Magnetic North Pole Camp – Day 4
The ice cold air struck our lungs as we started our morning jog. Little did we know, that this would be the hardest one so far. More running than jogging… we went up the steep and twisty road. Martin even boldly proclaimed : “this is the hill that separates the men from the boys “.
After a morning of learning about map work and a small orienteering hike our day continued with the much expected MAYO clinic test. Although we had the first part done yesterday, there was still plenty to do. Some of us were quite nervous, because it’s important to be able to give one’s best. We began by measuring our body fat, which was done with pliers, taking the thickness of our skin at different places. Various different tests were also done like a lung test, a flexibility test, some very many push ups and sit ups and sitting against a wall with just one foot on the floor for as long as possible. Once we were as far as that we went outside where some more testing that was awaiting us. One of them was a sprinting test, there was also quite a funny thing that happened, Felix was running the agility and when passing the finishing line, he just managed to avoid running into all the YEPs standing around but couldn’t find his balance, fell over and was covered in dirt. After that the last big challenge stood ahead: The twelve minutes endurance run! During these twelve minutes all of us gave our best and once it was finished all of us felt really relieved.
In the evening we had a talk from Andy and Bryan, the PH.Ds from the MAYO clinic in Minnesota, USA. They were telling us all about the influences the cold has on human body’s. The most interesting part came at the very end, when they asked for three voluntaries. Brandon, Kim and Ariane thought they would do it. Ariane had to push wait, Brandon had do a reaction test and Kim had to put chess figures onto a board. The time and strength was noted. Then guys from the MAYO clinic brought a box filled with ice cubes and water, in which the three had to stick their hands for eight minutes. After eight minutes with some very cold hands they had to do their tasks again. Then we compared the results and where quite impressed how slower and less strong one functions when one’s cold.
After such exhausting day all the YEPs fell asleep immediately…