It's official!

As you know last year I undertook a challenge which, thanks to you, led me to raise just under £5,000 for Dog's Trust funds and meant I lived up to the name 'verycoldclaire'. It was a huge adventure and pushed me to my limits, but that's what limits are for isn't it? So, with out further ado I'll explain the next challenge: further, faster, colder.

Now that I know what I'm doing in April 2011 I will be setting off with a hand picked team of like-minded fools to Northern Scandinavia where we will travel further north to start our journey. Each day we'll cover twice the distances, which will mean we need more dogs in each team and as we are further from civilisation there will be no strategically positioned cabins to use overnight. We'll be sleeping in tents or digging ice holes for the human and canine members of the team to shelter in. Our aim is to make it to the northernmost shelter of Per Nils, the Sami Herdsman who I had the pleasure of meeting on my last trip and who featured in this blog.

Whilst this may seem hard enough in itself, our real challenge is to raise £20,000 for EACH, the East Anglian Children's Hospices and to cover the costs in the Arctic (we will be paying all our own personal expenses). EACH supports families and cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. They provide care and support in families’ own homes, in hospital or at one of their hospices in Ipswich, Milton and Quidenham. They are a registered charity (no. 1069284) and this year need to raise £4 million in donations to deliver their services. This amounts to £11,000 a day, every day of the year.

As a group we hope you will support us by sponsoring us here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/eastanglianarcticchallenge Virgin Money Giving is a not for profit company, so all the money will go direct to EACH. (You can also search http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com for my name.) Please put a note so that I know who is donating - I'd like to thank you individually!

I'll be introducing the team here over the next couple of weeks and asking for input on how we can raise our target, as well as charting my progress on the fitness levels. As I have just had surgery, which has had me laid up for a few days, I'll be starting off gently, but the aim is to be as fit as my team mates by Christmas; so that we can pull a fire engine through the local high street... eek.

Plans...

are coming together... April 2011, further, faster, colder...

Watch this space

There are plans afoot...

February 24th - DIARY ENTRY from a month ago

This was our final drive and so we all woke with heavy hearts and there was a slightly gloomy start to the day. The temperature began to rise from the -41 which we had clocked on the thermometer by the window but it was seriously cold and I was suffering. I had been shaken awake early, thinking that it was another ice crack on the lake nearby reverberating through the cabin but I realised that it was my body shaking with cold in my sleeping bag on the top bunk. Those of us on dog duty wrapped up and went out to make a start, feeling so sorry for the dogs, some of whom were covered in a bloom of ice. It appeared that my team had been swapped round on their chain but on closer inspection I realised that Uno had been painted white by the frost and snow.

Within 10 minutes of starting dog duty Miloš sent me inside. My hands had stopped working and I couldn't lift the bowls. It was a devastating moment, and by the time I got to the cabin I was in tears. I felt angry that I had let the dogs down and I was in pain. Gaynor and Richard received me with such kindness, immediately understanding my distress and using their warmth to thaw me out both physically and mentally. 


This was the first time I'd seen the dogs drag their heels, they weren't keen on getting up out of their straw beds for breakfast or even to be harnessed, a low point for us all. Miloš even gave me coats for my lead dogs and Sara hadn't eaten all her breakfast. The dogs had lost weight over the last few days and I realised that Miloš was concerned when he said I should be prepared to carry any dogs who were too tired on the journey, as my team are so strong.


We all made it. The last few kilometers were touch and go for a few of us as the wind chill on the lake was high and feet went numb, hands went numb and any bits of face that were exposed went numb. As we finally pulled in to Musher's lodge only the dogs seemed happy, many of us had tears in our eyes at the thought of leaving our dogs, although their obvious delight at being home and snuggling down into their kennels was heartening, as was the thin whisp of fire smoke coming from the chimney.

February 23rd

My journal from a month ago to the day - it hardly seems possible. Much was rekindled yesterday by meeting Gaynor in London and catching up, as well as making tentative steps towards a new challenge... yes, really.


Day 5 - a magical Dr Zuess type of a day today. Totally surreal, but in a good way.


We left Per Nils, after a few stories and being shown around his barn full of bits of reindeer and reindeer related artifacts. He loves being centre stage and had us in stitches at times with tales of bear hunting and assuring us that the best way to scare a bear was for 'the ladies to be dropping their trousers'. The next moment he had us in tears with stories of herdsmen losing their animals and their honour. He knows how to tell a tale, that much is certain.


After my day of braking yesterday Miloš and Gaynor  decided to give my dogs the other kind of break and moved me forward in line to travel behind Richard which gave me a totally different experience. Although I still had to brake, there were times when I was able to travel with both my feet on the runners for long periods of time. Bliss.

The landscape had developed too, there had been heavy snowfall overnight and the trees were droopy and Zuessy wherever we went in the wooded areas. The sun was entirely sliver too, we cast strange moon shadows on the snow as the low sun bleached all the colour from the sky. The angle of the sun also caused a twinkling phenominum, which we hadn't experienced before as we crossed a huge frozen lake, catching the little indentations in the snow.


Today we also met other people for the first time - most peculiar to see other humans in the wasteland. The leaders of both teams conferred and for some reason it was decided that we would circumnavigate them and a snowmobile, which was travelling with them, came forward to create an alternative, crescent shaped route (narrowly missing one of Miloš's dogs). Miloš led his dogs through and Richard's began to follow into the thigh deep snow, as if they were swimming through treacle, until one decided to go and investigate the other line of stationary sleds. This made it impossible for Richard to turn them and it was clear that he was not happy to lead them so I weighed anchor and jumped into the snow, which was even deeper that I had expected, to lead them back around. At this stage that I thanked the training sheet, with lists of squats, lunges and planks as all my strength was needed. Miloš had made it look deceptively easy. During this time the other team had been content to stand and watch our efforts as we did all the work, but when my team decided that they would follow me to the ends of the earth and Uno managed to pull out my insufficiently weighed anchor, one of them finally helped by stopping the Brothers Grimm and holding them till I was able to get back to them and pull them all the way around. I had not felt well at the beginning of the day and I felt even less so after this.

Having lost time over the shenanigans we made the decision, at the lunch stop, to thaw ourselves out and Miloš and Gaynor built a fire pit in the snow and cooked up some frozen salmon in a soupy liquid with some veg. I rather covet Miloš's tripod cooking stand and think I shall have to have one for cooking at the sheep shed in the summer. This decision also meant that we would be driving to the Basic lodge in the dark; a decision that had to be made in consultation with the whole team. Whilst there were concerns about the prospect of navigating what we knew was a twisting, turning route by the light of the moon, everyone felt confident enough and trusted the leaders enough by this stage to go for it and I was delighted as it would be our only chance. We all needed to get properly warm too.


It was an experience I will never forget. The visibility was pretty good as the moon was clear and we had head torches, but soon my eyelids froze as I had taken off my snow glasses, which have dark lenses. My lids stuck together at the corners which meant that I had to trust my dogs' judgement and look for movement of their heads, as Uno always turned back to tell me if the line was getting slack or they needed support. We reached the lodge with even more respect for our fearless dogs, who had ensured that we made it safely, and feeling pleased that Miloš had trusted us to make the decision, which none of us regretted. The familiar sight of the cabin we had stayed in 2 nights before was the icing on the cake. Knowing the layout in the dark meant we didn't have to fumble about whilst getting water and lighting fires and Alice was cajoled into cooking again as she had done such a good job in the cramped cooking space. I'm in the same bunk/shelf so I am also prepared to fall asleep in the fug of the upper level, only to wake freezing cold.

February 22nd

Diary entry from Soppero

I need to pinch myself. In my wildest dreams I didn't think that I would be enjoying this as much as I am. Sure there are challenges, both mental and physical, but the rewards continue to outweigh the hardship. I did get over cold yesterday, I didn't take enough care and the panic I felt when I lost the feeling in my little finger taught me to look for the signs of cold injuries.

I am totally alone for the first time since we left (apart from the 'long drop' visits, which are kept to a minimum) and whilst I have felt blissful solitude on the journey there have always been others in sight, but now I am sitting by the fire in a lodge belonging to a Sami herdsman and his family with not a soul around. It is pretty luxurious, running water and a flushing loo as well as electricity and we have been fed on lingon berries and reindeer meat from their herd, not even having to cook.  I even have a glass of wine in my hand - not challenging, but deserved!

Per Nils and his wife, Brit Marie, our hosts are pretty famous round here and Brit Marie is currently working on a survival course with Ray Mears' School not far from here and I have discovered that it was her they filmed joiking for the series. Per Nils has cooked for us and he has been very entertaining, oiled by some liquid firewater, which I understand may have come from Slovakia... is Milos to blame? The rest of the party are either drinking vodka, feeding dogs, having a sauna or rolling naked in the snow. As I am doing the morning feed shift and the other activities didn't appeal tonight I am making the most of letting my mind wander in the quiet space by the fire and warming my toes in my Father's socks. He'd have approved, I feel sure.

February 21st

We travelled about 35k today, with a short break on an island in the middle of a frozen lake, where there is a permanent tee-pee there and a fire with a kettle hung above it.  Miloš (I found the accent) used this to make us all cup-a-soup. The journey there was magical, the sun was so bright and not very high in the sky, so the shadows in the sparse wooded areas were eerie, with the snow deep and thick and powdery. There were some great twisty-turny sections on the route, this morning which the dogs and I loved and then the frozen lake was upon us.

Everyone has started to gain confidence and from the back of the line I can see how people are developing their own style. Even Miloš is impressed. My team are working well together and in fact it appears that Uno is deeply in love with Sara, he cleans her and snuggles up to her once he has finished barking his head off. He is bright enough to know the regular break spots, so once we are at these recognised places he doesn't bother to bark and settles down to love Sara. The brothers Grimm  are so delightful and as soon as we stop they start their rolling ritual, trying to rub their harnesses off.

In the afternoon, not long after we left the island, the ice on the lake cracked, I heard a 'boom', like a plane breaking the sound barrier and assumed it was the nearby rocket testing area, but had come from beneath our group and had pretty disastrous consequences. The ice had cracked and freezing water came up through the ice and created an instant pond, into which Miloš and Steve's teams plummeted, Richard got through by the skin of his teeth and the rest of us stopped before the water. The dogs were soaked and the water had worked its way into the human's suits. Somehow our hero, Miloš, managed to drag them out but they were unhappy and cold. The wet humans had to stop there and then to change clothes as the frozen water could have caused severe cold injuries. The dogs needed to get moving quickly though, to warm them through. Paul couldn't get his boots off to check his feet and so there was some concern that he might suffer as Miloš came down the line checking if we had wet feet. Now that we are at the lodge we are pretty sure he is OK. We all then cautiously made our way through the icy water, making sure that we kept as dry as possible.

I was on Dog Duty this evening and we needed more straw than we could find for the dogs as it was so cold, about -35 when we started to boil the water. Miloš called his cousin and he will bring an emergency supply of straw and new boots for those who need them on a Snowmobile later tonight, I'm not sure how long it will take him to get here. I had a small panic this evening as I lost the feeling in my little finger for a while. Gaynor checked it and as it hurt quite considerably as she began to warm it she suggested that I should go into the cabin and hold it for a while as the fire was getting up. The feeling came back and as it did so it began to hurt like hell - apparently this is a good sign.