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Today was our ice adventurer training.
Our mission was to conquer the Franz Joseph glacier - and of course we did.
The mission wasn't really that hard, as we were led the whole way by a professional, who jacked out steps and ledges all the way up and down, but we beat it nonetheless.
Something else to tick off the list!
It was a bizarre experience, walking along what is essentially a river, but just frozen solid - flowing 100,000 times sloer than the average river does. But kitted up with all the warm gear, and with crampons on our boots we ventured into ice caves and through incredibly narrow crevices, on a couple of occassions having to squezze through the tight gap, brushing our noses along the edge. If you are of the larger persuasion, probably best to avoid some of these areas!!
The ice was so blue at times it was hard to see where the sky stopped and ice began, your eyes taking a while to adjust and sort out the confusion ahead of us. And walking was often like scrambling over shattered glass - the hacked ice in little squares, crunching and breaking beneath our feet.
It was not that cold, it was definitely a new experience, and it's something else I feel so lucky to have done.
Tonight, we celebrate conquering that glacier!
Bring on the beer.
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