We woke up awed at our surroundings. Our tent, perched on a peninsula-like moraine, was buttressed by steep snow covered slopes. On the faces, horizontal rock bands showed through as long gray lines. Apart from Ryan's red Bergans parka everything was monochrome - black and white - twice as colorful as the scene appeared in yesterday's whiteout.

We spent the morning exploring a nearby ice cave formed by meltwater running underneath the glacier. It was a tight squeeze through a body-width tunnel for about 10 feet to the main chamber. Once inside, we were awestruck by the ice crystals covering the ceiling and walls. In places hand-sized lattices of crystals hung precariously.

For better or worse, we had to return to town to pick up our skis which Norwegian Airline PROMISED would arrive. Of course, the flight was delayed but eventually they showed up and finally we were off - the burden of schedules, lost baggage and more dissipating with every ski stride.

We were surprised when late in the afternoon two odd looking ice chunks stood up and started walking away from us. Caribou or reindeer as they are called here. I'm not sure if these are the same exact species as live in Canada but they were short and stout and seemed indifferent to our presence.

'I've never seen caribou before,' commented Ryan in the tent later. 'One of the reasons I like to trips like this is to see new things.'

We continued on for a little while longer until we found a comfortable piece of ice to set up camp.

Image: Our first caribou sighting!