I am crossing Greenland on skis in May, pulling my sled to raise money for "Right To Play" and "Children in Crisis". These charities help children in the most traumatised regions of the world. I strongly believe that the world is a community and that children are our future. So for me, it is absolutely necessary that children all over the world acquire social skills, team spirit and an education so that they can respect themselves. I will face extreme cold, howling winds, fatigue and icy snow. I will have to carry everything I need on my sled and back. I will sleep in a tent in the middle of nowhere. I might even encounter a polar bear!! I am really super excited but terrified!! It is a minimum of 3 weeks so I think that my limits will be thoroughly tested.

Saturday 1 September 2007

Day 9

After a really hard day yesterday when we walked 32 kilometers uphill in 10 hours to reach DYE 2, we took it easy this morning. I was absolutely tired and freezing when we reached camp yesterday. It was terrible as we could see DYE 2 since the day before, but bit took forever reaching it. There is a scientific camp next to it and a huge runway on snow delimited by flags. For a long while, we thought that the flags were other people pulling sleds and going the same direction as us... The things that tiredness can do to your mind...
So this morning, after a really lazy time in bed, we went exploring DYE 2. This enormous radar station was built by the Americans during the cold war, and it looks like something out of a James Bond movie. It is absolutely enormous and there is a huge metal structure underneath to support it and to allow for icew movement, I presume. We went inside and found offices full of documents (even microfilms), bedroom full of furniture and garbage, a kitchen so dirty and full of rubbish that it was unreal, a larder full of food, storerooms with all kind of electrical equipment, even an infirmary with medicines. I believe that the station was abandonned in 1988, but it looks like it was all its occupants fled. It is really a shame to have such a garbage dump in the middle of Greenland!
We left the place at 2 pm and walked for 5 hours in a beautiful sunshine, no wind, and it reconcilied me with this trip. I must say that yesterday night I really questionned my sanity and wondered why I had put myself through such a tough challenge. But tonight I am happy again and I am now going to sleep as we havw a very long day tomorrow.

Day 9

After a really hard day yesterday when we walked 32 kilometers uphill in 10 hours to reach DYE 2, we took it easy this morning. I was absolutely tired and freezing when we reached camp yesterday. It was terrible as we could see DYE 2 since the day before, but bit took forever reaching it. There is a scientific camp next to it and a huge runway on snow delimited by flags. For a long while, we thought that the flags were other people pulling sleds and going the same direction as us... The things that tiredness can do to your mind...
So this morning, after a really lazy time in bed, we went exploring DYE 2. This enormous radar station was built by the Americans during the cold war, and it looks like something out of a James Bond movie. It is absolutely enormous and there is a huge metal structure underneath to support it and to allow for icew movement, I presume. We went inside and found offices full of documents (even microfilms), bedroom full of furniture and garbage, a kitchen so dirty and full of rubbish that it was unreal, a larder full of food, storerooms with all kind of electrical equipment, even an infirmary with medicines. I believe that the station was abandonned in 1988, but it looks like it was all its occupants fled. It is really a shame to have such a garbage dump in the middle of Greenland!
We left the place at 2 pm and walked for 5 hours in a beautiful sunshine, no wind, and it reconcilied me with this trip. I must say that yesterday night I really questionned my sanity and wondered why I had put myself through such a tough challenge. But tonight I am happy again and I am now going to sleep as we havw a very long day tomorrow.