Edited by Rachel Duncan 4th Edition ISBN 0-907649-91-2 London ...

34 RGS-IBG Polar Expeditions Manual
The type of activity an expedition undertakes and the supply of water and fuel for
melting or cooking will determine the composition of the expedition ration. If weight is not
a problem, then plenty of tinned foods can be taken which simply require heating.
However, if weight is of paramount importance then it is likely that freeze dried or less
good, dehydrated foods will provide the most convenient solution – though these will
obviously require more cooking and hence fuel. If fresh water is in limited supply and this
has to be melted from snow or ice then the fuel requirement is increased further. On an
unsupported sledging journey, the balance between weight of food and fuel will be an
important consideration. Some lightweight mountaineering expeditions intentionally carry
far less food than they need or would like per day, expecting to lose weight over the trip. If
weight is crucial then this may be your preferred option.
4.3 Packaging
It is vital that the expedition rations are packed suitably to avoid contamination and
deterioration. For sledging journeys, personal experience has shown that packing the
rations into multiple “man-day” units is the most suitable. This method is probably the
most appropriate for any expedition that is continually on the move.
For this method, the rations are packed into appropriate “man-day” units per tent
group or cooking group. In this way only a limited amount of food has to be opened at any
one time and the rations can easily be divided up between personnel or sledges. If food is
left along the route in depots or if the team splits up into smaller groups to carry out
specific tasks, it is easy just to hand out an appropriate number of ration packs. But watch
out for hungry animals. A polar bear will stop at nothing to ravage your depot for food.
Man-day packs are made up by devising the daily menu or ration for the team and
packing everything required for say, two or four days per team into a single finished pack.
Excessive food packaging can be discarded (careful not to throw away cooking
instructions) and where containers are not filled completely, e.g. plastic bottles of
powdered milk, these can be topped up to the appropriate weight and re-sealed. For items
such as pasta, rice and dehydrated foods, these are often purchased in bulk from cash and
carry outlets and weighed out into a single day’s worth of product and then packed into
plastic bags. The whole process is time consuming and a weekend or two should be
devoted to ration packing in the UK before departure to ensure it is done carefully.
Items likely to leak if damaged such as tubes of honey, tubs of margarine, etc.,
should also be sealed into plastic bags to prevent contamination of the rest of the ration
pack if damaged. It is possible to carefully work out a regulated menu that delivers the
required number of calories, at a set weight per person per day so that loads can be
calculated easily. This prevents the need to have lots of packs of food open at any time and
hence at risk of leakage, loss or contamination.
When all the individual food items are double wrapped in plastic bags then other
necessary items are added, e.g. lighters for stoves, pan scrubber, toilet paper, etc., and the
whole “man-day” unit is double wrapped in heavy gauge polythene bags and securely
taped up with industrial packing tape.
On most longer expeditions it is probable that food is the largest and heaviest items
being transported. Consequently it may be desirable for the expedition to be re-supplied by
air whilst in the field. If this is by helicopter or ski-plane that can land easily, then no
further repackaging should be needed than that described above. If, however, an air drop is