3542 meters above sea level
Today we traveled a further 96.8 km and arrived at Depot 700 (700 km from Troll) at around 19:00. We adopted a little different driving schedule today, starting at 4:00 in the morning instead of driving through the night. The main reason is the chill at night. The thermometer has indicated as low as -43 degrees Celsius during the night! At such low temperatures, we noticed that vehicles were not performing at their best so it has been decided to cover as much distance as possible during the more favourable conditions.
Tonight, 'The Cafe at the End of the World' became the venue of the celebration for Torbjorn's birthday.
We started out with a toast with red wine, followed by a feast of Mexican burritos. Cakes and the birthday song were of course not forgotten. Torbjorn gave a speech telling us how delightful and happy he is to be celebrating his birthday at such a unique location with such a unique crowd. Most of us were tired and thought it was going to be an early night, but the celebratory atmosphere kept a lot of us back in the kitchen module which was filled with laughter and happy faces. The temperature outside may have been below -40 degrees Celsius but our hearts are kept very, very warm. Happy Birthday, Torbjorn!
This contribution is from the log of the Norwegian-US Scientific Traverse Team, who are en route from Troll Station to the South Pole Station. Much more information can be found here.