Live life. Test your limits.
Still stormbound. This one is a real MF. My side of the tent is snow buried half way up the wall. Somehow the wind played tricky dickey with the vestibule zipper blowing in such a way as to open the zip, creating havoc in the vestibule. Didn’t believe it was possible until I actually witnessed the wind open the zip.
Spirits are good. Everyone safe. This is supposed to break later today. We will then dig out and hopefully ski tomorrow.
We awoke knowing that a big wind storm was coming in today, bigger than previous. So we started construction on a bigger wall with buttresses. Crazy huge.
Post wall we visited Dye II station. Our musher Julius was the guide. The place is huge. 5 stories and hundreds of rooms. It was a cross between the x-files, aliens and a post apocalyptic horror show. Even though we had to climb down a steep snow slope and then through a snow tunnel to get in, once in things were in remarkable condition. There is literally food still present, mattresses, magazines and books from the 80’s etc. All because they abandoned it in 6 hrs. The top is a huge radar station. Even weirder it isn’t being used though structurally intact, but the runway is and we saw a big American aircraft take off.
The dogs are remarkably hardy. They may start to learn the running at 6 Mo and then gradually they are put to work. How long they work is dog dependent though Julius has had a dog still mush at 14. During the storm they curled up, looking like little round mounds in the snow. Not a concern in the world!
You can’t make this shit up!! Standard slow day waiting for the arrival of the dogs. When I awoke I thought the best thing about today was going to be clean undies. Man was I wrong!
Glorious day. Went for a walk, read in the tent, passing the time. Tick Tock, Tick Tock. Then after lunch we got a call that we could hitch a ride on the Sikorsky chopper to Dye II. Be ready in 45 minutes. We broke camp at speed.
Our one week anniversary in camp was met with some good news. The dogs are moving toward us again and may be here tomorrow. Which would mean we can start skiing on Wednesday.
Nice day. Sun with some clouds. Small wind gusts but manageable. I’m now out of chocolate. To those who know me, you’ll recognize this is a disaster #needmySOMA.
Went for a good walk around camp today and had to dig out one tent because the wind changed direction and drifted the tent in. Given the wall we built a few days ago nature, abhorring a vacuum, has steadily built the snow up around us providing an optical illusion that we are actually sinking into Greenland’s ice cap! Which of course may be true.
We have now perfected the art of ‘nothing’. Also known in the UK as faffing, we colonials call it futzing. All in all we’ve managed 7 days of it, 3 people plus gear, in a tent the size of a queen bed. Impressive eh?
More of the same tent life. We are hopeful that the dogs will arrive tomorrow night so we can FINALLY get moving. We are trying to ration our food so we have as many days left as possible. It’s a good thing we packed as much as we did.
Storm broke overnight. Eric had been up to dig out the tent about 6 times during the storm. This am it’s calm. We dug out all of our gear and the tents. Dogs were again pinned by weather so we don’t know their arrival but hopefully tomorrow. Overcast flat light today. Since we’ve been longer than expected we have counted out the food and fuel, with some moderation type control, not full rations. We’re still good. The mushers have extra fuel but are low on their food so Eric has calculated all of this into the equation. Of course success will still require Mother Nature to cooperate.
Audio dispatch from Heather here: https://soundcloud.com/user-590095375/may-13-audio-dispatch-from-heather
Howling, churning, battering, relentless, pounding, whiteout.
Like the agitation cycle on a washing machine with snow/wind instead of water.
Started up through the night. Eric and I went out at about 6 am and we’d lost one anchor rope tie (we have spare) – he and Taylor fixed it. Some of the anchors were loose as well.
Pretty thrilled with the wall which is providing amazing shelter. Though it has mostly disappeared on the wind facing side with literally tons of snow having piled up. Crouching down below it and you feel buffeted. When you stand up you feel almost bowled over.
10 am saw Taylor and Ian re-securing their tent.
John has done some stunning calculations. At 12 feet per day it will take us 421 years to cross Greenland!!
It’s a tent day to be sure, book reading etc. It’s so loud you can’t hear yourself think!
Today at Heartbreak Camp we awoke to much greater winds – they started up last night post dinner. At 11:30 Taylor (guide) wondered around camp and ensured all the guidelines were taut and the anchors secured. Bloody cold as well and higher wind chill on the practice route when I went out for a walk at 7 this morning.
In prep for the major storm coming in today we built a large snow wall for protection. We took down the communal tent and one of our usual tents in order to have three per tent. Anticipating 48-72 hrs fully tentbound- worth letting that sink in – fully tentbound. Weather watch has it starting sometime tonight.
Tent city again today. Went for a good test ski to sort system issues out. Really cold last night. – 25 in the tent after dinner and colder through the night. We will hopefully get an update tonight on the timing of the dogs’ arrival!
This being a professional blog, I’m not allowed to swear. Needless to say it was %#**#%# cold last night! -30 pre-windchill. All of us were on the cold side. Yet no one was cold enough to do anything to rectify it!!
Lazy morning – still waiting on the dogs to arrive. Went over to Ian and Dale’s tent for a mocha (2 to be honest). Went out for a test ski today to loosen up the legs. Made sure that bindings, poles and boots work. Warmer today, -10 to -15. Wind is down. Tonight promises to be North Pole colder. Apparently there’s a cold pressure coming down with lowest May temperatures or record recorded earlier today.
Temperamental Greenland……….we are coming to know some of the challenges that early explorers would have faced – high winds, brutal temperatures, severe wind chill. These challenges have delayed the dogs by days and hence we find ourselves in tent city – otherwise now known as Heartbreak Camp!
Greenland’s paradox is an unforgiving climate coupled with a very hospitable people. A Greenlandic saying sums this up really well….’you’re as unlikely to meet an unfriendly man as to meet a friendly bear!!!!!’
Big storm expected tomorrow. Winds at 40 knots gusting to 60. We will spend most of tomorrow getting ready for it. It is expected to last three days. We will be completely pinned down. As will the dogs. So likely further delays.
