Vaatteet

-20°C AND 200K
BEWARE THE RISK OF COLD INJURIES

Jan van Oosterom wrote about the hardships that he and other Dutch skaters went through during the last year´s Finland Ice Marathon on February 27 in Kuopio Finland (Extreme 200K in Finland; It was on the edge... http://www.rrz.uni-koeln.de/bin2/maillist/skate/1000228.154931/151241).

In Jan's words:

Almost every skater had "burn" places in his face (burning is the same as freezing for the skin). And 2 had the stomach skin frozen, ears with blisters and spotted (a skater without a bivak-muts(balaclava?) and toes that were "a bit black".

Jan himself was injured, which he only noticed after finishing the cruel 200K:

"I had my right "big"-toe frozen a little. I couldn't move it very well, but I had feeling in it so that was okey. Also I had in my face some red places where the skin was frozen a bit. My face was covered with a layer of "Vitalis" (a special cream for keeping you warm in extreme conditions) during the race, but it was still frozen a bit".

Worse was it, unfortunately, with Arnold Gaasenberg (team Thyssen)

"He finished the race 13th, but afterwards he was rushed to the hospital with frozen toes and front feet. He stayed at least one night at the hospital, and still has problems with his "smallest 3 toes".

What were the conditions? At the start of the race early in the morning it was -20 oC. In the course of the run it warmed up but not more than to minus about -11. It was not windy and the sun was shining. For Finns, it was a beautiful, brisk and enjoyable winter weather which they enjoyed as spectators along the course on lake Kallavesi. This seasoning may have contributed to the failure of the organizers to inform the skaters about the hazards of freezing conditions especially when compounded by the wind chill factor due to the speed of 30-40 km per hour of the elite skaters.

To protect especially those skaters who are unitiated to arctic conditions and to make a marathon run on ice in Finland an enjoyable experience for all even at temperatures lower than that experienced at the "extreme 200K" in Kuopio in 2000, we have compiled some material which give instructions in the ways to prevent frostbites and more severe cold injuries. It includes an authoritative article by Dr. Eero Lehmuskallio who has conducted studies on frostbite prevention on Finnish army conscripts. Attached to this article is a wind chill calculator taken from a booklet on cold injuries by Mäkinen et al. (Mäkinen, T., Hassi, J., Tervaskanto-Mäentausta, T., Maunu, M.-L. Rati riti ralla- tuli talvi halla. Suomalaisen kylmäopas. Työterveyslaitos, 1999). We also attach a few addresses of web-sites which provide easy-to-read and practical advice on cold injury prevention.

Veli-Pekka Lehto (lehto@csc.fi)
Irko Aario (luistelu@ouluntarmo.fi)
Pentti Kiiskinen (pentti.kiiskinen@pp2.inet.fi)

Oulun Tarmo