Well, for the time being anyway.
We have finished fundraising for this event with a total of £9,392 raised - THANK YOU ALL.
And there is a short clip reel here: You Tube
Till next time...
verycoldclaire x
Very Cold Claire
In April 2011 I'm going back to the Arctic but this time it'll be further, faster and colder....
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
The A Team
One of the unexpected joys of the trip has been the pleasure of being with a great team of humans, as well as the stars with four legs. It's been a privilege to have had such an amazing team of friends to travel the arctic wastes with. They were all on the wish list for different reasons, but what was so reassuring was how well everyone got on with each other and how quickly we all fell in to living in challenging spaces and environments together so easily.
Laura |
Steve |
Seasoned traveller and expert in all things airport, we worked out that Steve has a micro chip embedded in his passport, which allows the queue masters to recognise that he means business and the waves part as if he's Moses. You might think that this would put him above mucking in and getting down and dirty but nothing could be further from the truth. Steve's the first to offer his services for the tricky jobs, digging dogs out of the snow, finding vodka on the snow, keeping the sauna stoked and bringing up the rear of the line with the constant call of "Come on BABE!" and the team wouldn't be the same without him, I'm so glad he came.
Mark |
Mark's a star, pure and simple. We knew his training in the RAF would come in handy but it didn't just give him the skills to build a habitable ice hole for two, it clearly gave him the ability to take the Micky out of us all just enough to keep us amused but not annoyed, a fine line.
Mark is a Doer with a capital D, trips like this need doers. Not many people would have thought of bringing a blow up beach ball to the Arctic - Mark did, few would have dressed as a life guard on a frozen lake - Mark did, only a fitness fanatic would have offered to carry all the water back from the lake so that he could "get a work out" after 60km on the back of a sled - Mark did. How many would have admitted to being chuffed that his girlfriend had sent a letter with him, which exploded with glitter hearts all over the tent? Mark did, and we love him for it.
Andy |
Rob |
Gaynor |
A real man |
Monday, 2 May 2011
Final Day
I wimped out. I couldn't face the tent after realising that Milos was preparing to bring the short haired dogs into the cabin and that there was still the relative comfort of Scuzzy Sofa free so I left Mark and Rob to brave the elements and just managed to get on to the sofa before 4 very cold and very grateful dogs ran inside. They snuggled up with whoever would have them and eventually Laura, Andy and Steve climbed into their cosy roof space, Milos had the sofa to himself whilst Gaynor encouraged the dogs to lie on a mat on the floor by lying with them and Cute and I fought for space on Scuzzy Sofa. She soon worked out that if she made herself long and thin she could lie in the space behind me and not be seen and we stayed like this till there was movement from Balto.
We all got some sleep, however disrupted for our various reasons and began the day with the laborious task of packing up after a relatively laid back day, when pretty much everything had been unpacked (including the beach ball). There was little food and drink left once we'd eaten breakfast so we all had light sleds, but the dogs were not as eager as they had been so the first few miles were good sledding across icy wastes. No features at all for some way and slowly the wind got up and the snow blew in horizontally from nowhere and gave us a disorientating white out. Again the team separated and Milos kept us all in sight by stopping regularly but it was a good final run nonetheless.
The terrain turned to tundra as we dropped down from the high ground and soon we were back in the kind of land that we had camped in on the first night, surrounded by tiny, stunted birch trees. I've been reading all about these trees in my wonderful book 'Cold' and in some sub zero regions other trees can survive but in miniature, bonsai willows grow a few inches high, but in perfect proportion.
Finally we came out by a road, where we we met by Jan, not a very salubrious end to the trip, it rather hit us like a train, but we made it and we are all in one piece. The journey in the van back to Per Nils house was silent, and I was very grateful to Mark for lending me his iPod, filled with 80's music to keep me from slipping into the abyss, although I have to admit to letting a few tears run down my face staring out into the snow, listening to Depeche Mode.
We all got some sleep, however disrupted for our various reasons and began the day with the laborious task of packing up after a relatively laid back day, when pretty much everything had been unpacked (including the beach ball). There was little food and drink left once we'd eaten breakfast so we all had light sleds, but the dogs were not as eager as they had been so the first few miles were good sledding across icy wastes. No features at all for some way and slowly the wind got up and the snow blew in horizontally from nowhere and gave us a disorientating white out. Again the team separated and Milos kept us all in sight by stopping regularly but it was a good final run nonetheless.
The terrain turned to tundra as we dropped down from the high ground and soon we were back in the kind of land that we had camped in on the first night, surrounded by tiny, stunted birch trees. I've been reading all about these trees in my wonderful book 'Cold' and in some sub zero regions other trees can survive but in miniature, bonsai willows grow a few inches high, but in perfect proportion.
Finally we came out by a road, where we we met by Jan, not a very salubrious end to the trip, it rather hit us like a train, but we made it and we are all in one piece. The journey in the van back to Per Nils house was silent, and I was very grateful to Mark for lending me his iPod, filled with 80's music to keep me from slipping into the abyss, although I have to admit to letting a few tears run down my face staring out into the snow, listening to Depeche Mode.
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Snow
I did finally get up, having the dogs on my mind. I know that they are working dogs and their coats are used to being snowed upon but they make a pitiful sight, especially those who had clearly been ousted from their snow holes by their teammate. One of the first jobs was to dig them out again and Steve made a head start. As I joined him I realised it was quite a job; first you have the heartbreaking task of getting the dogs out from under their layer of snow so that you can remove the straw and dig a deeper hole, whilst making a higher wall around the side. The wind was coming in from the lake and the snow was falling into the hole because the walls were not high enough. Digging into the snow was easy but making cube shaped bricks and lifting them out to build up the wall proved harder. Within an hour they were all back in their cosy holes, relined with straw and seemingly happy to stay there, whilst the wind blew.
Once they were all protected and newly bedded down the team set about their day. Ice fishing was the priority as we were looking forward to the chance of some fresh fish for supper.
Andy's a veteran fisherman and Miloš has clearly got it taped so they lead the guard down to the lake and soon Laura, Steve, Andy and Mark were settled on the ice with their reindeer skins.
Having spent time together in Norway when we were at college, Rob and I decided to walk there, Rob had been plotting the route on his GPS and it claimed we weren't that far from the border so we set off into the wind, in sight of the fishing team, which was reassuring bearing in mind that our journey was across a lake and the temperatures are rising. It had also been reassuring to watch Miloš drilling through the ice with a meter long drill and only just reaching the water.
The Norwegian shore, being much the same as the Swedish one, held our attention for a while but as we hadn't thought about taking any celebratory food or drink, we returned, finding the route back warmer with the wind behind us but still hazardous as we kept breaking through the top crust of ice into the snow beneath.
Mark had found his special snow when we got back and was well on the way to completing a double ice hole. It's very impressive, even my claustrophobia couldn't stop me trying it out. He'd built them before in the RAF, over the border, but we were all very impressed.
Somehow Rob had conjured up a reindeer stew from the leftovers of last night's feast which was warming and so tender. Andy was still guarding his fishing hole so I took a bowl down to him, trying to keep it warm by covering it with bread. He said he was fine and not really hungry but I've never seen stew disappear so fast! He'd had no luck and had been there for about 5 hours, he's done a72 hour wait before so I wasn't expecting him to go back to the cabin with me.
As well the ridiculous photo Mark had to take of himself in his Speedos as part of a fundraising bet, he decided (in his wisdom...NOT) that we should take a series of 'Arctic Madness' photos to make into a charity calendar on our return and somehow he managed to persuade Laura, Andy and I to put our beachwear on and cavort about in the snow... fortunately most of the photos are quite dark as we were in the middle of a snowstorm, so I'm not sure that they are quite print quality.
I really don't know where the the day has gone, I went to my tent for a rest and before before long the dark was looming and the wind was getting more and more powerful. We've all taken refuge in the cabin now and I am seriously thinking about making the scuzzy sofa my bed for the night. I've been to look at my tent and it's got snow half way up the outside and it's bouncing up and down like jack in the box. No doubt the boys will tough it out and I'll feel like a wuss.
Once they were all protected and newly bedded down the team set about their day. Ice fishing was the priority as we were looking forward to the chance of some fresh fish for supper.
Andy |
Miloš |
Our very own gnome |
Steve |
Having spent time together in Norway when we were at college, Rob and I decided to walk there, Rob had been plotting the route on his GPS and it claimed we weren't that far from the border so we set off into the wind, in sight of the fishing team, which was reassuring bearing in mind that our journey was across a lake and the temperatures are rising. It had also been reassuring to watch Miloš drilling through the ice with a meter long drill and only just reaching the water.
Off to Norway |
Mark had found his special snow when we got back and was well on the way to completing a double ice hole. It's very impressive, even my claustrophobia couldn't stop me trying it out. He'd built them before in the RAF, over the border, but we were all very impressed.
Snow hole expert |
Anyone there? |
Somehow Rob had conjured up a reindeer stew from the leftovers of last night's feast which was warming and so tender. Andy was still guarding his fishing hole so I took a bowl down to him, trying to keep it warm by covering it with bread. He said he was fine and not really hungry but I've never seen stew disappear so fast! He'd had no luck and had been there for about 5 hours, he's done a72 hour wait before so I wasn't expecting him to go back to the cabin with me.
As well the ridiculous photo Mark had to take of himself in his Speedos as part of a fundraising bet, he decided (in his wisdom...NOT) that we should take a series of 'Arctic Madness' photos to make into a charity calendar on our return and somehow he managed to persuade Laura, Andy and I to put our beachwear on and cavort about in the snow... fortunately most of the photos are quite dark as we were in the middle of a snowstorm, so I'm not sure that they are quite print quality.
I really don't know where the the day has gone, I went to my tent for a rest and before before long the dark was looming and the wind was getting more and more powerful. We've all taken refuge in the cabin now and I am seriously thinking about making the scuzzy sofa my bed for the night. I've been to look at my tent and it's got snow half way up the outside and it's bouncing up and down like jack in the box. No doubt the boys will tough it out and I'll feel like a wuss.
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
And rest...
The cabin is tiny, enough room for a stove, cooking shelf, a table with 6 chairs and two wonderfully scuzzy sofas in 1970's browns and oranges. One even has a fake fur Bambi cushion on it. There is a ledge above for sleeping on but Rob decided he'd rather sleep in his tent, Mark and I exchanged glances, realising we'd be jealous and it was soon agreed that we'd pitch 3 tents for us and the others would sleep inside, unless Mark could find the right snow to dig a snow hole.
We sit on the eastern edge of a vast lake, with shores in Sweden and Norway, surrounded by hills. The sun sets over the western shore and as we unpacked the sleds, secure in the knowledge that we'd be camped here for more that 24 hours, we were treated to a spectacular sky.
Mark and I began to pitch the tents whilst Laura, Steve and Andy set up and helped Gaynor and Miloš with the dogs. Although the weather was calm they sensed a change and as we are to be here for a while it was important to dig out holes for the dogs to sleep in and line them with straw that it kept in the long-drop shed for that purpose.
Rob took over the kitchen and was in his element. Once the fire was lit in the wood burner he could start on the culinary highlight: reindeer steaks and 'brown sauce' with Gjetost/Brunos and Aquavit, potatoes, peas and spinach. Quite how he managed to cater for us all with such an ambitious meal using a wood burner and a tiny camp stove is a mystery to us, must be the Norwegian ancestry. It's certainly a step up from the hot dogs from a can and now we're keen to keep him tied to the kitchen during our stay at Kamaz, in fact Gaynor and Miloš are thinking of offering him a job as expedition chef.
Miloš got the sauna lit and we brought water up from a hole, which had been left in the ice, close to the sauna hut. The hut is not the most efficient of saunas, being uninsulated and full of holes, but any opportunity to get clean was most welcome and once camp was set the girls took first crack. When you haven't undressed for a few days and your hair has been under a hat and hood, we discovered that even the sound of someone else washing their hair can be a joy as we took turns to pour the cold water over our hot, sweating bodies. We toasted Elsie, our companion of last year, who always screamed "it's divine" at the top of her voice when dousing in the sauna.
The boys were desperate to get in and hurried us out by stamping on the doorstep as we all tried to get dressed in a space no bigger that a cubicle. We made our way up to the cabin determined to have a 'girlie chat' before they returned, we talked shoes, shoes and shoes. Gaynor got a shock about an hour later when she thought she saw the boys retuning through the window but realised it was time for a their naked snow roll.
By the time we all retired to our various sleeping areas the wind had really got up. I've lined my tent with skins and have all my kit inside but once I was in my sleeping bag I discovered that my tent, being the most westerly, was acting a both sail and windbreak for the others and felt as if it might take off at any moment, I felt like Dorothy. By morning it was snowing and so I've grabbed my warmest clothing and am back in my sleeping bag, after all there is no schedule for today and this is an interesting way to have a lie in, in a blizzard, in fact I might just stay here...
We sit on the eastern edge of a vast lake, with shores in Sweden and Norway, surrounded by hills. The sun sets over the western shore and as we unpacked the sleds, secure in the knowledge that we'd be camped here for more that 24 hours, we were treated to a spectacular sky.
Mark and I began to pitch the tents whilst Laura, Steve and Andy set up and helped Gaynor and Miloš with the dogs. Although the weather was calm they sensed a change and as we are to be here for a while it was important to dig out holes for the dogs to sleep in and line them with straw that it kept in the long-drop shed for that purpose.
Cosy now |
Rob took over the kitchen and was in his element. Once the fire was lit in the wood burner he could start on the culinary highlight: reindeer steaks and 'brown sauce' with Gjetost/Brunos and Aquavit, potatoes, peas and spinach. Quite how he managed to cater for us all with such an ambitious meal using a wood burner and a tiny camp stove is a mystery to us, must be the Norwegian ancestry. It's certainly a step up from the hot dogs from a can and now we're keen to keep him tied to the kitchen during our stay at Kamaz, in fact Gaynor and Miloš are thinking of offering him a job as expedition chef.
Miloš got the sauna lit and we brought water up from a hole, which had been left in the ice, close to the sauna hut. The hut is not the most efficient of saunas, being uninsulated and full of holes, but any opportunity to get clean was most welcome and once camp was set the girls took first crack. When you haven't undressed for a few days and your hair has been under a hat and hood, we discovered that even the sound of someone else washing their hair can be a joy as we took turns to pour the cold water over our hot, sweating bodies. We toasted Elsie, our companion of last year, who always screamed "it's divine" at the top of her voice when dousing in the sauna.
The boys were desperate to get in and hurried us out by stamping on the doorstep as we all tried to get dressed in a space no bigger that a cubicle. We made our way up to the cabin determined to have a 'girlie chat' before they returned, we talked shoes, shoes and shoes. Gaynor got a shock about an hour later when she thought she saw the boys retuning through the window but realised it was time for a their naked snow roll.
Sauna |
By the time we all retired to our various sleeping areas the wind had really got up. I've lined my tent with skins and have all my kit inside but once I was in my sleeping bag I discovered that my tent, being the most westerly, was acting a both sail and windbreak for the others and felt as if it might take off at any moment, I felt like Dorothy. By morning it was snowing and so I've grabbed my warmest clothing and am back in my sleeping bag, after all there is no schedule for today and this is an interesting way to have a lie in, in a blizzard, in fact I might just stay here...
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Friday - the northernmost point
North |
Zero and Brenda |
Rune and Refat |
Fishing camp |
The fishing camp was intriguing, snowmobiles came and went as we arrived, some of them stopping to take photos of us and it appeared to be well used. Gaynor told us they'd stopped there before to try to buy milk but had no luck, this time Miloš had a better idea and he disappeared, returning with 2 carrier bags full, apparently the only thing they sell is beer - that'll be interesting on our breakfast cereal...
Andy |
Gaynor sporting the arctic fox trimmed coat |
Kamaz |
Thursday night
Gordon and Heston |
I felt as if I'd been run over by train though and the bruises are already coming through (note: copying this from my diary a week later I am still black and blue). Before we leave I am going to make sure that I have a good breakfast, that was my mistake yesterday - forgot to eat...
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