We woke up today to a raging wind and a very limited visibility. This would not be a problem would the wind not be blowing directly in our faces. As we have been skiing so fast and are actually 4 days ahead of schedule, we decided to stay where we are for a day and hope that the wind will have died by tomorrow. So we take it easy, eat some of our food, as anyway we have much too much, and drink plenty of tea and coffee. I also took the opportunity to change my clothes (the boys keep exactly the same clothes from top to bottom for the whole trip... Hmmm!).
Maybe I should tell you a little bit about my teammates. Per-Thore is 45 yuears old (we celebrated his birthday in DYE2, and he is a former Norwegian army special forces. He went to Bosnia, the Middle East and Somalia. He is the ultimate born leader and tough guy. The only person he is afraid of is his wife (who, I am told is the prettiest and nicest person by the way..). He is now big into dogsledding (he has 80 dogs) and organizes weekly trips out of the arctic town of Alta. This is how I met him last year. Per-Thore usually skis in front, sets the pace and the pauses. He chooses the route and places to camp. I feel really safe under his leadership and appreciate his calm. It helps that he has a wicked sense of humour.
Petter Thorsen is 44 years old. He is a former Norwegian army Seal. He is a great friend of Per-Thore and they complement each other to perfection. He is a real chatterbox and when he is with PT, they talk and laugh non-stop, unfortunately in Norwegian... He organizes the camp, food and keeps an eye on the material. He is also our cameraman and does a stellar job. He films, interviews, take pictures, and nothing is too tiring or difficult for him. He is an amazing skier. He is also really kind and caring and if he sees that I am tired and slowing down, he will stay with me and it helps a lot.
I feel very safe with the two of them. I know that they were very concerned when I started to have a blister on day 1 (the only one by the way), and were even more worried when I was so tired on day 3 that I could not eat or drink for 2 days. But they really managed to motivate me without scaring me. And I rallied and now feel perfectly at ease in this most inhospitable environment. I know that I owe them a lot and I am convinced that I would have given up, if it would not have been for those 2 toughies who in fact are much softer than they look.
Maybe I should tell you a little bit about my teammates. Per-Thore is 45 yuears old (we celebrated his birthday in DYE2, and he is a former Norwegian army special forces. He went to Bosnia, the Middle East and Somalia. He is the ultimate born leader and tough guy. The only person he is afraid of is his wife (who, I am told is the prettiest and nicest person by the way..). He is now big into dogsledding (he has 80 dogs) and organizes weekly trips out of the arctic town of Alta. This is how I met him last year. Per-Thore usually skis in front, sets the pace and the pauses. He chooses the route and places to camp. I feel really safe under his leadership and appreciate his calm. It helps that he has a wicked sense of humour.
Petter Thorsen is 44 years old. He is a former Norwegian army Seal. He is a great friend of Per-Thore and they complement each other to perfection. He is a real chatterbox and when he is with PT, they talk and laugh non-stop, unfortunately in Norwegian... He organizes the camp, food and keeps an eye on the material. He is also our cameraman and does a stellar job. He films, interviews, take pictures, and nothing is too tiring or difficult for him. He is an amazing skier. He is also really kind and caring and if he sees that I am tired and slowing down, he will stay with me and it helps a lot.
I feel very safe with the two of them. I know that they were very concerned when I started to have a blister on day 1 (the only one by the way), and were even more worried when I was so tired on day 3 that I could not eat or drink for 2 days. But they really managed to motivate me without scaring me. And I rallied and now feel perfectly at ease in this most inhospitable environment. I know that I owe them a lot and I am convinced that I would have given up, if it would not have been for those 2 toughies who in fact are much softer than they look.
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