It was another frosty morning in the tent although not nearly as cold as the previous night. A light dusting of snow slid off the tent as we wriggled out of the door.

The first order of business in the Arctic is to drag our sleeping bags outside - that way the frost that accumulates in them doesn't melt. To eliminate some of the ice build up, I strapped my Therm-A-Rest bag to my sled and let the frost sublimate while we make breakfast.

Andrew and Neil wanted to practice traversing pressure ridges so we spent the morning zig zagging back and forth across a variety of ice blocks and ridges. I was a little more than a little pleased to simply stand by and take pictures. After three expeditions to the North Pole, I've had more than my fair share of 'type three' fun.

The conditions here are absolutely perfect for this style of training. I set up a variety of scenarios to mimic North Pole travel - even having each person pull both sleds similar. We practiced switching from skis to MSR snowshoes as we ended up in a quagmire of drifts and blocks like so often happens on the sea ice. I was pleased to see such perfect training opportunities.

I'm not sure if Neil and Andrew enjoyed the afternoon as much as I did. After all, they are carrying all of our group gear and an additional 70 pounds of 'training weight' and all I have is my personal and camera gear. And the gun (for polar bear protection).

After dinner, I got out of the tent to check on the polar bear trip wire and was treated to an amazing display of northern lights. I'll share the pictures when I get back.