Survival bags in a pile as a person works in the background to build a snow mound for shelter, Antarctica, December 1984

• Main Author: Johnson, Lynn
• Format: Still Image
• Language: unknown
• Published: Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries 1984
• Subjects: Geologists; Geology; Geology > Antarctica; Ice; Ice sheets; Research > Antarctica; Scientists; Survival and emergency equipment; Antarctic; Lake Vanda; McMurdo Dry Valleys; The Antarctic; Vanda; Wright Valley; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://media.library.ohio.edu/cdm/ref/collection/lynnjohnson/id/2282

Photographed by Lynn Johnson for February 1985 LIFE magazine article, "LIFE Visits Wright Valley, Antarctica: Investigating the World's Coldest Desert," with text written by Jeff Wheelwright. Article summary from Black Star (photo agency) caption sheet “Wright Valley, Antarctica – The World’s Coldest Desert”: "Antarctica is one area of the world which encourages international scientific cooperation. For eighty years this unusual and fascinating area has served as a laboratory for scientists from many countries of the world probing Antarctica’s geological mysteries. In December 1984 a group of international scientists including Japanese , New Zealanders, Chinese, Peruvian, German and American scientists descended on Wright Valley, considered the world’s coldest desert. These biologists, geologists, ecologists and scientists of other persuasions explored the valley so as to add to the cumulative scientific knowledge about Lake Vanda and the forty mile Wright Valley. Survival training for the scientists is an absolute essential for living in this hostile environment, even in the Antarctic summer. This arid frozen wasteland requires dedicated and hardy personnel whose desire for personal comfort becomes secondary to their scientific curiosity and explorations.” Caption from caption sheet “Wright Valley, Antarctica – The World’s Coldest Desert”: "The first step in survival in the hostile climate is building a shelter that will protect one’s group from wind and cold. Though all field parties are provided with survival bag containing tent-sleeping bags – cooking gear and other necessities, alternative shelter building is an essential skill. Perhaps the easiest shelter to build is a snow mound. The 3-6 hour effort begins by pooling all gear in one location and covering it with snow. Twelve to twenty inches of packed snow is recommended for maximum “warmth”." Scan from duplicate slide. Text on slide mount: "©1985 Lynn Johnson Black Star F-2598 Antarctica #17"