We are now in Resolute Bay preparing for the departure on February 28. We are staying at a hotel called Inns North and spending time in the garage checking sleds, skis, tents, and other camping equipment. We are also practicing with sleds on the sea ice.

The temperature in Resolute Bay is around -35 to -25 degrees Celsius, and I can't stand still when the wind blows (it's too cold). When I went ski sailing on the sea ice I saw leashed sled dogs. Puppies are left loose and running about like balls. They are furry and when they run they look as if stuffed puppies were running, they are very cute. Everytime I ski sail, they chase after me.

Today I put gasoline into containers. It's a fuel used for boiling water in the tent or drying the likes of gloves and socks that are wet with sweat or steam. We will take eighteen 1.5-litter bottles and three 4.5-litter bottles filled up with gasoline for the expedition. We are estimating that we will use 700mL a day, so 35L for fifty days. As for ski sails, we will take three kinds of them: 4m², 7m², 11m² (with 4m² flap), and 24m² the biggest one. The size of sails to use is determined by the strength of the wind. And we use the North Face tents provided by Goldwin Inc.

We borrowed a sewing machine from Martha at the Kitchen and stitched skirts (50cm width) onto flysheets of the tents. Håvard and Stepan were very handy with the sewing machine and spent all night long for the work. This skirt with the snow on top of it will prevent the floor of the tent from being blown away by the wind and so it will help keep the warmth inside the tent.

Now about the meals at the hotel, we have scramble eggs, bacons, toasts, and sliced fried potatoes for the breakfast. There is no soup and coffee or tea is served. For lunch we usually have fried food, meat, or fish, and coffee. At night we have a dish of stake or fish, soup, and salad. It is a big meal like celebrating Obon festival and New Year's together.

The kitchen is spacious and about fifty people can dine in. When I look out of the window, I can see the view of the sea ice in Resolute Bay. My condition is not so bad. But this morning Stepan has probably caught a cold because he didn't show up for the breakfast and he is still sleeping. It is better to take enough rest to recover before we start the expedition. By the way, Håvard also did not show up in the morning. It seems he also caught a cold and he is down in bed for all day long. If his condition does not improve, we will take him to doctors. Anyhow our moods toward the up and coming expedition are getting better.