Location:  86° 31’ S 13° 57’ E
Weather: -18 C, wind 10 kts

Today we  were driving – so I wanted to “move” before the long hours in the cab.  I started out - as always - skiing into the wind – returning with a downwind leg.  It is always such a nice way to begin the day! Looking back at the trains – from a distance -- puts a very good perspective on where we really are!!  MDFN!!  It is SO humblingl!!!

Driving conditions were a bit challenging today – the dark sky overtook camp right from the get go and the sastrugi seem to triple in size in the first 15 km.  Flat light and blowing snow made it hard to discern how big those wind blown shapes were until you were on the crest and falling down into the trough like a ship at sea.   Needless to say, there were many stops to check equipment; cargo straps on each of the sled loads and the “Rock” (radar sled) being pulled by Sembla -  the last train.  As the day began to brighten mid afternoon, our usual straight-line-route (led by Lasse with the crevasse sniffer) turned into a serpentine road in and around (and sometimes over) the larger animal-like shapes that lay all around us. 

Jack weaving its way between natural judder bars. Photo: Lou Albershardt