(L to R) John, Ioannis, and James wave to the camera as the final touches are put on camp and we head inside our respective tents for a well-deserved break and bite to eat.

We have arrived at Amundsen Glacier. Greeted by calm winds (by the last two weeks’ standard) and stunning scenery, camp is up and we’re fully ready to start searching the vast swaths of blue ice tomorrow morning. The flight here was only 3 minutes, basically a hop across a substantial crevasse field that prevents us from sledging our gear from Nødtvedt to here. Shackleton Camp sent two helping hands along with the pilot and co-pilot to help facilitate the move – they were a big help and we made quick work of the 10,000+ lbs that have to be taken down, put on one of four Twin Otter flights, and set back up. The scenery here is simply stunning – by far my personal favourite of our stops and I get the impression I’m not alone. There are mountains on one side of camp (captured partially in the photo included) that appear as if they’re in ultra HD. The air is so pristine, the level of detail you can see from this distance is amazing. Looking off in the other direction towards the afternoon sun, one of the many swaths of blue ice shines as the sunlight glimmers off the frozen ripples. John had the same impression I did, it gives the feeling of being beside a lake. A frozen lake, but still. Lots of blue ice was spotted on the flight in and can be seen from the ground. We are all very excited to be here and very optimistic that there’ll be plenty for us to find in this our most picturesque of hunting grounds. In fact, while James and I were boarding the fourth and final flight along with the last of our gear from Nødtvedt to here, Ioannis took his skidoo out to have a quick survey of the ice close to camp.

In other news, the Day-VanBommel tent is smelling better than ever. With the move completed, I’ve changed every article of clothing from my “shreddies” to my fleece layer including socks and base-layer clothing. It is a great feeling! James is going to do the same after dinner – morale could hardly be higher. Some of you may be thinking, “shreddies, what on Earth is he talking about?” I know. I know, friends, I know. Welcome to my world, THIS is what I see/hear on a daily basis. “Shreddies” are what James calls underwear. I suspect it is a British thing. I know when he first said it, likely as anyone in Canada reading this thinks, is that I was going to change my cereal (Shreddies is a shredded-wheat-like cereal in Canada – I assure you I’m not wearing a box of cereal for underwear). I’ve picked up a lot of British slang since I’ve been here. Or, perhaps, once again, James is playing a prank on me and this time everyone in the UK is getting a good gag out of this as I write it. If that’s the case, I’ll pretend I’m just going along with it. It looks like we’ll definitely have more shelter from the wind here. Nødtvedt has us accustomed to some strong winds so many of us found ourselves shedding our Big Reds for lighter attire while putting the finishing touches on camp. With any luck, tent days will be a thing of the past. I know James was likely tired of looking at me, and I tired of listening to his Spice Girls renditions night after night. Talk about scary spice… (I best hide the blog kit for awhile – I reckon there’ll be return fire coming in a future post for your enjoyment and at my expense.)

Posted by Scott from Amundsen Glacier on 2018-01-04 at 17:45 local.