I woke up this morning hoping to hear nothing other than the occasional stirring of our guides like in mornings past. Instead I was greeted with the sounds of an angry Artic wind.

We are in a full blown whiteout and cannot move.

The blowing wind fills the air with snow that smashes into your face. It's best described like you see if you are driving into a snow storm on the freeway. The kind of storm that cars pull under over passes for a little reprieve. Our sturdy little tent is our life source. We have to conserve fuel because there is no predicting how long we are here. So no stove and we are literally cocooned inside our mummy bags. We are also losing ground. The wind pushed our ice sheet more than a mile south.

The wind is so loud we have to yell to communicate with the guides who are in a tent a few feet away. Dinner last night was an interesting study in human nature. When times are good Mark and I are jovial and quick to share our limited supplies. Last night was tough. A long cold day with little to show for our efforts. We finally got the stove going to boil some water. Our dinner is freeze dried and comes in a zip locked package. Mark chose lasagna, I had sweet and sour pork. We were wiped out and hungry. I looked in horror as a slice in my package turned my dinner into Sweet and Sour Pour as it drained all over my bag and my side of the tent. My normally helpful tent mate managed a slight grunt and brief pause to see what the commotion was about. He offered to help but by help he meant moving our meager source of heat closer towards him so I could scoop up my Chinese slop off the dirty tent floor and wipe up the mess with my sock while he feasted on his dinner as if in some fine Italian restaurant watching a hungry beggar with his face planted to the window.

I should have seen this coming after earlier in the day on the trail when I braved the bitter cold to take off my gloves to open a Snickers for calories. Calories are a source of fuel to keep your bodies warm. I offered the lions share to Mark which he engulfed without a word. Who is this strange creature that the cold has created? I know him not....oh I hope I do not turn into the same but I find myself plotting my revenge as I eye the breakfast bag.

P.S. In case anyone is reading this and does not understand our sense of humor, we want to offer a small disclaimer. While all the events are true and accurate, rest assured we are brought to tears laughing at the absurdity of each days events. We also take great comfort in knowing we have each others backs in things that really matter.