Day 14–On The Road Again?

May 26, 2010 9:51pm

Our location is N62°53.532 and W046°44.960 and we are at an elevation of 8399 feet.

Even with yesterday’s disappointment, there was high hope for today. After all, in spite of the day’s rodeo, one thing it did indicate was that change was afoot. The system was moving, and with it should come some workable conditions. Should. Which is why it was hard not to feel defeated when the whole night played to the sweet tune of that roaring jet engine, and the tent shook and did not let up! I hardly slept, and began to quietly wonder where this trip was going. Regardless, I was determined to move camp today, come hell or high water. Fed up with that spot, which after six days and six nights made our campsite feel noticeably homely. And with a broken tent pole (fixed but not reinstalled), the tent had a lot less commonality with “home sweet home” than it did with a demolition derby.

At 7:30 AM, I stepped outside and was slapped by the strong, chilly wind. It had come down considerably, but was still blowing about 45-50 miles per hour. Eric was in deep sleep when by 10 AM, I thought it was time to make a move, and ski away from this spot. Perhaps were we in some type of vortex, or a Twilight Zone episode. By regaining control of the narrative, would luck shift back to our side?

We packed our camp, affixed skins to our skis again, and tackled the nasty side wind, and reverted back to pulling.

As could be expected, we were at the bottom of one of those endless hills, and after an hour and half, and about two kilometers of getting whipped by the wind, we chose a nice flat area that would be the site for camp 6. And pitched the tent. It is disheartening to think that the distance covered is one difficult hour could be covered with kites in just a few minutes… No point in torturing ourselves further. The point was made!

The wind was still too strong to kite. But with the new pole in place, and a flat surface to pitch, the tent looked tight, and proud, and in those moments when the scale is so low, that satisfaction can be had for cheap, we settled in our new digs with a new found sense of accomplishment.

Once everything had been pulled from the sledges, and we were finally out of the wind, something unusual happened: the noisy flapping began to quieten. Low and behold, the wind was dropping. We had in fact changed the narrative! The sky was clear and no sooner had we finished settling in that we broke down camp, again, rigged a couple of 7 meter kites and, oh, that long forgotten sensation was back! The tug of the lines; the jolt forward; the taught line to the sledges behind and that virtually effortless propulsion up that damn hill…! We were kiting again. Finally.

It was 4PM. Although we switched to the 10 meter Frenzis, as the winds were dropping. And then to the 14 meter Yakuzas, as they dropped some more. And then went back to the 10 meters as they picked up again… We were still moving. By evening, a perfect red sun set behind a hill while perfectly across from it, an almost full moon rose above the ice sheet.

That was a long day. But in all, we covered 61.8 kilometers. And broke the spell. We’re back on the road, gang!

4 Responses to “Day 14–On The Road Again?”

  1. Andrew says:

    Great news, Bon voyaging!! 🙂

  2. TMAC says:

    Glad to hear you are on track, a bit if wind in your sail….so to speak, we like that, let the music take you there…………..be safe.mac

  3. Bryce says:

    Awesome to hear you moving after a bunch of days stuck at camp. Keep it up!

  4. sophie says:

    Quelle aventure !!!
    Pour nous pas le temps de nous ennuyer à vous lire. Quant à vous…

    What an adventure!
    For us no time to get bored to read you. As for you …?
    Go with the wind and God willing
    Soon

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