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Expedition Team Update: Survived the Storm and Heading for New Heights

Yesterday, we were almost blown off our feet by a severe storm. It was so intense that even the satellite connection was lost. Our basecamp manager informed me that I was barely audible, for which I apologize. Fortunately, we weathered the storm, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to record this update today.

An Early Start and Challenges along the Way

Today we left very early. At four o’clock in the morning local time, seven o’clock Dutch time, we were up. Our plan was to be on skis by six o’clock, but the tents were so snowed in that we spent half an hour removing the ice from the storm. Eventually, we were ready to leave at half past six, still on our shoes. The advantage of leaving so early is that the ground was frozen solid, allowing us to walk on the ice with crampons. I started with the first shift and made about three kilometers of progress. Then Susana took over and after an hour we had covered four kilometers. The rest of the team followed: Ronnie, David and Michiel. We all walked on crampons until it got too warm at one o’clock in the afternoon and the snow started to melt.

Switching to Skis and Impressive Progress

We decided to put on our skis, first without ski skins, which didn’t work. Eventually, we used ski skins, which allowed us to move well with our 75-kilo sleds. We did two more shifts on skis and stopped at ten past four. It was a beautiful sunny day with temperatures around eight degrees above zero. Despite the heat, we had to apply plenty of sunscreen. Yesterday’s storm has completely subsided and has given way to beautiful sunshine. Today we covered a total of 24.1 kilometers, which is unheard of for day four of the expedition.

Setting up Camp and Preparations for Tomorrow

In our camp, we set up the 3rd tent for the first time and checked the damage from the rain. Unfortunately, some food packages got wet, including my marzipan and Haribo bears that melted. But this is part of an expedition; you have to make do with what you have. Ronnie and I are now melting snow to fill ten thermoses with hot water. We also want to make one liter of water per person for tomorrow morning, so we can leave immediately without having to melt snow extensively first. This was our update for today. Until next time!