February 27, 2004

Scholar on Ice

By SARA LIPKA

Some people will do anything in the name of science. To test human response to extreme cold, Gordon G. Giesbrecht, a professor of thermophysiology at the University of Manitoba, cross-country skied the length of frozen, snow-covered Lake Winnipeg last month, a 27-day, 240-mile solo trek.

Often called Professor Popsicle, Mr. Giesbrecht, 46, braved temperatures as low as 31 below and whiteout conditions so severe that he "had to use a compass every 100 yards to get a