For the individual brave enough to embark on a mid-winter wilderness expedition, nature may offer a sense of grace and solitude unobtainable during the crowded summer camping season. Such serenity comes at a cost, however, as the risk of potential dangers is virtually without limit.

There’s no need to panic, of course, so long as one realizes that the key to making it safely in and out of the woods is very careful planning. Every aspect of a winter camping trip should be planned in advance: how many people are going and where exactly they will be traveling, down to the trails they intend to take. Camping reservations or permits may be needed and can be acquired by contacting a ranger’s station. Before leaving, know what the likely weather conditions will be in the area to be traversed, how much snow is on the ground, what time the sun will set — and don’t forget to set aside time to break in those new boots!

It will be easier to keep track of things properly with a supply checklist. Everything should be accounted for: clothing, shelter, food, water, personal equipment. The most important word to remember when considering clothing is layers. Adjustable layers will allow a hiker to add or subtract insulation as his or her body temperature fluctuates. It is never a good idea to sweat excessively, since body heat is lost much quicker when wet, so adjust accordingly. Wool or synthetic clothing, like pile or polypropylene, are preferable — never wear cotton or jeans. Since up to 70-percent of the body’s heat can be lost through the head, a warm hat is indispensable. A balaclava, or ski mask, is recommended for its versatility. Socks should be worn in layers, a gaiter is necessary to prevent snow from getting in boots, and mittens are warmer than gloves. Protect against the elements with a well-ventilated and weatherproof outer layer for the wind and the wet, and sunglasses (or goggles) and sunscreen for the sun — which will be magnified by a snowy surface and could potentially result in snow blindness.

Inexperienced trekkers are advised against attempting long trips. It’s better to begin with a day trip or an overnight as a way of testing one’s capabilities. For those embarking on a longer journey, shelter will be a fundamental consideration. Snow caves and igloos are an effective way of finding shelter in the wild, although a tent will also work. Dome tents shed snow well and provide a good deal of interior space, which is all the more important in winter when there is extra gear. Never cook in a tent since this can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. Be sure to eat, though. Appetites tend to diminish during wintertime activities, but the body actually needs more fuel than usual. It is also vital to keep hydrated, so put some thought into where to find water — a river, beneath the frozen surface of a stream or lake. Water from such places will need to be purified and the best way to purify water in winter is to boil it (at least three to five minutes, adding one minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level). Filtration pumps can freeze and crack and chemical treatments, such as iodine and chlorine, are rendered ineffective at colder temperatures. One can also melt snow over the stove, although this will use up fuel (and never eat snow, this takes up too much energy!). In terms of equipment, make sure to have a sufficiently warm sleeping bag, one that is rated for a temperature lower than that expected, and a ground pad at least half an inch thick. Internal frame packs are generally better for winter use than external frames, and if this is a backcountry expedition, it is likely to require either snowshoes or cross-country skis.

This only covers the basics, actually, because really anything could happen and one must be prepared for simply everything. At Yellowstone National Park, for instance, visitors are advised: “There are dangers inherent in wilderness: unpredictable wildlife, changing weather conditions, remote thermal areas, deep snow, open streams, and rugged mountains with extreme avalanche danger. When you choose to explore Yellowstone, you experience the land on its own terms; there is no guarantee of your safety. Be prepared for any situation. Carefully read all backcountry guidelines and regulations, and know the limit of your ability.” This last point seems particularly important. Being prepared for a wilderness trip means not only knowing what to prepare for, but what to do if those preparations go afoul. Dehydration, food poisoning, diarrhea. These are relatively common afflictions that any wintertime traveler should anticipate and be ready to manage. Accidental falls, stove explosions, the collapse of a tent overburdened with snow, ice axe or crampon stabbing injuries. (There is a whole list of these — better to be prepared for them all.) Learn how to identify precarious crevices hidden beneath the snow as well as loose branches in the trees that, in high winds, could potentially fall on one’s tent in the middle of the night. Be able to recognize and avoid avalanche territory. Know what to do during an ice crossing or a sudden whiteout. Don’t travel alone, bring a first aid kit, and, before leaving, be certain to inform a friend or loved one of the destination and expected time of return.

Uncertain Future for the Alpine Red Deer

However inhospitable the weather may turn in the highest regions of the Austrian Alps, evolution has equipped the diverse species that claim these heights as their home with the ability to survive. The variations in weather are often sudden and intense, and the adaptations and perseverance required of these alpine creatures in order to ensure species survival are remarkable.

Throughout the year, Austria’s red deer roam the alpine environment in search of food. In summer, the red deer migrate to the highest altitudes and can stay there all season long. But, over the course of the season, the force of the elements can vary widely. Frequent lightning strikes can decimate entire herds that frequent these regions. If the mountain grasslands go dry or are over-grazed by local herds, the red deer will move down the mountainside to lower pastures where there may be more vegetation.

Come autumn, the red deer descend to lower elevations in the forested river valleys and graze on vegetation there before the long, grueling winter. When winter arrives, the landscape is transformed. Snow accumulation can exceed a person’s height in just a few days. Red deer forage for the sparse remaining vegetation on the cliffs, where winds have cleared the snow and left patches of plant life. The strongest deer are able to adapt and reduce their need to eat in winter. As they take in fewer calories, their heart rate, body temperature and metabolism are drastically lowered, and they slow down to reduce their energy expenditure.

In winter, snow accumulation can exceed a person’s height in just a few days.

Humans are changing everything and disrupting the process of natural selection. Many deer in the Alps can no longer survive the seasons on their own because they have come to depend on handouts from local landowners, farmers and even hunters who put out food to attract the deer. Austria’s red deer management program, too, in an effort to keep deer populations large enough to guarantee hunting success, have set up feeding stations in fenced enclosures near roads, where many deer spend more than half the year.

Each year it gets more difficult for the red deer to fend for themselves as humans encroach on their terrain. Busy roads, hunting stations, eco-unfriendly ski resorts, and the effects of global warming are threatening the long-term stability of red deer populations.

Along with the fenced enclosures for feeding, roads and highways are disrupting the deer’s migration route. More than 10 million trucks and about 50 million cars cross the Alps each year. Seventy-seven million tons of cargo move through the mountains in an average year, including furniture, chemicals, livestock, mineral water and automobiles. By 2020, some predict, Trans-Alpine commercial transport will double. The mountains concentrate the fumes from all these vehicles, and the greenhouse gas emissions are trapped in narrow valleys. The rapid increase in these carbon-emitting fossil fuels is expected to have a profound effect on the climate of the Alps. For the red deer, the problem is that they have adapted to the cold, barren conditions of Austria’s Alpine region. Biologists fear that if the temperature keeps rising, many alpine animals will face quick declines or extinction. According to the Austrian Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, the Alps are warmer today than anytime in the past 1,300 years. Some creatures have adapted to the constantly changing and gradually more restrictive environment — shifting breeding and migration dates, according to Science Magazine. But the red deer have fewer places to migrate, since they are surrounded by roads and ski resorts.

In 2007, Austria held an international conference on how to cope with the warm winters and lack of snowfall caused by global warming. However, the focus of the conference was not the animals and their habitat, but rather the impact of climate change on tourism and ski resorts. Austria’s Federal Forest Administration is working with land owners, communities and traffic authorities to protect wildlife corridors by building green bridges. And, ski resorts in the Alps are answering the demand for sustainable tourism by offering incentives for visitors who use public transportation and hybrid cars. But even with these green initiatives, it’s uncertain what lies ahead for these mountain dwellers when human encroachment and global warming threaten their natural resources and habitat.

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TOOTHWALKERS: GIANTS OF THE ARCTIC ICE presents extremely rare under-the-ice footage that reveals a complex and potentially dangerous side to this huge and often mysterious mammal.

Filmmakers Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson, who are husband and wife, have been studying the giant saber-toothed Arctic walrus for five years. To put his diving skills to use in learning about the walrus’s other existence — the one hidden deep below massive sheets of ice — Ravetch and Robertson accompany an Inuit hunting party in its arduous and hazardous quest for the food that will carry the Inuits and their dogs through the winter.

Clumsy as the walrus appears to be on land and ice, the animal is a majestic and extremely formidable creature in the water. The Inuits have learned this from experience — more than one hunter has been attacked in the water from below and dragged to his death in a crushing embrace.

Online content for Grand Canyon was originally posted November 2000.

Producer
RONNIE GODEANU

Art Director
SABINA DALEY

Designers
LENNY DROZNER
KAREN MATTSON
RADIK SHVARTS

Pagebuilding
BRIAN SANTALONE

Writer
KAREN DE SEVE

Production Artist
RUIYAN XU

Technical Director
BRIAN LEE

Scientific Consultant
GIANNA SAVOIE

Thirteen Online is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York’s Kravis Multimedia Education Center in New York City. Anthony Chapman, Director of Interactive & Broadband. Bob Adleman, Business Manager. Carmen DiRienzo, Vice President and Managing Director, Corporate Affairs.

Television Credits

Directed by
ADAM RAVETCH

Written & Produced by
SARAH ROBERTSON

Director of Photography
ROB GARRARD

Editor
LORENZO MASSA

Production Manager
CARRIE MADU

Additional Camera Operators
ALAIN SAINT HILAIRE
SARAH ROBERTSON

Remote Operating Vehicle Provided by
HARDSUITS INC.

Remote Operating Vehicle Technician
JEFF HEATON

Support Diver
MARIO CYR

Legal Affairs
LAURIE McINNES

Production Accountant
JANA LUMSDEN

Sound Editor
TONY LANCETT

Sound Mixer
MIKE LIOTTA

Post Production Facilities
MAGNETIC SOUTH
MAGNETIC NORTH
MASTERS WORKSHOP

Thanks to the Communities of
ARCTIC BAY, NWT
IGLOOLIK, NWT
CORAL HARBOR, NWT

Northern Consultants
FRANK MAY
BRAD PARKER
GLEN WILLIAMS

Outfitters
IGLOOLIK OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT RENTALS
KAJJAARNAQ ARCTIC TOURS
NIGLASUK CO. LTD

Scientific Advisors
HAROLD WELCH
CANADIAN DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES & OCEAN
BECKY SJARE
SUE COZENS

Executive Producers
JONATHAN GRUPPER
ANDY THOMPSON
BERNARD MACLEOD

Thanks to:
ENERGY PRODUCTIONS
VINCE PACE
JERRY SHAPIRO
HYDROSPHERE
TAM AKKITTIRQ
COMPLETE FILM & VIDEO
TAM DIVE
TONY GASTON
FIRST AIR
CANADIAN AIRLINES
AMPHIBICO

Toothwalkers wishes to give Special Acknowledgment to:
NIKON INC.
ROLEX WATCHES USA
ALAIN SAINT HILAIRE
PADI FOUNDATION
PADI PROJECT AWARE
PACE TECHNOLOGY
DACOR
VIKING

For NATURE

Narration Written by
SUSANE LEE

Science Editor
JANET HESS

Original Music by
MICHAEL WHALEN

Coordinating Producer
JANICE YOUNG

Producer
JESSICA SIEGEL

Associate Producer
JILL CLARKE

Researcher
HILDY RUBIN

Production Assistants
KEVIN DOYLE
PATTY JACOBSON

Manager
EILEEN FRAHER

Production Manager
JOHN SCHWALLY

Videotape Editors
BARRY GLINER
CHRISTOPHER SEWARD

Audio Mix
ED CAMPBELL

Supervising Producer
BILL MURPHY

Executive Editor
GEORGE PAGE

Executive Producer
FRED KAUFMAN

A SARAH ROBERTSON & GREAT NORTH PRODUCTIONS INC. PRODUCTION in association with Thirteen/WNET New York, Discovery Channel Canada, Docstar, and Canal D with the assistance of The Canada Television & Cable Production Fund and The Government of Canada — Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit Program

This program was produced by Thirteen/WNET New York,
which is solely responsible for its content.

NATURE: Arctic Oasis: Eco-Explorer
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/arcticoasis/ecoexplorer.html
Explore Nunavut, the Canadian Arctic territory where “Toothwalkers” was filmed.

Arctic Adventure
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/fun/arctic_check.html
Discover the marine mamals of the region.

Ravetch Underwater Films
http://members.aol.com/ravetch/
The filmmaker’s home page, with several clips from his wildlife documentaries.

OneWorld Magazine: Nanook of the North
http://www.oneworldmagazine.org/seek/nanook/
A hyperlinked article about the film.

Arctic Circle
http://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/
Large, varied site dedicated to the region, with articles, links, and maps.

Walrus
http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Walrus/home.html
Basic information about the walrus with links and activities.

Books

———- “Feature Creature: The Walrus.” WILDLIFE CONSERVATION, September/October 1997, p. 60.

Chivers, C. J. “The Hunt is On.” WILDLIFE CONSERVATION, September/October 1997, p. 36.

Reijnders, Peter J.H. SEALS, FUR SEALS, SEA LIONS, AND WALRUSES.  Cambridge, England: IUCN/SSC Seal Specialist Group, 1993.

Riedman, Marianne. THE PINNIPEDS: SEALS, SEA LIONS, AND WALRUSES. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.

Sage, Bryan. THE ARCTIC AND ITS WILDLIFE. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1986.

On an individual basis, rescuing orphaned walrus calves from the wild is a good way for biologists to learn more about this species. Five such orphans live at New York’s Aquarium for Wildlife Conservation. The oldest, named Nuka, which means “little sister” in the Inuit language, is 15 years old. She was found near the town of Barrow on the northern tip of Alaska. Ten years later, from the same region, the Aquarium adopted another young walrus, Tiipaq, or “little girl who came from the country to the city.” Three more youngsters, Ayveq, Uupa, and Kulusiq, were all orphaned as infants when their mothers were killed during an annual hunt in 1994. “If the mother dies, the orphan can’t be fed, and the baby dies,” explained Dr. Hans Walters, Animal Department Supervisor at the Aquarium.

Uncontrolled oil exploration may endanger walrus habitats.

Uncontrolled oil exploration may endanger walrus habitats. According to Walters, these calves were 120-pound wrinkly puppies when they arrived. They needed 24-hour care, and had to be bottle-fed for two years. Now these walruses weigh nearly 1,000 pounds each and eat between 40 and 60 pounds of food a day. Besides providing the right diet for these large carnivores, Walters said the biggest challenge is keeping the animals mentally stimulated. “In the wild, they would spend almost their entire waking time looking for food,” he explained. The keepers train the walruses to fetch and wave, which are fun activities, but which also serve a purpose. “The presenting of the foot and open mouth is basically a veterinary exam,” said Walters. “It’s a simple way of looking at the animal to make sure its mouth is okay and the flipper is okay.” However, Walters admitted that the walrus wave is a real crowd-pleaser as well.

Besides the occasional polar bear or killer whale preying on young or injured walruses, humans are their most common predators. While the Eskimos, Indians, and Aleuts hunt these marine mammals, they are allowed to do so on a subsistence level, although the allowed catch varies internationally. Commercial hunting of walruses was outlawed by Canada in 1930. Later, as wild populations declined dramatically, the United States, Greenland, and Russia joined in. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) listed the Pacific walrus in its Appendix III in 1975. However, hunting is not the main threat to wild walrus populations: uncontrolled oil exploration in the Arctic region may have farther-reaching effects on their habitat.