Day 32

A windy but fresh start to the morning for everyone. It was blowing 20 knots, and we all got a feel for what the windchill effect does to hands that are not covered by thick gloves. We were hopeful that the wind had hardened the fallen snow from the day before, but when it came time to set off, many felt that their sleds had become 100kg heavier. There was a lot of friction and not a lot of momentum due to the heavy snow. Due to this, we decided that we’d leave one sled behind and pull the other a fair distance, before returning to pick up the first one. This was slow progress and we found it difficult to layer appropriately, since pulling the sled was sweaty work but walking back was easier (and therefore colder). Luckily everyone kept their spirits up and contributed to a slow but steady movement towards west.

We appreciated that there was not a cloud in sight for the entire day and by lunchtime the sun had gotten enough power to warm us as we ate our freeze-dried food. The wind also calmed a bit and for the final four hours, we felt that conditions had gotten significantly better and therefore decided to return to “normal” and continue westwards pulling all sleds simultaneously. We found that the best momentum was achieved by having one person with a single sled in front making tracks in the 20-30cm powder and the rest of the team following behind with one person pulling three sleds.

Camp is always the favourite time of the day and today was no different. We were treated with Tom’s version of MTV Cribs, which raised morale and contributed to several laughs heard around the camp. We’re hopeful that the freezing temperatures tonight will help settle the snow further and that tomorrow might be a bit easier.