I remember reading something similar related in George Kennan's Tent Life in Siberia. Dozens of people would stay in a tent choked in oily smoke for months on end. The only other option was to go outside and freeze.
Wild. Would you recommend the book? The author is one of the primary architects of the Cold War. I had no idea he went through a "Jack London" phase.
Yes. Absolutely. But this Kennan is that Kennan's cousin. George was involved in Russian politics a bit too. I only read it because a random dude tried to sell me an early print of it in a Detroit basement for $100. I didn't buy the print, but the title stuck in my head and I picked it up at Powell's a couple of years later. It's a pretty unique moment to record: "Find a path for our telegraph cable across Siberia just in case the second transatlantic one fails." It reads a bit like Twain, but Kennan wasn't as witty.