We arrived in Northern Norway yesterday. longyearbyen iis a town of 2,000 people that has its history in coal mining. We are staying In a former mining barracks that has been converted to a lodge. We spent the day today going over our gear and getting everything ready for our departure. We are flying out in the morning with 8 dogs, the sled and 600 lbs of gear and supplies. We will fly on a plane into a Russian outpost on the Arctic circle. We will then take a helicopter to our starting point. We will spend the next 19 days skiing and mushing our way to the North Pole. Excitement is high. As many of you know the Arctic circle is a sheet of ice that can vary in thickness from several feet to mere inches. We will encounter many "leads" along the way which is an opening in the ice. We will also encounter "pressure ridges" where two sheets of ice smash into each other and create boulders on the surface. We have to navigate through and around these obstacles. We are headed up with three other guys. Mayer, CP and Robert. A great group of guys. Don't worry Mayer has more experience running dogs to the North Pole than anyone else in the world. We are in good hands. Off to storm the castles in the morning....