A Frozen Toothbrush

Yesterday was D-Day. We left Union Glacier on something called a Twin Otter – like an aeroplane but much smaller.

We all found the safety briefing much different from one you’d normally experience on a plane – particularly when the front two emergency exits were impossible to get near!

The views from the flight were amazing though – some of the most incredible that I’ve ever seen.

When we landed you could feel the temperature drop immediately. I very quickly went from zero to two facemasks, and zero to three pairs of gloves!

And then, to top it off, when then going for a wash my toothbrush froze within seconds – that’s really how cold it is!

From Norway to Clarence House

Part of our training involved going to Norway. This was a new experience for me as I had never been to Norway or been involved in any type of cold weather training since I joined the army. Finally getting up on the mountain and getting involved in some real training with Justin and David was very helpful. We went through things such as learning to put up the tents, which proved a little more difficult on the mountain as the winds picked up. We were hit by very strong winds and it really gave me a feeling of how hard it can be in bad weather. Overall it was a very good training exercise for team building as much as anything else. It was the first time I had really spent time with Justin and David and I’m really glad we got on and learnt about each other.

This was followed up by a visit to Clarence House to meet Prince Charles, which was a great privilege and a once in a lifetime opportunity. We had lots of media coverage there and it was a rewarding experience; seeing all the different agencies working for us, getting our stories and wanting to help. Prince Charles was really amazing and very interested in the expedition; it was so easy to talk to him. After this we went for a lunch and this was the first time I met the whole of the team. It looks like we have a really good crew for the walk; I can’t wait to get started!