I was hoping to regale you with tales of treacherous traverses, steep recents and polar bear encounters. Instead, we are stuck in Longyearbyen with out our skis - waiting. You would think it would be nearly impossible to loose bags (3 items) total in one direct flight, but you would be wrong. Norwegian airlines has managed to do just that.

It is frustrating to say the least because we have a fairly tight schedule. However, there is little we can do besides wait so getting frustrated is of little use. Ryan has remained amazingly calm throughout the whole process and I can only attribute his patience to all the time he spends waiting for weather or acclimatizing while on big mountains. In polar travel, there is no such thing as bad weather and we travel everyday regardless.

We spent the day going over gear and making small adjustments. Ryan's friend, a local policeman here lent us some of his personal gear to use as well. Because of polar bears, we will be traveling with a gun, flares and a special trip wire 'fence' around our tent at night.

Normally, I would NOT use a trip wire set up, but there was an aggressive bear attack just the other day and many people have mentioned the abundance of polar bears in the area.

While I think they are amazing and incredible animals, I am very much hoping to NOT see any bears. I've had more than my fair share of polar bear encounters. On my way to the North Pole in 2005, one was stalking me and another jumped on our tent while we were sleeping in it! In 2006, after 62 days on the ice a bear circled our tent before we scared it off with flares just two miles away from the North Pole.

On a positive note it's been nice and cold and it feels good to feel that icy bite... At least for a while. When my second bag showed up, I immediately pulled out my Ergodyne multi and to cover my face. People think I like being cold, but what I really like is being warm in cold places!

We have met a few nice people as well. One young woman, a connection through the Explorers Club, stopped by to invite us to a campfire. While it is nice to feel looked after, both Ryan and I are ready to be on off and on our own.

It is easy to be comfortable and let prospect of physical discomfort and challenge influence decision making. Of course we are not here to break any records but we have studied the map for quite some time and are ready to find out how the peaks and contours translate in real life.

Image: Longyearbyen