Day 14 - Poor visibility

We woke up to a windless camp. The brain was confused as the tent makes no sound in the morning; normally, there is a continuous flapping and hissing sound. However, the sun had gone out for good during the night. Or at least gone hiding behind a really dark cloud.

We went skiing with a compass holder: visibility was up to a kilometer, but we couldn't distinguish any surface shapes. The daily task is to choose sunglasses or storm glasses suitable for the weather: here you have to have many because the glasses must always be on your head no matter what the weather. Since there seemed to be little light, Tero decided to try self-darkening lenses as they would become clear lenses. It turned out that these lenses were not designed for to be used on a glacier: due to the reflection from the snow, there was so much light that the lens immediately went into Ray Charles mode, and Tero did not see a bump during the leg. We had to try.

Poor visibility continued all day, and the last one and a half legs were completed in a full whiteout. Looking for a tent site was unusual when you couldn't see where it was flat.

Yesterday we wrote about the sledge loosing weight. Today's picture shows the sledge packed: the sledge is Acapulka's model designed for these tasks: light, durable and expensive. The length is 210 cm, and the material is at least Kevlar. The volume is at least 700 liters, and the whole beauty weighs less than 7 kg when empty. In the front of the packed sledge is the food for the day's journey and clothes; at the very end is the fuel, and everything in between is food and the kitchen. On top of this is a "sleeping system bag" containing sleeping mattresses, sleeping bags, and things that need to be easily accessible during skiing, such as thermos bottles, snacks and gloves.

In these conditions, the sledge is pulled with ropes instead of fixed oars. There are no downhills or side hills here, and there are no deep ruts to be made - so sledge can follow the skier on its own trails.