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Ready for departure to Point 660

We’re back and we’re ready. And we have to be, because tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM local time, Chris is picking us up to take us to Point 660. Super exciting, but at the same time, not at all. It’s just a trek like any other, only in a slightly more special environment. Let’s say a much more special environment. And a bit longer than usual. But with this group, it’s going to be just fine.

First times: crevasse rescue and getting fuel

Today was a day of firsts and lasts. First times for everyone, really, to do a crevasse rescue on a rope. A crevasse rescue drill. Because imagine: at the beginning and end of the ice sheet, where the ice breaks at the edges, there are large crevasses. It could just happen that one of us falls in. Then it’s quite nice if the rest know how to get you out. So we practiced that today. I also filled up gas from an oil drum for the first time. We still needed fuel for our stoves. We were driven to a spot somewhere behind the airport. There, tucked away between the containers, are a few oil drums. We had to tilt the drum so we could pour the fuel into a small black bucket. And from that small black bucket, we used a large funnel to pour the fuel into our jerry cans. It was quite a process, but we managed it all.

Rifle and polar bears

The only thing that didn’t work out today was target practice. We won’t get the rifle until tomorrow. Luckily, it’s not so busy on the ice sheet that we can’t find a moment to practice with the rifle and get a feel for it. We only need the rifle once we reach the east side, where we actually have to do bear watch. We might encounter polar bears there. That gives us at least three weeks to find a day to practice shooting with the rifle.

Last times and saying goodbye

Besides all the firsts, today was also a day of lasts. The last nice shower. The last time sleeping in a bed. The last time eating in a chair. At the same time, between the final preparations, this day was about saying goodbye to friends and family. We’ll be truly unreachable for a month soon. Although unreachable isn’t as unreachable as it used to be, since we can record a blog daily with our satellite phone, we’re still away from all digital stimuli, input, and busyness for an entire month.

A month of going from A to B

We have a very simple and yet very difficult task: waking up every day and moving from A to B. Preferably from East to West, otherwise I don’t know where we’ll end up. At the end of the day, we set up our tent again, melt snow, and go to sleep. We’re going to see what it’s like to spend 30 days without a phone, without social media, without crowds, without cars, and without having to go anywhere else except towards the horizon, in the right direction, for a whole month.