How To Survive in the Arctic

We thought this might be a good time to share some of the neat facts we learned about surviving in arctic conditions while we were researching for JAKE AND THE GINGERBREAD WARS. It was a tricky challenge to make the North Pole landscape believable, but not soooo realistic, like to the extreme of having Jake and the gang quickly freeze to death. A sudden and tragic end to the series!

NOOOO!

That would not have been very Christmassy for a Christmas novella, methinks.

So, boys and girls, if you find yourself stuck in a snowy wasteland, first, hope that you don't run into any hungry yetis. Then follow these little tips if you want to survive. Here's a quick recap of Arctic Survival Tips from veteran Expedition Director Pen Hadow, from an article that originally appeared on CNN.com. (Original article here.)

* Wear layers - especially on your hands and feet. Keep your face covered up.

* Bring a dog and flares called "bear bangers" to ward off polar bears. The dog will smell a bear in the area before you will, then you can deploy the bear bangers to scare the bear away before he has you for lunch. (Not something I'd personally like to test!)

* Eat candy and high-calorie yummies like macadamia nuts. Well, ok, if I must. :) In the Arctic, Hadow says an adult needs to consume a recommended 5000-6000 calories a day (compared to the average 2000 calories a day) because the cold makes your body burn so much fuel.

* Don't step on black ice. If it's black that means it's thin, but gray ice is OK to walk on.

* Never travel alone, and bring a GPS.

Still not convinced you're going to make it out alive? Yeah, maybe we still need a little more training...           [Video credit to the Survival Information Channel on YouTube.]

There, don't you feel a whole lot more confident that you'll know what to do if your flying sleigh crashes in the middle of the Arctic?

I know I do. Just remember to keep an eye out for these guys. >>>

Stay warm, everybody!

xo,

Gael + Eric

By Phillippe Semeria, via Wiki Commons.