The tent shook violently all night. Outside the storm rages on for the second consecutive day, flying wet snow drift and piling it on the side walls of the tent. Twice this morning, we felt that the storm would let out enough to enable us to get on our way. But the prevailing white out delayed our departure. And twice the wind quickly strengthened again to full out blizzard with gusts reaching seventy miles per hour!
Not surprisingly, we are pinned down again in the tent for what now amounts to 48 hours. And what feels like a week since our first and last kiting day.
Upon stepping out of the tent, the forces of nature really makes one feel small. Frost builds out sideways on the lines of the tent, and the drift sticks to the outerwear, caking up in a layer of white. Goggles are also rapidly made obsolete from the wet snow obstructing most visibility. The mean temperature wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the nasty wind-chill. In all, being outside quickly loses its charm but for a short lived experiment (very short) or clearing the snow drift trapping the sledges before the snow turns to ice…
It is difficult not to admire the design ingenuity of the sum of nylon cloth, four poles and a few lines to anchor them, which together amount to an oasis of relative tranquility amidst such external chaos. With nothing but wind and ice surrounding us in all direction, inside that little red dot which is our Hilldeberg tent, you can still find a mean cup of tea! It does say a lot about Man ability to survive in the most hostile environments.
The southern Greenland storms can be unrelenting and last for days. Let’s pray this isn’t one of them…
Our position is therefore still at N62°20.392′ W46°48.596′ and 7030 feet in elevation.
May 21, 2010 1:44pm