Day 8 - Low Camp

I wake up to the remarkably odd sight and sound of snow sliding off the tent. Antarctica is one of the driest places in the world with about 10 inches of precipitation per year and we seem to have had about 3 of those in one night!

As we aren't moving today there is no movement in the camp for some time and we don't end up having breakfast until about 1pm. There is nothing planned for the day so I decide to make the mess tent a little more comfy (especially for the taller people) by installing a raised bench.



Build up with blocks of compact snow and then cover with a thermarest

Test it!

Use it with friends!

Inside the upgraded mess tent.

Otherwise, we just hang about until supper at 7pm and then invite the other group (of 5 people) over afterwards - it is always good to break up the monotony of camp life and meeting new people is a great way to do that. 

Just before we head to bed, the clouds clear up. This will give us a last blast of warmth but also probably mean a very cold night when all the heat escapes when we hit the shade. Apparently, the heavy winds are meant to arrive tonight but since we are in the valley it is not clear how that will impact us. We will get another weather update tomorrow am which will guide us for the next few days. 

The main problem here is that we are surrounded by crevasses and the camp is pretty small so you can't get much exercise. I think I will have to put on my iPod and walk in circles for a while to stop my body seizing up from all the time in bed and sitting in the mess tent.