition bar > into each pocket. During the run I considered skipping > the MTB shorts but remembered that I'd need the food. > > Since then I've learned that when you're uncertain about > the weather you should overdress, or at least carry the > thermals in your backpack. > > I really struggled on the bike as there was a lot of > climbing which I'm normally good at, but not after a 12km > run. The wet weather made the downhills a little > treacherous. My glasses ended up splattered with water > and mud, and when they started relentlessly fogging up I was > just about ready to quit. > > I don't usually ride my MTB in the rain as it ruins our > tracks, so I don't have any waterproof gloves. With > about 10km to go the rain had soaked through my gloves and > because of the wind chill on the downhill my fingers were so > cold I couldn't feel them and could barely move them. > Bit of a safety hazard so I got off and started walking for > a bit. After about 10 or 15 minutes of this I > remembered that I still had my running gloves in my back > pocket so I put those on and started riding again. > Having those was pure luck... I'd thrown them in before the > start, just in case I'd need them during the run. They > turned out to be a bit of a lifesaver as they got me moving > again. > > Not far down the track I came across a fellow who was in a > really bad state. He'd had to stop due to the cold and > was sitting at the side of the track shivering > uncontrollably. Instantly I took my jacket off and > gave it to him. I was feeling the cold myself but he > needed it much more. > > Another couple of guys came past a few minutes later and > one of them had an emergency blanket. One of them went > ahead to alert the organisers and the other offered to stay > so I took my jacket back and carried on because I was > starting to feel even colder, and I could act as a backup in > case the first guy crashed or something. > > During the rest of the ride I was starting to feel REALLY > cold. My fingers were going numb again and my toes > weren't far behind. My legs were feeling quite bad as > they were wet as well and the wind chill wasn't doing them > any good. I'd have been even worse if I'd not added my > substantial MTB shorts over my light running ones. > > I was keeping a good eye on the distance display of my bike > computer the whole way. Luckily it was a little bit > out as it only showed 25.5km at the finish. But I was > definitely hypothermic by then. My partner met me at > the finish and helped me change into the thermals and put my > dry clothes on. Score 1 for good planning as I'd > packed a full change of clothes. We then headed into > the township with the A/C cranked, straight to the nearest > cafe for a hot chocolate then a two-hour drive home for a > good hot shower. > > It's also lucky that I had the computer, it's an old one > that I only fixed yesterday precisely so I'd have a distance > display available (I had moved my main computer to the road > bike). It's very useful psychologically to know how > far is left to go. > > The big lesson from today is that when I'm uncertain I > should overdress. It's easier to take a layer off if > you're too hot, than it is to try and deal with not having > it when you need it. > > I'm also going to look into buying a good pair of windproof > / waterproof gloves. I'll also be adding a survival > blanket into the first aid kit that I carry. > > I don't know what became of the other guy but I'll try and > find out as soon as I can. I'm sure he'll be OK > though. > > I also don't know what my time was. Don't really care > either :) I might go back next year if the weather > forecast is better. > > BTW I don't blame the race organiser for any of this as > it's up to us to be prepared for the conditions (something > he told us before the race). All I would have asked > for would be more marshals around the course as it's quite > long so it could be a long time before the alarm could be > raised and this could be critical in some > circumstances. In future events I'm going to program > the race organiser's number into my phone as an emergency > contact. > > Cheers, > Dave > > PS good to see NZ get a gold medal in Delhi. I was on > the edge of my seat, Alison Shanks had an amazing ride in > the 3000m individual pursuit to take the win. We > finally beat the Aussies on the track, but it's a real pity > that the British cycle team didn't turn up as they have some > of the best track riders in the world. > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link > directly above and follow the directions. > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
