{"id":89182,"date":"2023-11-20T19:53:28","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T19:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/explorersweb.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=89182"},"modified":"2023-11-21T00:20:39","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T00:20:39","slug":"polar-thigh-antarctica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/explorersweb.com\/polar-thigh-antarctica\/","title":{"rendered":"Polar Thigh: Antarctica’s Mystery Ailment"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can’t imagine Amundsen or Shackleton complaining about chafed thighs during a polar trek. But in recent years, Instagram is awash with gory photos showing what Antarctic travelers have had to endure. Victims are often, though not always, women.<\/p>\n

In truth, this isn’t just chafing. Had the great polar explorers of old had such a terrible affliction, they would have mentioned it somewhere, tough though they were.<\/p>\n

What is it? And why the Antarctic, in particular? Lots of people ski across Greenland and elsewhere in the Far North and don’t seem troubled by it.<\/p>\n

I’ve done many sledding expeditions in the Arctic and neither I nor my partners have ever had it. Or maybe I’ve had a mild case without realizing it. For most of those expeditions, I’ve used synthetic base layers. After merino became popular, I tried it on colder trips, since merino is a little warmer than the same thickness of synthetics. After two or three weeks, a rash began to form on my legs. At this point, I changed to my backup synthetic underwear, and the rash went away. This happened on two expeditions.<\/p>\n

I think the first time I saw real polar thigh was when two Australians, James Castrission and Justin Jones (Cas and Jonesy), did a three-month Antarctic trek in 2011-2. They documented it in their entertaining film, Crossing the Ice<\/em>. One of them developed a gory, raw thigh and showed it in the film.<\/p>\n

\"Polar

Polar thigh. Photo submitted by Lars Ebbesen<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Merino for three months<\/h2>\n

They had a merino sponsor, and considering my own small experience with a merino rash, I assumed that this was due to wearing wool underwear for three months. Likely they didn’t have synthetic backups or — as novice polar travelers — didn’t draw the connection between the ailment and their underclothing. Merino is very comfortable, but few people have worn a single piece of long underwear for two or three months, never taking it off, for us to know whether the salt or some bacterial buildup in that natural fiber causes a skin irritation that can worsen into polar thigh.<\/p>\n

To better understand, I asked a who’s who of polar travelers and guides, including Borge Ousland, Richard Weber, Eric Larsen, Eric Philips, Erik Boomer, and Lars Ebbesen. They didn’t all agree, but two theories emerged: that it had something to do with wool and that it was a kind of infected frostbite.<\/p>\n

\"Polar

An advanced case of polar thigh. Photo submitted by Lars Ebbesen<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Weber wears only synthetics<\/h2>\n

Richard Weber<\/strong> is one of the proponents of the wool theory and has long insisted that his clients only wear synthetics. “I believe it is caused by wool underwear that does not breathe properly, in combination with waterproof\/breathable wind pants in cold weather,” he says. “I suspect it is some bacteria going crazy.”<\/p>\n

He adds: “I have never had it because I always wore thin synthetic underwear and breathable wind pants. But some Russians got it a bit on Polar Bridge [the 1988 Russian-Canadian expedition across the Arctic Ocean], as they wore very thick wool underwear.”<\/p>\n

Weber says that on his last South Pole trip, one of his female clients wore wool, against his strict instructions. “She started to get [polar thigh], switched to synthetics, and it went away,” he said, echoing my experience.<\/p>\n

<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div>
View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/a>

See this post on Instagram<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>