Our training and preparation are going very well here in Resolute. This place has ideal conditions for us. The weather at the time we arrived was very nice with blue sky and day temperatures close to -40 degrees Celsius. There is a lot more daylight up here than I expected at this time of the year. Most of the day is light, even if the sun is low on the horizon.

The sun is just above the horizon outside our hotel, Qausuittuq Inns North.

The last few days have been cloudy and we have had some wind, and warmer temperature around - 25 degrees Celsius. But because of the wind chill the effective temperature is much lower. In seconds our hands will suffer from frostbite if we are not careful. We must try to do most things with gloves, and if needed only take them off for seconds at the time. We expect that the day is much shorter and the temperature is lower further north, at the starting point, Ward Hunt Island.

Our stay here is very important and gives us the necessary training and testing opportunity for all our equipment, and acclimatization of our bodies to this cold environment.

Lucas the hotel manager, is a very nice man, and he can give us answers to all our questions, besides this he is a "handy man" with "magic fingers", a person together with rest of his crew who are very helpful to us. And we appreciate them a lot for their effort and support they give to us and our project.

Now we have time to make changes and improve our equipment in com warm environment. Most things are good, but some things have to be properly prepared and modified for the extreme conditions.

Oba, the expedition leader attaching "skins" to his skis, they prevent the skis from sliding backwards but at the same time you still have some glide forward. This is very important when you are pulling a sledge or moving up hills.

Stepan the Russian team member working on his sledge, and preparing it for testing.

Håvard the Norwegian team member attaching sleeping mat to his Thermos, so hot water will hold the temperature for a longer period of time.

The rifle has to be properly prepared so we don't take the risk of "stoppage" or other dysfunctions when we need it in an eventually dangerous situation. We prefer to use a bolt-action rifle, because it has few moving parts, its solid and have a very strong "breakthrough" and stopping power. Rifle is the most chosen weapon among people with artic experience in winter time, and it's natural for us to follow their advices. Canada has a very strict weapon policy, but it is possible to borrow non-restricted weapons for non-residents such as ourselves. But you have to send an application to the Canadian Firearms Center to be approved and get a license. Unfortunately handguns are restricted, so it would be very difficult for us to get a license for example Magnum 44, which also is a very much used weapon for protection in artic conditions.

Håvard the Norwegian team member outside the hotel, he is soon ready to test the rifle, to check the functionality. The scoop on top of the rifle will be removed and it is important to leave the weapon in a cold area for a while before testing because the oil and "grease" will freeze and cause dysfunctions. For example the bolt has to be cleaned (picture to the right), and we can only use a little bit of very thin oil on some "moving parts".

Håvard the Norwegian team member using a standard 7-square-meter rectangle ski sail, a 4-square-meter "flap" can be attached to the sail with a zipper, and then the full size will be 11 square meters. This is a good sail for many different wind conditions, and changing wind.

Yesterday we had our first test on the sea ice, not far from our hotel. It's good to try out everything in the same conditions which we will face soon. Both Stepan and I are very lucky to have spent two weeks together in Norway training with a ski sailing instructor Mr. Sigurd Parmann in the mountains of Hallindal. Without that training, we would be in a lot more trouble than now. We feel that our skills are about the same level as when we finished the course. The ski sails are very important to us and especially to our progression south towards Churchill.

Oba, the expedition leader with a 8-square-meter rectangle ski sail.

Ski sailing with sledge can be a hard work, depending on the wind direction.

With cross country skis we can cover, in a normal day, between 20 and 25 kilometers, but with ski sails in good wind and wind direction, we can travel a lot longer!

Håvard the Norwegian team member pulling his sledge towards the bay in Resolute.

All around Resolute Bay, there are dogs, who are not in chains permanently. They are normally close to a dog kennel, with a lot of other dogs. Some of the purpose of this is a "natural" polar bear deterrent. If a polar bear should appear they will make a lot of noise, and the local people will be alerted so they can handle the situation.

The Team holding Flag's from left Nunavut territory flag and the national flags of Japan, Norway, and Russia.

Håvard Svidal-Haugan