Day 41

The day started just that little less cold than we’ve seen recently. Fingers were OK for almost a minute before freezing solid as we dropped the tents. Still, the rest day has done us all good and the mood is positive as we step off into the morning gloom. In fact, the white out conditions persist for most of the day meaning it’s back to staring fixedly at the compass and trying not to wander off course. It’s mentally demanding for the lead person but it lasts an hour until you can drop back in the ‘train’ and follow on blindly behind some other poor soul desperately trying to navigate through the white fog.

Breaks become doubly important and the banter thrives. Kris and Charlie have now managed to extend their record for catching a Haribo in the mouth to about 15m, although they are less clear on the collateral damage inflicted by frozen haribo being flung around the icecap. As a mark of the level of excitement, the highlight of the day is an alleged sighting of a raven. It’s either a very confused raven or the onset of hallucinations.

By 1830 we’re setting up camp for the evening after a record 34km pull. We’re now starting to make real progress towards the coast, we’ve just got to keep it up for another six days or so!