#5: Spectacular day

We hit -31°C last night, coldest for this trip, but everyone slept warmly. Customers provide their own down sleeping bag and we beef it up with a synthetic outer bag. We left camp at 9.30am with 2 sleds between us on a day trip to Foxbreen (glacier). Some morning mist hung over the mountains but soon dispersed leaving a string of snow/capped peaks for us to feast on. The first 5km of Foxdalen (valley) is broad and flat but the cold snow dragged on our skis and sleds. Once in the upper reaches of the valley we became distracted by the tight weaves and steep pinches. The outlet of a frozen lake barred our progress and we were forced to detour through some steep and rocky ground to spill out onto the icy lake which we crossed. We struggled on another 30 minutes to try and reach sunshine but were forced to stop by an impasse so we decided to have lunch, which became bathed in sun after 15 minutes. After lunch we continued past the constriction and up onto lower Foxbreen where we passed a frosty ice wall and an arch melted into the glacier. What a treat after the hard slog. With the time already at 3pm we turned around and skied the 8km back to camp for our final night on the ice. Team photo, from left, Gerry, Kristina, Eleanor, Bern and Mardi, and the ice arch behind.