29th January 2010 - Day 5 - Lee Howell
Longyear Glacier
A day of extremes in terms of temperature and weather conditions. A completely still, beautiful night, the full moon clearly visible in the dark blue sky. The only sound being the crunch of our feet on crispy snow and our breath entering the frosty air from our warm bodies. A few hours later we were in the middle of the wildest storm we could imagine. Tents buckled and bowed under the sheer force of the wind and shook until they seemed as though they could be shredded at any second. An experience of nature, beautiful but dangerous, how I love this place and the opportunity to experience the task upon us. From a practical perspective today was one of consolidation. The strong winds meant we could not risk damaging the tents by taking them down and moving on, so in typical polar exploration fashion we waited and waited for the wind to die down; no chance. It was only after we had made contingency plans for tomorrow that the winds began to fade away. Time for more cross-country skiing practice in the dark and preparing our camp routine for our third night out. It is incredible just how reassuring it is to see the cooking stoves splutter into life and provide the heat needed to boil water for rehydrating our meals and hot drinks, which has psychological as well as practical benefits. There is also a real sense of independence which comes from being self-sufficient. Everything we have and need is packed into our pulks and moved physically from place to place. We have yet to experience the isolation that comes with travelling long distances in single file but this will come, I’m sure. Our commitment to sponsors, friends and family spurs us on, along with our polar dreams and aspirations, which whilst are different for each of the team members we are as one in our desire to get as much from this training in order to prepare us for the challenge ahead.
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