Monday 28 May 2007

Greenland Part 5

The afternoon routine:

Get back from skiing and get the stove going straight away. This will keep cranking for the next couple of hours: melting water for drinks, melting water for dinner, melting water for tomorrows water bottles...

Get everything damp out in the sun for as long as its still warm, inner boots, gloves etc etc. The tent is like a greenhouse (+25C on a good day) so is kept shut to try and conserve heat for later. Eat as much as possible (easier said than done after a few days of dehydrated meals...) and then get sorted for the morning. Generally we've been in the tents by about 8.30pm as the temperature starts to plummet.

Temperatures overnight are dropping down to -30C so inside the sleeping bag with me are inner boots, water bottles, batteries, skins etc etc No need for headtorches to read with, as the sun is still shining on the tent! Everyday it is noticeably higher, and although it does actually set (currently 10.20pm ish) it is bright daylight right through the night.

9 May

Oli and myself set off to climb a couloir on the south side of the ridge we hit yesterday, while Guy and Steph had a rest day. A sweaty climb for an hour and a half saw us back at the shoulder on the ridge, this time preparing for a steeper ski. The couloir gave good spring snow, with steady angles about 45-50˚ and an aesthetic skiing line.
(400m @ 45˚+)




Oli breaking trail:




Good steep spring snow:

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