So what does it take to have a reasonably "comfortable" time on an exposed glacier mountain landscape near the Arctic Circle?Shelter comes to mind first - we will be using a hoop style tent made by Exped, called the Andromeda II. The hooped design is great for high winds and creates more head space inside the tent. This tent features a large vestibule which will undoubtedly be very handy for cooking and storing gear.
Also by Exped are the Down Mats that everyone who owns one raves about. These will pad, and most importantly, insulate us from the snow we will be sleeping on the entire trip. Bringing a mattress repair kit is a matter of survival because if one gets a leak, many frigid nights will follow without it.
Then there is the big puffy sleeping bag. I am bringing a Marmot 0-degree bag despite the likely fact that many nights will be much colder. One can always sleep in his clothes and/or munch on some almonds in the night to reignite the internal flame.
Of course there is no bathroom in the tent. A lightweight cotton rag and some anti-bacterial face wipes will be the closest thing to a shower. You can just imagine how much I am looking forward to thawing frozen clean-wipes inside my sleeping bag before I can wipe my face!
While it won't be anything like hanging out back at our warm homes in Seattle, these things go a long way towards providing us with a launching pad from which to start each day with refreshed motivation!
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