Family Walk on Kimpton Down Boxing Day 2010

I have been making the most of the snow over the last couple of weeks, doing some kind of walk most days. It is quite hard going on the uphill when your feet are sinking into the snow … just a small taste of how things will be out in The Arctic. We are given skis and Baffin boots. It is very much a personal choice as to what you use when. Some people have done it all in boots, most people use a mixture of skis on the flatter ground and just boots on the harder going rubble!

We have had some pretty low temperatures over the Christmas break. In sunny Hampshire it has been down as low as -10.5˚C . Not quite the -40˚C  we will be experiencing!

I have tested my Arctic Sleeping Bag! John put the tent up on boxing day, and after an evening out at friends, we crawled into the tent. The temperatures were only -2˚C / -3˚C! I did get a little chilly in the early hours of the morning, but I think this was a) mainly because I had not zipped my bag right up, and b) because I had moved of the airbed (luxury I know!) and onto the floor, so I had NO insulation from the frozen ground. The cold was not my problem …. It was the Bl**dy cats who seemed to spend all night, on the hour every hour running up and over the tent. They got between the inner lining and the outer shell, clawed their way up and slid down the other side – what great fun. NOT! If I had my gun, we would no longer have any pet cats. I had a serious sense of humour failure.

We have had a very happy family Christmas, spending  Christmas day at Philip & Gill’s; then a few days with the Hutchinson clan down at Millfield School in Somerset. It is never a quiet time, but this did not stop John and The Hound catching a little bit of shut eye!

Hutchinson Clan - All 14!

It is the New Year tonight (and Mine and John’s 16th Wedding Anniversary!) After a year of training, raising sponsorship and fund raising for my charities, The Arctic Challenge is very nearly here. It is only 13 weeks until I leave for Canada and 14 weeks until the Polar Race. Thank you for ALL your friendship, Love and Support, I would not have made it this far without you. I wish you all a very healthy and happy 2011.

Now the hard work really starts!

Sleeping Beauties

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