Expo - Food on a budget as tight as a hipster's trousers
Tue 18 Jul 2017
Elaine
Blog Author: CavingPig
Elaine
On Calories.
Last year, a few days before setting off on a week-long hike, I found myself in a Canadian supermarket weighing up the pros and cons of different energy bars. ?Look,? I squealed excitedly to my companion, ?this one has almost a THIRD more calories per 100g! YES PLEASE!? ?CavingPig,? she laughed, ?that's the exact opposite of what any girl I know would say!?
Gender stereotypes aside, eating enough is a hugely important consideration for any sport, and caving expeditions are certainly no exception. When you could be expending upwards of 6000 calories a day, you need to consume as much food as you can force down, and preferably in a form that?s incredibly simple to prepare. Haute cuisine is the last thing on your mind when you?re feeling absolutely shagged after a 16-hour surveying mission, but in a bivouac two hours? hike from the nearest roadhead (or an underground camp several hours? journey further on from that), chips with everything just isn't an option ? lightweight and compact is very much the order of the day. Throw into the mix the fact that as a student expedition, we're on a budget as tight as a hipster's trousers ? what's a hard-up undergrad to do?
Having enough to eat, and therefore enough energy, is our primary consideration. If this was all we had to worry about, we?d be buying every supermarket in Cambridge out of lard. High calorific value, incredibly cheap, you can burn it for heat and light at night or underground, or even spread it on your skin for insulation if you?re contemplating a dip in one of the beautiful but frigid Alpine lakes that abound in the area. However, there are good reasons why a 100% lard diet is not the best choice (and not just because there are a few vegetarians on the trip).
Plenty of carbohydrate in your Top Camp diet is essential to replenish glycogen stores and stave off the onset of fatigue after a hard day?s surveying ? porridge, couscous, noodles, tortellini and instant mashed potato are our Top Camp staples. For the past couple of years, we?ve received pesto as a sponsorship item, which provides easy calories and makes pretty much anything it?s added to hugely more exciting. A lot of our calories come from boil-in-the-bag curries ? although not the lightest thing to cart up a mountainside, these are quick to cook, cheap, and there?s a nice wide range of them to stave off food boredom. They also provide some fat and protein, which can otherwise be slightly more difficult to come by at Top Camp (apart, of course, from in the ubiquitous flapjack). We tend to take the approach of ?buy all vegetarian, then if you want meat/cheese you can add that yourself? ? so you'll often see dried sausages and hard cheese being fiercely guarded by their owners.
Fierce.
For the curious, here?s a typical day of Top Camp?s finest gourmet cuisine. Do you have any particular expedition nosh favourites or tips ? or must-avoids?
Breakfast
Instant porridge is a firm favourite. Comes in several flavours, can have syrup/spices added for extra taste sensations. Sprinkle over some optional Choco Muesli for an even wilder ride.
Second breakfast
Unless we?re being super keen and getting in a cheeky Alpine start, I like to make like a hobbit and treat myself to second breakfast. Usually noodles. Often turns into a game of ?guess the contents of the package? since the ingredient lists tend to all be in Asian languages I can't read. Instant mashed potato with sponsorship pesto and/or wild chives growing round the bivi is another solid choice.
Penne for your thoughts?
Caving snacks
Flapjack, chocolate, then more flapjack. Some people are made of superhero material and are able to complete 600 m of prusiking without a snack stop. I am not one of those people. Chocolate bars are great for a boost of energy to get up the final pitch series, but I sometimes feel even worse after the glucose high. Flapjack contains much more in the way of complex carbohydrates, keeping you caving for longer ? hence the industrial quantities we bake to bring out each year!
Another sponsorship favourite; highly motivational.
Turns out it?s easier to mix when you don't try to make 7.5 kg in one go.
Dinner
The highlight of any evening at Top Camp is surely a steaming curry! Each year brings a new roulette as we ascertain which of the latest batch are burn-your-ears-off spicy and which have the most interestingly textured chunks. Paneer butter masala (which somehow contrives to be vegan) with many scoops of couscous is my fave. If you?re feeling adventurous, Penny Market tortellini offers a cheesier and/or meatier option ? pair with sponsorship pesto for maximum Italian vibes.
Sarah hits the cheesy peas.
Drinks
It?s so important to drink plenty while caving, since fluid loss will reduce performance more than any other factor. Yet with the temperature in the caves at 0?C?2?C on average, the urge to drink is often diminished, and dehydration can easily sneak up. A weak solution of around 6 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt in a litre of water, flavoured to taste with some cordial, is excellent for keeping hydrated. We also get through veritable lakes of cup-a-soup, hot chocolate and tea (sometimes with milk powder added, sometimes with custard powder instead as a surprise when things aren't labelled properly). Speaking of custard, purchasing the right type is highly important. You don't want ?custard powder? ? what you need is ?instant custard mix?. Otherwise you end up with lots of unhappy people in the bivi holding steaming cups of cornflour.
Nightcap
A wee nip of your preferred local schnapps is the perfect accompaniment to stargazing (the Perseids are peaking mid-Expo) or Dachstein TV (AKA lightning storms on the mountain opposite us). All in moderation, obviously ? would hate to be hungover and in control of a DistoX. Imagine the margin of error.
Of course, when we head down for some R&R at Base Camp, all bets are off! The excitingly gas-powered deep-fat fryer is Expo?s most popular appliance for good reason (last year, deep fried Mars Bars and Bakewell tarts featured alongside the more traditional chipped potatoes), while the kitchens at the Gasthof across the road do a roaring trade in sp?tzle and schnitzel for those feeling flash and in need of a protein hit. And there?s truly nothing finer than washing off the layers of cave grime in the river with a chilled G?sser beer.
Of course my survey drawings are up to date.
Last year, a few days before setting off on a week-long hike, I found myself in a Canadian supermarket weighing up the pros and cons of different energy bars. ?Look,? I squealed excitedly to my companion, ?this one has almost a THIRD more calories per 100g! YES PLEASE!? ?CavingPig,? she laughed, ?that's the exact opposite of what any girl I know would say!?
Gender stereotypes aside, eating enough is a hugely important consideration for any sport, and caving expeditions are certainly no exception. When you could be expending upwards of 6000 calories a day, you need to consume as much food as you can force down, and preferably in a form that?s incredibly simple to prepare. Haute cuisine is the last thing on your mind when you?re feeling absolutely shagged after a 16-hour surveying mission, but in a bivouac two hours? hike from the nearest roadhead (or an underground camp several hours? journey further on from that), chips with everything just isn't an option ? lightweight and compact is very much the order of the day. Throw into the mix the fact that as a student expedition, we're on a budget as tight as a hipster's trousers ? what's a hard-up undergrad to do?
Having enough to eat, and therefore enough energy, is our primary consideration. If this was all we had to worry about, we?d be buying every supermarket in Cambridge out of lard. High calorific value, incredibly cheap, you can burn it for heat and light at night or underground, or even spread it on your skin for insulation if you?re contemplating a dip in one of the beautiful but frigid Alpine lakes that abound in the area. However, there are good reasons why a 100% lard diet is not the best choice (and not just because there are a few vegetarians on the trip).
Plenty of carbohydrate in your Top Camp diet is essential to replenish glycogen stores and stave off the onset of fatigue after a hard day?s surveying ? porridge, couscous, noodles, tortellini and instant mashed potato are our Top Camp staples. For the past couple of years, we?ve received pesto as a sponsorship item, which provides easy calories and makes pretty much anything it?s added to hugely more exciting. A lot of our calories come from boil-in-the-bag curries ? although not the lightest thing to cart up a mountainside, these are quick to cook, cheap, and there?s a nice wide range of them to stave off food boredom. They also provide some fat and protein, which can otherwise be slightly more difficult to come by at Top Camp (apart, of course, from in the ubiquitous flapjack). We tend to take the approach of ?buy all vegetarian, then if you want meat/cheese you can add that yourself? ? so you'll often see dried sausages and hard cheese being fiercely guarded by their owners.
Fierce.
For the curious, here?s a typical day of Top Camp?s finest gourmet cuisine. Do you have any particular expedition nosh favourites or tips ? or must-avoids?
Breakfast
Instant porridge is a firm favourite. Comes in several flavours, can have syrup/spices added for extra taste sensations. Sprinkle over some optional Choco Muesli for an even wilder ride.
Second breakfast
Unless we?re being super keen and getting in a cheeky Alpine start, I like to make like a hobbit and treat myself to second breakfast. Usually noodles. Often turns into a game of ?guess the contents of the package? since the ingredient lists tend to all be in Asian languages I can't read. Instant mashed potato with sponsorship pesto and/or wild chives growing round the bivi is another solid choice.
Penne for your thoughts?
Caving snacks
Flapjack, chocolate, then more flapjack. Some people are made of superhero material and are able to complete 600 m of prusiking without a snack stop. I am not one of those people. Chocolate bars are great for a boost of energy to get up the final pitch series, but I sometimes feel even worse after the glucose high. Flapjack contains much more in the way of complex carbohydrates, keeping you caving for longer ? hence the industrial quantities we bake to bring out each year!
Another sponsorship favourite; highly motivational.
Turns out it?s easier to mix when you don't try to make 7.5 kg in one go.
Dinner
The highlight of any evening at Top Camp is surely a steaming curry! Each year brings a new roulette as we ascertain which of the latest batch are burn-your-ears-off spicy and which have the most interestingly textured chunks. Paneer butter masala (which somehow contrives to be vegan) with many scoops of couscous is my fave. If you?re feeling adventurous, Penny Market tortellini offers a cheesier and/or meatier option ? pair with sponsorship pesto for maximum Italian vibes.
Sarah hits the cheesy peas.
Drinks
It?s so important to drink plenty while caving, since fluid loss will reduce performance more than any other factor. Yet with the temperature in the caves at 0?C?2?C on average, the urge to drink is often diminished, and dehydration can easily sneak up. A weak solution of around 6 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt in a litre of water, flavoured to taste with some cordial, is excellent for keeping hydrated. We also get through veritable lakes of cup-a-soup, hot chocolate and tea (sometimes with milk powder added, sometimes with custard powder instead as a surprise when things aren't labelled properly). Speaking of custard, purchasing the right type is highly important. You don't want ?custard powder? ? what you need is ?instant custard mix?. Otherwise you end up with lots of unhappy people in the bivi holding steaming cups of cornflour.
Nightcap
A wee nip of your preferred local schnapps is the perfect accompaniment to stargazing (the Perseids are peaking mid-Expo) or Dachstein TV (AKA lightning storms on the mountain opposite us). All in moderation, obviously ? would hate to be hungover and in control of a DistoX. Imagine the margin of error.
Of course, when we head down for some R&R at Base Camp, all bets are off! The excitingly gas-powered deep-fat fryer is Expo?s most popular appliance for good reason (last year, deep fried Mars Bars and Bakewell tarts featured alongside the more traditional chipped potatoes), while the kitchens at the Gasthof across the road do a roaring trade in sp?tzle and schnitzel for those feeling flash and in need of a protein hit. And there?s truly nothing finer than washing off the layers of cave grime in the river with a chilled G?sser beer.
Of course my survey drawings are up to date.