Furry night in a sleeping bag and other tent rituals

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A record day

Due to some technical glitches, a belated update from Greenland. Henk-Jan says they ran a record on Monday, Sept. 11. A whopping 28 kilometers! Walking across the ice plain is actually a dull affair. You run after each other in fixed blocks. Initially these were one-hour blocks, now they are five-quarter-hour blocks. Then we take a 15-minute break and then start the next block of five quarters.

Busy breaks

In those break blocks, we take time to exchange trifles with each other. Then we eat some nuts and drink soup or tea. By then the fifteen minutes are usually over. Sometimes there is just time to take a pee or pull the laces a little tighter. And then on to the next five-quarters of an hour walkthrough.

The tent ritual

Much cozier, perhaps, is what is going on inside the tent. Henk-Jan likes to take you through what he puts in his sleeping bag at night. After all, during an expedition, you want everything to stay dry. The sleeping bag is actually a kind of drying chamber.

Bonte night in the sleeping bag

Last night was really bonkers night in the sleeping bag. What all did Henk-Jan put in his sleeping bag. Anyway, the sleeping bag contains an inner sleeping bag, a thin summer sleeping bag. Then his outer shins/boots went in. Those were still frozen stiff. In the sleeping bag, those would surely thaw. Then his socks, because dry socks the next day, that’s nice.

Then long underpants, long shirt, gloves, mittens and even my down coat. And then I was allowed to cram myself in. Halfway through the night, that down coat took off anyway, because Henk-Jan could barely move. But. the following day I do have dry and thawed stuff. So we can get back on track.

The expedition members are now having a nice dinner and looking forward to a new day!