Well, last night because we were tent bound during the day we actually had to have half rations so we didn’t get any dinner which is a bit disappointing because we’d had our breakfast. And the gails just keep on coming and the wall came down again. By morning our tent was completely buried and there was so little space inside because the wall had completely cave in that we were just too little peas huddled together happily! But, when about 7:00am we decided, “Okay it has eased and we must make some grounds today“. Actually when we went out side it was blowing about half it was the day before. And, yet it still could blow us on our skis with our pulks along without us doing anything.! So there is some indication of the winds that we’ve had. I mean its just horrendous. The only way that I can really describe the weather that we get here in my opinion, is that it feels like the ice cap has a personal vendetta against you. And, you’re not supposed to be here and it’s trying to tell you to get the hell out of here now! I mean it could be a very good reason why this area has not been mapped very well ie don’t come!
So, I mean it really just…it truly makes my experience in the Artic in February feel quite pleasant because at least then it’s just cold and you could wrapped up because here it’s just evil. I wouldn’t want to put off people coming to Patagonia of course, just the ice cap itself!
Lets just talk a little bit about the panic attack because I’ve seen other people with panic attacks or I thought and it wasn’t like that. I’ve seen people get really upset and they get carried away and they get in a tiz until they can’t control their breathing and it is just a complete mess. Where I was happily just finished dinner, in my sleeping bag chewing on a 9 Bar and I said to Tarka “oh pants I need to go out side for a wee”, which when your in your sleeping bag is a bit of a rig moral. Before I even had a chance to eat my last bite of my 9 Bar I couldn’t feel my hands…well, I could feel that they were going tingly, then I couldn’t feel them. I lost coordination and couldn’t focus my eyes, it felt like someone was sat on me. My chest was going tight and then I couldn’t breathe very well and this just came out of nowhere. You know I wasn’t upset about any thing and now I’m really worried about needing a wee in case it happens again! One interesting fact, that Dr Ed Mathers did tell us, is that after you start hyperventilating in a panic attack, after about 4 minutes of that unless you can bring it back to normal, you pass unconscious which presumably is the body re writing itself! Aren’t we clever us humans! Anyway, that’s probably enough of me rabbiting. I’m going to go kind of to sleep in my wet sleeping bag. And, yes we’ll speak tomorrow. Bye.
