The wind picked up in the night and slowly peeled away yesterday's new snow. Completely gone was the smooth flowing blanket of white. Replaced now by millions of subtle shapes and forms of the Anarctica we have been skiing across for the past 21 days.

It was with some relief that we started skiing. Without the fresh snow our pace would increase, and more importantly, our effort would decrease. Still, there were a few remaining pockets of soft powder that made our sleds felt like anchors.

The mountains we spottted yesterday slowly grew into a formidable set of nunatuks. I wondered what made these peaks withstand the raw glacial force of the Antarctic ice cap. Was it simply because they were taller? They seemed more like rocks in a small stream - the ice mimicing water and simply gurgling around.

Dong supposed they looked like a dolphin following a whale. To me, the bulging peak and long snow ridge line resembled a tad pole. We asked Bill for his input, but he responded only with, 'Mountains? I can't see anything without my glasses.' Nonetheless we were all very exited - its the first terra firma we've seen in almost two weeks!

Most impressive today was simply the snow and light. White, off white, gray, blue... Because this place is so monochromatic, we have become experts in categorizing degrees of white and degrees of shadow. Then, a subtle shift of a cloud or angle of the sun and a new spectrum of white bleeds toward the horizon.

Looking back later in the afternoon, I see Bill and Dongsheng silouetted, because of the yellowing sun, in sepia.

Remember, now is the time to enforce the Clean Air Act Together, we can save the Clean Air Act and put it to work to save our climate

Please sign on to a letter of support that can be found at

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/climate_law_institute/global_warming_litigation/clean_air_act/sign-on_letter.html.

Image: Bill and Dongsheng.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.savethepoles.com

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