REPRODUCTIONS

By admin 　http://www.booktom.com/hardy-good/

Camping Fun in Sub Zero Temperatures

With extreme winter weather closing schools and bringing the United Kingdom to a near stand still it may seem surprising to hear that around 2,500 hardy scouts have just enjoyed (or endured) a weekend of winter camping fun in East London.

If you, like me, need a warm, comfortable bed at night then you will find it hard to understand why anyone would want to spend several nights sleeping under canvas in sub-zero temperatures. But as one hardy young explorer scout told me it's all about being prepared (the old scout motto). This means having the right camping equipment and some good quality, warm outdoor clothing and plenty of layers.

Organisers had laid on no less than 70 adventurous outdoor activities for the boys and girls to have a go at over the weekend. They were given the opportunity to do a little zorbing in the snow, climbing, abseiling, trampoling along with snowboarding and skiing.

Safety was, of course, a high priority for the event. Organisers carried out careful risk assessments to ensure that those coming to the Gilwell campsite in east london would be safe.

To keep warm at night, when temperatures plummeted to minus six degrees Celsius (21 degrees Fahrenheit), the hardy scouts doubled up on sleeping bags and squeezed together with fellow scouts to share body warmth.

When interviewed the scouts told me that the key to staying warm in these unusually cold conditions is wearing plenty of layers. The youngsters told me that they were wearing around 7 layers with two pairs of gloves (mittens being the best) and some very thick, warm winter socks. They also recommended wearing a very warm hat as a great deal of body heat can be lost from the head.

It looked like so much fun I was almost tempted to join them, but then I remembered my warm comfortable bed at home and decided that I was nowhere near tough enough for these sub-zero winter camping conditions.