real-ly furry

At gear issue in Christchurch, we are given a large quantity of cold weather gear. Instead of making us take a whole lot of clothing that we never use down with us from New Zealand, this year we had the opportunity to give much of it back and decide for ourselves what gear might be necessary (there are still a few required items).

Some of the ECW (extremely cold weather) gear we receive is brand new. Last year, I had a crisp new pair of black carharts, and a patched-up old parka with matted faux fur around the hood. This year I received a mini-pair of shrunken fleece long underwear pants that would fit my four-year-old girlfriend, Morgan, and a twice-over-washed-and-dried poli-pro thermal underwear shirt that had the consistency of a padded manila envelope (I brought those back for replacements). I also received a brand new pair of those same fleece long underwear and a parka with real arctic fox fur. Now, I'm not condoning skinning animals for luxury clothing items, or for the sake of vanity, but when it comes to keeping your face warm out on the sea ice when the wind is ripping at up to -70F degree temperatures, I will take that silky soft fox fur's warmth for survival any day next to the fake stuff! I've rubbed my cheek against is a dozen times already.

It's been cold enough in town the past few days to see the frost build up on my collars, and my eyelashes actually stuck together on my way home from work this afternoon. While I do not like cold weather, I find myself quite content to take advantage of my short and rushed walks from building to building. After all, I'm in Antarctica!