10 January 2012

6 tips for coping in the cold – Victorian lady style

Mick Conefrey offers survival techniques from the grand dames of female exploration

3 mins

1. Think yourself warm

Alexandra David-Néel (1868-1969) was an exponent of the art of tumo breathing, by which you think yourself hotter. The technique? On breathing out, banish thoughts of pride, anger, jealousy and sloth; on breathing in, try to draw in the spirit of Buddha. Breathe slowly and deeply, and visualise flames emanating from your solar plexus.

2. Pop sweets

Isabella Bird (1831-1904) combated the cold by wearing three pairs of gloves and a six-layer face mask; she also ate double peppermint lozenges.

3. Look after your skin

Mountaineering is bad for the complexion. In 1889, Lillias Campbell Davidson suggested women coat their snow-lashed, sunburned skin with sour cream; Geoffrey Winthrop Young suggested bathing the affected skin in very hot water then covering it with grease. Not a good idea.

4. Dress the part

For her 1891 expedition to Greenland, Josephine Peary packed two knitted skirts, a flannel wrapper, a pair of knitted stockings, a pair of deer-skin moccasins, a knitted kidney protector, a great fur overall, a muffler and snowshoes.

5. Eat well

Agnes Deans Cameron (1863-1912) got into Inuit cuisine, trying reindeer maggots (‘like sweet shrimp’), whale jaw (‘looks like a coconut, cuts like cheese, tastes like chestnut’) and frozen fish (makes bad fish taste better).

6. Plan your toilet stops

On their 1999 South Pole hike, Catherine Hartley and her tent-mate would dig a hole in the entrance to their tent after breakfast. While one packed up, the other would use the ‘facilities’ – the advantage being the ice was warmer and easier to dig after they’d spent the night in the tent.

These tips are a just a small teaser from Mick Conefrey's book How to Climb Mont Blanc in a Skirt: A Handbook for the Lady Adventurer (Oneworld, £10.99). Order your copy on Amazon now.