twilight2000-digest Saturday, February 26 2000 Volume 1999 : Number 100 The following topics are covered in this digest: Re: Game settings Re: twilight2000-digest V1999 #98 Re: twilight2000-digest V1999 #98 Working Up T2K v.3.0 (was: Re: Soviet Bloc Allegiances) Re: twilight2000-digest V1999 #98 Re: Working Up T2K v.3.0 (was: Re: Soviet Bloc Allegiances) cold and extreme cold weather effects Re: cold and extreme cold weather effects Re: cold and extreme cold weather effects Re: cold and extreme cold weather effects Re: cold and extreme cold weather effects Re: cold and extreme cold weather effects Re: cold and extreme cold weather effects (Long) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 18:38:23 EST From: Calibur1@aol.com Subject: Re: Game settings I've run a campaign setting in which the world was devastated by extraterrestrial demons (as in Japanese anima). It wasn't too difficult to stage. Taking place in the United States, I used "Armies of the Night," "Allegheny Uprising" and some other North American modules as my backdrops. The stories and enemies were adjusted to reflect a more sci-fi/horror theme (this is where Dark Conspiracy helped a lot). My players liked the fact that it was more story driven rather than just combat and survival. Other than that, it really didn't run any more different from a traditional campaign. Sometime by the summer, I'm starting a campaign based on Stephen King's, "The Stand." *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 23:43:28 EST From: Damage169@cs.com Subject: Re: twilight2000-digest V1999 #98 In a message dated 2/25/00 5:47:56 AM Central Standard Time, Peter Grining writes: > The A, B, C etc after the name is the model, especially useful during the > Cold War when the west wasn't aware of the Russian names. I know this is somewhat in a different direction than the thread had been leading, but the USSR/CIS/Russian submarines were never given names, just hull numbers. IIRC even the big Typhoon class of ICBM subs were only given a class name, not individual boat names. YMMV. Doug Grimes *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 21:49:04 -0700 From: rogue09@sprynet.com Subject: Re: twilight2000-digest V1999 #98 > > I know this is somewhat in a different direction than the thread had been > leading, but the USSR/CIS/Russian submarines were never given names, just > hull numbers. IIRC even the big Typhoon class of ICBM subs were only given a > class name, not individual boat names. YMMV. One always wondered if individual crews on the boats gave them names of their own... and if so what sort of name they'd give those big Typhoon's... :T.R. - -- *************************************************************** "What about the truth? What about the public's right to know?!" "Oh, come on don't give me that... The public traded the right to know for the chance to watch a long time ago..." - --Len Kaminski (Writer) Ghost Rider: 2099 #6 *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2000 00:04:35 EST From: Damage169@cs.com Subject: Working Up T2K v.3.0 (was: Re: Soviet Bloc Allegiances) In a message dated 2/25/00 4:32:46 PM Central Standard Time, Scott Orr writes: > Yes, I think this might be a good bet: The Russia-Belarus union becomes > something like a real unified state. Maybe Russia pressures Ukraine to > join, and Ukraine is now part of the reform Russian Empire, or maybe > Ukraine runs to NATO for protection. A possible triggering event could be > NATO's move to incorporate Lithuania or maybe all three Baltic states. > A possible reason for Russia's expansion might well be if the Ultranationals got control of the country, perhaps after an assassination of the higher leadership by a group of Chechen rebels/sympathisers. The stated goal of the Ultranationals has been the reestablishment of the Soviet Union. Doug Grimes *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2000 00:31:41 -0500 From: Scott David Orr Subject: Re: twilight2000-digest V1999 #98 At 09:49 PM 2/25/00 -0700, rogue09@sprynet.com wrote: >> >> I know this is somewhat in a different direction than the thread had been >> leading, but the USSR/CIS/Russian submarines were never given names, just >> hull numbers. IIRC even the big Typhoon class of ICBM subs were only given a >> class name, not individual boat names. YMMV. > >One always wondered if individual crews on the boats gave them names of their >own... and if so what sort of name they'd give those big Typhoon's... > There's an account in _Blind_Man's_Bluff_ of the Soviet perspective an an Echo II guided-missile sub that collided with a U.S. attack sub--although it didn't have an official name, apparently the Soviets referred to it by a nickname, in this case _Black_Lila_ (_Chornaya_Lila_ in Russian). Scott Orr *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2000 00:34:34 -0500 From: Scott David Orr Subject: Re: Working Up T2K v.3.0 (was: Re: Soviet Bloc Allegiances) At 12:04 AM 2/26/00 EST, Damage169@cs.com wrote: >In a message dated 2/25/00 4:32:46 PM Central Standard Time, Scott Orr writes: > >> Yes, I think this might be a good bet: The Russia-Belarus union becomes >> something like a real unified state. Maybe Russia pressures Ukraine to >> join, and Ukraine is now part of the reform Russian Empire, or maybe >> Ukraine runs to NATO for protection. A possible triggering event could be >> NATO's move to incorporate Lithuania or maybe all three Baltic states. >> > >A possible reason for Russia's expansion might well be if the Ultranationals >got control of the country, perhaps after an assassination of the higher >leadership by a group of Chechen rebels/sympathisers. The stated goal of the >Ultranationals has been the reestablishment of the Soviet Union. > In any but the most authoritarian country (which Russia is not, despite flaws in its "democracy"), assassination is really never a path to power--unless power rests in the hands of one or a few people (and it doesn't in Russia), you'd have to kill too many people to get everyone out of the way--and then you'd have to get some kind of support to put yourself in power. Keep in mind, though, that some of the people who'd like a new SU are the Communists, who are the largest party in the Duma--and even most of the "moderates" feel that the "near abroad" (former SU), if not the former satellites, should defer to Russia's will. Scott Orr *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2000 20:05:27 +0100 From: Pedro Arnal Puente Subject: cold and extreme cold weather effects Hello I'll let my lurker foxhole looking for a little help. I'm rewriting an old article about cold weather for Sir Roger Mercenario (http://www.kobo.es/srm/), an spanish rpg ezine. What effects of cold and extreme cold weather on PCs and equipment do you think could be of interest? ...con treinta balas por cargador, hoy no sere yo el perdedor. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2000 12:19:05 -0800 (PST) From: GRAEBARDE Subject: Re: cold and extreme cold weather effects Having grown up on the prairies of North Dakota, I guess I can relate to cold. I've also spent a tour in Korea (71) and Germany (74-77) where the "cold" was different than NODAK's but still cold. Cold is a potential silent killer. Your body parts (ie feet, hands, ears, nose) can freeze without you realizing it (BTDT). A buddy system is a definite plus for detecting frostbite on extremities as the individual can not very well see his nose or ears without something like a mirror. Also in extreme cold (say under zero F) you don't want to run or have heavy exertion that will cause breathing through the mouth... it can cause your respatory system to literally freeze. If you must, a scarf, or mask over the mouth and nose, to help "preheat" the air will reduce the possibilities. My buds stationed in Alaska said caught running outside in temps below zero were grounds for military discipline (in US an article 15). Another cold killer is hypothermia (lowering body heat) which among other things causes a person to become confused and disoriented. You can usually tell it's occurring by having severe "shivers". It does not have to be freezing to cause hypothermia, temps lower than 50-60 degrees can attribute to it if the individual is wet or there's a wind chill factor involved. If not treated, IT WILL KILL YOU. Wet and cold = misery for the troop that doesn't have the proper clothing. The new goretex and poly underwear the USA has issued should be an big plus for comfort over the old wool, but wool would keep you warm when damp. In the T2K environs whether a PC has goretex and poly is up for debate, maybe, maybe not.. something for the PCs to seek out if they don't. A cold factor would probably increase the fatigue in T2K.. I know in real life, prolonged exposure IS fatiguing. When doing hard manual work in cold weather the individual must be careful not to "overheat". Sounds crazy, but you don't want to form a sweat layer if you have to stay in the cold and become inactive after getting sweaty [see hypothermia.. if not hypothermia, very uncomfortable at least... rises the "misery factor" greatly]. In cold weather you dress in layers so you can remove the outer layers while doing strenuous work, reducing the sweat, and cool off before adding the layers back. Sleeping conditions are affected by the weather too. Ever try to get a restful sleep in a drenched down mountain sleeping bag when it's 40 degrees? Then try to hump the soggy mess.. it never seems to dry out, I'd rather have a blanket roll. The new "man made" fills like Holofill are better as they'll keep you reasonably warm when damp, and dry much better. Their lighter too. But will the PCs have good sleeping gear? IF not their nights are misery in the cold (and damp) adding fatigue. Warm and dry are nice, but not always available, and fires attract attention. Another concern with cold and wet, especially the feet, when exposed for long period of time (days to weeks) is trench foot. If the individuals are not careful about their foot hygiene (changing socks regularily and putting on dry boots) they are in for trouble.. in previous wars, trench foot has incapacitated too many soldiers to enumerate (meaning I don't have the actual figures). It can and does lead to loss of toes and if not treated quickly or properly the whole limb or life.. gangerine can set in quickly. In warm wet climates, the cousin to trench foot is imersion foot.. that's why we were SUPPOSE to be pulled out of the field every 4-5 days in the delta to dry out out feet any time longer we started having real problems with imersion foot. In T2K, what are the chances the PCs will have good foot gear after the logistical tail has all but collapsed. Dry, CLEAN, socks... dry boots after weeks in the woods.... add this to the "cold weather gear" or lack of noted above... you can use nature to make the unprepared PC's life miserable [or more miserable], but remember the black flags conditions probably won't be any better. These are reasons why units went into containment in the fall and only "campaigned" in the summer [spring and fall are farming season]. A couple of areas not addressed deal with snow. Snow is wet, either as it falls, or as it melts. It is crystallized moisture! It gets down the neck, covers the cloths, etc.. making things miserable. When the wind blow, and believe me it usually does on the NODAK prairie, if the snow isn't crusted, it moves. Visibility reduces in proportion to the wind velocity and amount of snow to blow....BLIZZARD! WHITE OUT! NOT something you want to get caught out in unprepared. After the "storm", it's usually sunny, which can cause another discomfort or debilitating condition called snow blindness.. The reflection off the snow will injure the eye to the point of not being able to see, in fact you don't WANT to see, not wanting to open your eyes.. The condition will make the eyes sensitive to light for long periods. If the PC's don't have the proper eye wear, ie sunglasses at the least, they can succumb to snow blindness if operation in snow areas where there is bright sunlight. Also consider a case of sunburn on exposed flesh from the suns reflection. While not usually causing incapacitation, it can cause the misery factor to increase. I'm sure there are cold weather experts out there that will add more, but what I've learned from experience, mine and others what I have posted here. Cold is a KILLER. How about our Buds from Scandinavia, I know they can add to the information on cold.:):) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2000 14:55:32 -0600 From: Steve Subject: Re: cold and extreme cold weather effects Pedro Arnal Puente wrote: Hello I'm rewriting an old article about cold weather for Sir Roger Mercenario (http://www.kobo.es/srm/), an spanish rpg ezine. What effects of cold and extreme cold weather on PCs and equipment do you think could be of interest? I live in central Canada, and our summers are very warm up to Plus 30 Celsius, 100 Fahrenheit, but our winters can be bitter cold, as low as -40 Celsius or -40 Fahrenheit. The most dangerous factor in this type of cold weather is the wind. Thus "wind chill", if you have 40Km (20 miles) an hour wind at this temperature and your vehicle dies. Forget about walking anywhere, you are stuck until the wind calms. Of course with our modern cities you would not notice this danger because you are sheltered and always a few feet from warmth, but if you are out in the countryside then you better be prepared. A second problem is that in northern areas the moisture in the air will freeze and cause "ice crystal fog". One time I was out on a snow mobile (a power sled that can travel over 100 Miles an hour over snow) and we got caught in ice fog and visibility was down to less then 5 feet and this happened in minutes. Other extreme cold problems on vehicles is that unless they are plugged into an electrical outlet to keep the engine block heater working, most will not start after a night of being parked, diesel engines may need to be heated with a blow torch, (I am not joking). Again, this is assuming the temperature is minus 25 degrees Celsius or lower. We usually have temperatures this low for about 6-8 weeks, however the last few years have been much warmer, perhaps the global warming effect :) (I wish). It would be interesting what the climate would be like in T2K after the nukes. Steve *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2000 15:11:16 -0600 From: Steve Subject: Re: cold and extreme cold weather effects GRAEBARDE wrote: Having grown up on the prairies of North Dakota, I guess I can relate to cold. I've also spent a tour in Korea (71) and Germany (74-77) where the "cold" was different than NODAK's but still cold. Wow, I live just north of ND in Manitoba, Canada. It is amazing how most people don't understand what extreme cold can be. One time a friend of mine flew in from South Africa in January, and when he got of the he took a deep breath, "it felt like being kicked in the chest, I had to stop to catch my breath", he said. I wonder if a person that has never been exposed to extreme cold would have a worst time of adjusting? Steve. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2000 15:16:49 -0600 From: Steve Subject: Re: cold and extreme cold weather effects Steve wrote: GRAEBARDE wrote: Having grown up on the prairies of North Dakota, I guess I can relate to cold. I've also spent a tour in Korea (71) and Germany (74-77) where the "cold" was different than NODAK's but still cold. Wow, I live just north of ND in Manitoba, Canada. It is amazing how most people don't understand what extreme cold can be. One time a friend of mine flew in from South Africa in January, and when he got of the plane he took a deep breath, "it felt like being kicked in the chest, I had to stop to catch my breath", he said. I wonder if a person that has never been exposed to extreme cold would have a worst time of adjusting? Steve. ******************************** ******************************************* To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 06:35:06 +0800 From: "Ballistix" Subject: Re: cold and extreme cold weather effects Living in Australia on the west coast, we don't encounter the temperatures of you guys in the US etc do (ie -40 etc). However I do have to add that as the others pointed out it's not really the cold that can kill you the easiest. You can die from hypothermia just due to the wind chill factor. This can happen even on what some would consider moderately cold days of around 10 - 15 degrees C. Most notibly when the soldier is wet. > Other extreme cold problems on vehicles is that unless they are plugged into > an electrical outlet to keep the engine block > heater working, most will not start after a night of being parked, diesel > engines may need to be heated with a blow torch, (I am > not joking). Again, this is assuming the temperature is minus 25 degrees > Celsius or lower. Well I can safely let you know that it doesn't have to get to -25 degrees to render diesel engines inoperative. On an exercise about a year ago, several landrover 4x4's and 6x6's found that on one cold evening (it was around 0 - 5 degrees) that the diesel fuel had started to turn to a gel consistency. This of course not being conducive to the operation of the engine. As for other vehicles, icing could be an effect that could come into consideration. This would mostly affect aircraft that are not stored in hanger areas. Build up of ice on aircraft surfaces is a killer. And as mentioned before, cold is a killer on morale of troops. It's one thing to be cold, but it's another not to be able to escape it. Similar to being constantly wet. It lowers the morale of the troops a lot, small things however can lift morale somewhat, eg hot meals and coffee, warm dry clothing etc etc. Hope some of this helps Ballistix *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2000 19:12:15 -0800 From: "Jesse LaBranche" Subject: Re: cold and extreme cold weather effects (Long) Hello All, I've been lurking on this list for awhile gladly grabbing most of the information that you guys post. With this thread, I finally found something that I thought I could add to. While living in Anchorage, Alaska- I worked for a gas station and we did a huge amount of our business there with the city plows. Diesel comes in 4 grades (3 more commonly) and they call it diesel-1, diesel-2, diesel-3, and diesel-4. We carried the first three and they changed according to the time of year. The problem with diesel fuel is that it "gels" when it gets too cold and becomes useless as fuel. It also tends to reach over-heated stages at relatively low temperatures compared to other fuel types. Diesel-1 Is good from temperatures below 0 to as high as about 40 degrees. Although it's best to use it when it is below 0. Diesel-2 Is good from about 0-80 degrees and is best used between 0 and 40. Diesel-3 Is good from about 40-100 degrees (many people state that it can go up to as high as 120 with no problem- but that's debatable) and is best used around 60 degrees. Diesel-4 Is good in temperatures above 40 degrees, but is really best if the temperature is above 80 for the best performance. To complicate matters a little bit worse, there are additives that make diesel burn hotter, tricks like trace amounts of anti- freeze, and putting kerosine/coleman fuel or other higher octane fuels in the tank will adjust these temperatures incredibly (probably as much as 30-40 degrees). However, those little tricks tend to also ruin engines. Okay, now on to cold and chill factor. While I hate AD&D for a variety of reasons- the one good thing about it is that there is plenty of source/support material within the system. They printed a book called the "Wilderness Survival Guide" that is pretty well done and seems accurate for dealing with weather, effects of over/under dressing for it, and variations in weather based on climate and terrain. Those who are interested, I'll be glad to transfer the information contained in it over to the 1st ed. T2K. rules and post those if you'd like. When dealing with cold there are 4 basic terms to deal with. Air temperature, Wind chill, Exposure, and Core Temperature. In most extreme environments, the air temperature is not what kills you- it is in fact the wind chill. The air temperature of most of Alaska, for instance, is little colder than it is in the northern US if even colder during the winter. However, the wind chill makes the effective temperature much colder. It does not matter (to a person) what the Air Temperature with wind chill is if the Core temperature can be kept within comfortable amounts- except for that good ol' exposure. A person can have a core temperature of 90 degrees and still have fingers drop off because of the exposure. Just a note, people have frozen to death in temperatures as high as 50 degrees that I've heard of and read about. A person's comfort zone tends to be right around 70 degrees in the temperature US... This comfort zone will actually range with a +/-20 degree variance depending on the temperatures that a person is "climatized" to. For example, when I left Alaska and went to Washington, people were "freezing" in 50 degree weather. Here I am shirtless going "it's the middle of summer". When the temperatures hit the "normal" 70 degrees, I was roasting the way a Washingtonian would at 90, and 90 was just completely intolerable to me at the time. Once a person is climatized to a comfort zone, he will go from a comfortable temperature to too hot or too cold with only a 2 degree variation in the temperature. Clothing/coverage of the body will cause this to vary as much as another 40 degrees without getting into the special clothing types- such as qualifill, holofill, polyfill, etc. Now, consider a person comfortable at 70 degrees. His temp range runs from 68-72 degrees with a core temperature of 98.6. Whether he wears a t-shirt and shorts, or pants and a sweater will affect his core temperature by up to 40 degrees either direction allowing him to be comfortable in temperatures of 28-112 degrees. Those seem like extremes on both ends, however- humidity and wind chill have not been included yet and most extremes of this nature do NOT occur as natural air temperature. Humidity plays a big part in a person's ability to cool off when he gets too hot and as such is more important with high temperatures than it is with low. However, if it is humid in cool temperatures, this will have the air cooling the person as it is blown from the skin- thus making the person "feel" cooler in the cold. This external cooling is more the "feel" than an actual cooling of the core however. The thing that plays the biggest part is the wind, which will bring a fairly warm day to freezing cold with no problem. Something that I've noted is that Chicago and Seattle both had warmer temperatures than Anchorage did. However, the humidity in the air combined with the wind made both cities feel much colder than Anchorage until Anchorage's real winds, or coldest winter temperatures did set in. During the daytime, the sun is more intense in the more temperate cities allowing for actual warming of the air temperature much more than Anchorage as well. Thus, when dealing with a single day of colder temperatures as opposed to 6 months plus- that's the differences that make the arctic so much worse. Hope that explained a few things :-) The lowering of core temperature causes hypothermia. I am not in the medical profession so I may be off, but I believe that a person is actually considered "hypothermic" when core temperature has reached 95-96 degrees. Actual exposure to cold temperature causes frost-bite and is the most critical thing ONLY because people have learned just about everywhere to dress appropriately to keep hypothermia from setting in- but don't usually deal with temperatures cold enough to cause frost-bite. Heat is generated at the "core" of the body (chest and head) and moves outward from there to the extremities. When the core gets cooled, the heat emanating from there must heat the core before it can heat the extremes. Much like a house- the areas closest to the heater will heat first and the rest of the house will be cooler. Heat is NOT taken from the extremities to go to the core as many people believe however. Hypothermia requires a "prolonged" exposure to the cold, while frostbite can occur instantly. In both of these cases extremes are figured. A person submerged in arctic waters for example has about 30 seconds before paralysis begins to set in due to hypo-thermia. Dribble a little liquid propane on you if you'd like to see the results of instant frostbite sometime :-) Special weather effects/environmental situations that you will find in the Arctic/Sub-Arctic zones that are of interest include Williwaws, Snow-blindness, Snow-burning, White-Outs, Glacial Run-off, Trenchfoot (although there's another name that covers this term in all low-lying regions of the body which tend to sweat), Permafrost, Ice-mists, and Tundra-holes. A williwaw (Aleutian name for it) is a weather phenomena wherein the winds come to a hill, but are not strong enough to crest it. Thus, they double back on themselves and come back with more intensity, eventually gaining enough force to crest the hill. Cooler air above tends to provide the pressure that keeps the cresting from initially occurring. When either a) The pressure drops to allow it to happen (rare) or b) The wind gains sufficient force, it blasts over the hill. Willawaws have been known to achieve speeds in excess of 200 mph, and end as soon as they've achieved their cresting. When I was in Adak, we were hiking and came over a hill at the same time a willawaw did... I believe that the winds in that were in the 70 mph neighborhood. Anyway, four of us got promptly lifted some 6-8 feet into the air and thrown clean off the hill by the wind force, yet it never reached the trees at the bottom of the hill with more than a light breeze. Snow blindness occurs because of ice crystals lying on the ground. These reflect the sun in the same way that a mirror would, but tend not to be as directly blinding so you don't tend to look away from them. More often than not, you're peering through ice fogs, overcast days, high winds and snow blowing around. You get used to peering and open wide on a clear day just to get snow-blinded. Symptoms of snow-blindness are headaches, followed by eye-strain, and in some cases a burning sensation to the eyes themselves (just like dry irritation). Snow-blindness is usually not permanent as the weather does not usually remain clear enough, long enough, for someone to suffer permanent eye damage- however it is possible and not unknown to happen. Recovery from snow-blindness can be anywhere from 30 seconds (Think of time for eyes to re-focus when coming out of the dark into sunlight) to several days all dependant on the amount of "damage" that occurred to the eyes. A snow-burn is in fact actually a sun-burn. The same ice crystals that can cause snow-blindness also reflect the sun on exposed skin allowing for a rather nasty sun-burn. Snow-burns are more common in Washington and other areas of the Northern US than those above the 49th parallel from what I understand. Mostly because I think that weather tends to be steadier in the temperate regions and people are willing to risk a bit more exposure if it's nice out at the moment. White-Outs are caused by loose snow being blown by the wind. Those who've never been in "white-out" territories may have trouble understanding/envisioning a true white-out as they seldom occur in the lower 48. However, the best example is to look at a sheet of white paper and imagine that that is all you can see. With your hand to your face, you may see a "shadow" of your hand much like you would in a completely, pitch black cave. A white-out can have that kind of intensity right up close, or just limit vision to inches, feet, yards, or even miles- however, most people only consider it a white out if they are IN the non-vision area of it. Many whiteouts are not so intense that you cannot see up close, it's kind of like being in the "eye" of a hurricane in these instances- you can't see anything say at 20' away, but in your immediate area- snow is blowing and you can see. Most people are aware that eating snow directly dehydrates the body because you consume more water processing the snow than you gain from the snow directly. Thus, melting it first, or drinking from a stream/river tend to be the option there. However, snow/ice that has sat on the bottom of a glacier for months/years and melts to start running off gets something known as "glacial milk". It is a somewhat "foggy" look in the water and causes a poisoning much like the weakness caused by drinking some swamp-waters or stagnant water. Effects tending to be nausea, disorientation, and weakness. Possibly retching as well. Stomach cramps are also not an uncommon side affect of glacial poisoning. Just a small note- watch them ice cube trays in the freezer. Ever seen the "white" ones as opposed to the "clear" ones? This is the earliest stages of glacial milk and tends to give a slight bitter taste- later that same stuff could be nasty to your system. I haven't heard of anyone consuming enough glacial milk to actually die from it, but it is at least a theoretic possibility since it is in effect a systematic poison that does build in the system. Most people, I think are familiar enough with the effects of trenchfoot that I will not go into any great detail on it here except to say that people don't tend to like to remove clothing as much when it's cold as they do when it's warm or very hot out. This makes it so that the stench, general irritation, and possibility of trenchfoot are actually possible in armpits, genitalia, and other low-lying areas/orifices of the body. The ground is one of the best insulators (especially natural ones) known to man. However, when freezing temperatures set in long enough- the liquid in the grown itself freezes creating a layer known as a "perma-frost" layer. This hard ground makes walking uncomfortable (much like walking on a block of concrete for those who've done it) and grants one the feeling of the ground absorbing body heat. Overland wilderness travel on foot across permafrost would tend to bring out all of the standard leg/foot conditions of things like shin-splints, stress fractures, aches and cramps. I'd suggest tweaking actual fatigue levels a little bit for soldiers who have to cross permafrost for more than a day (or two at the maximum). Arctic regions tend to be loaded with ground water meaning that permafrost can and will occur everywhere if the temperatures stay cool enough long enough and the snow is not insulating the ground, or the sun is not coming out to warm it. When I was in Alaska about 3 years ago- the permafrost layer reached an 8' depth in an area that 1.5-2 inches was the most common. When the air temperature near the ground is below freezing and warmer at higher altitude, rain tends to fall then start freezing as it nears the ground... Not frozen, but very near it. As soon as this liquid contacts something- it freezes. While hanging in the air it has all of the look of a light fog. Ice-mists do nasty things like instantly coating a windshield, vehicle, or person in a thin layer of ice. I've watched many times as a wind blew fog across the road leaving a layer of imperceptable ice behind. The first car to hit it is sliding like crazy because this stuff is like "black ice" very slick and almost completely smooth. The final condition that I wanted to bring up that is a known problem in many wilderness areas in Alaska is something known as a "tundra hole" although I've heard them called many things. There are actually three types of tundra hole, but the concept is the same in all cases. The first condition occurs when snow (especially powder) fills up a normal, everyday hole in the ground. Suddenly, you are immersed in snow and potentially drowning from it. Often times, tundra or ice will form over such a hole and you now have an ice-hole. The same type of situation as thin ice on a lake. It feels fine to prodding, and may even be thick enough to handle a person or two's weight for a time, but once it cracks- it goes fast. Now, the third condition is much like the first two, however many times ice will form, or tundra will grow right over the side of a cliff, or even connect to ledges with a chasm between them. Snow lands on, and builds up over the tundra or ice, and it becomes impossible to see a difference between the snow-covered snow and the snow-covered chasm Now, just imagine building your fire on top of a hundred foot drop or so- and you've got a cartoon-like spectacle if you could see it from a cut-away side view. Okay, the science lesson is out of the way now for those who've read this much. I really hope that I didn't bore anyone, but I didn't want anything to be too technical or lost on those who've had little to no encounter with regular snow conditions, let alone extreme arctic ones. Put an ice cube in a glass of warm liquid, or a warm glass and it will often "pop" or explode. This is the same effect that occurs when you put air that is 40 below into a container (your body) that is 98 degrees. The little hairs (cilia) in the back of your throat tend to warm that air a bit, but not enough in the extremes, so inhaling through the nose grants that many more hairs to warm it first. Walking, breathing, etc. In the arctic becomes much more complex when you are dealing with freeze-dried nose-hairs in a matter of 5-10 seconds. Running and other strenuous activity take on a whole new experience. Moisture likes to settle in moving parts, and gel fuels, cool wind stings the eyes and exposed skin constantly, and winds often get above 30 mph making a person take a "forward lean" when walking. Add all that to snow that is 3-4 feet deep (non-banked ground cover) and ice layers underneath that and we add a whole new meaning to life. With vehicles, blowing "freeze plugs", getting fuel to the tank, super-cooled power-systems trying to cold-start, and such incidents are not uncommon and there are "block-heaters" basically designed to heat the radiator and such at night. These need to be plugged into some sort of power source and run while the car sits. I've seen people have to stop their cars and plug them into a generator in the middle of a trip because doing 70 down one of the two interstates in Alaska caused such excessive windchill on the car that they'd actually stall out as the gasoline gelled in the tank. When first arriving in Alaska, a person will often notice the plugs hanging off of the cars, looking like silly little "tongues" sticking out of the mouth of the grill. It's kind of funny. With all that out of the way, I do need to express a couple facts about Alaska that MANY people in the US are not aware of. Temperatures in the summer can get as high as anywhere else in the central to northern US. Many standard crops are grown in Alaska and with sunlight for 6 mos. out of the year and in many areas more than one day of 24 hour sunlight tends to make the crop seasons short and yield larger actual fruits than most of the crops in the lower 48. As an example, I've seen many grapefruits here in Washington that were smaller than "homegrown" oranges in Alaska. During the summer, mosquitos are as thick in Alaska as Gnats are in Florida. The permanently moist ground is a perfect breeding place for such problems. People also tend to think of Bear and wolves as a major predator in Alaska, and while they are there and can be a danger, one to worry about a whole lot more is Moose. The average bull moose tends to be rather aggressive. They can run at incredible speed over the worst terrain one can imagine. Their extended necks allow for them to bite things at heights exceeding 15 feet before they get up on their hind legs which they are known to do. Most moose can step over a 6-8 foot fence, and they've easily cleared 12-16 footers on a regular basis by jumping them. Many people, dogs, and cars are killed by moose every year. I've seen cars moving at 60 mph strike a moose and the animal get up and bolt off with no visual signs of injury, but scared out of their minds and leaving a totalled car behind them. Moose often decide to challenge cars, even while honking or flashing lights and have pushed a car off the road, or played power-push or chicken with many others. Well, I've probably rambled on too long. My initial intent was to just address the main points that I'd seen in the recent posts on this thread, but in talking about Alaska experiences and general wilderness survival I guess I get a bit carried away- sorry :-) Later. Jesse. vanquer@email.msn.com ICQ. 30334260 or 8004143 (backup) *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe twilight2000' as the body of the message. ------------------------------ End of twilight2000-digest V1999 #100 *************************************