#4: storm

After sending the blog last night Kris and Ida came over with a bag of choc lollies and a quizz on Svalbard history and Norwegian language. Heath teamed up with Paulina, me with Chey. It was a really fun night made even more rewarding by our team winning by one point! Kaching! Shortly after a massive storm hit us and at 2am I noticed the hefty centre pole on our big tent bowing like a fishing rod. I woke Heath and he held the pole while I went outside to fetch a pair of skis and we splinted the waning support and Chey got herself dressed to prepare for being evicted into the storm. The blizzard raged until 2pm and I managed only 2 hours of sleep. At 3pm we emerged from our tents to see the carnage around us - entombed sleds, half buried tents and an hour of digging to extract ourselves. Check out the pic of the hole left behind after Rob and Paulina dig out their tent. Our world had changed overnight, transformed into a magical wonderland sparkling under a sun I’d forgotten existed. We skied back down Adventleva, enjoying all the new snow but I was pretty exhausted. After 2 hours we camped at our 2nd night camp, which looks entirely different. With the temperatures plummeting we’re finally experiencing some polar conditions, exactly what’s needed by Paulina and Chey who are training for Antarctica. First and last photos are Heath’s. Eric