Tuesday, June 9, 1998
Fantastic day, another fantastic day in paradise. It was a rest day today. A lot of amazing things. We started off the day with an ice bath when the sun came out right over top. We basically all stripped down and just covered our bodies in ice until it melted and washed ourselves and then dried off. It was very entertaining and we got some excellent video shots of it all. Another amazing thing today, out here in the middle of nowhere, a lost bird came and flew over our camp and circled it for about ten, fifteen minutes just circling around and around. It was amazing to see life out here this far from anywhere. Since we had some time, we tested the polar bear gun today. [Click for photo.] We thought we might as well figure out if it works or not, so we set a can out there, and we tried to shoot it.
Life is fantastic here. Everybody is in good shape. Opened a box of Oreos and found a yo-yo, so I had a toy for the day. Our blisters are healing. Tomorrow we head for Gunnbjornsfjeld, the highest peak. That will be a long day, and we'll call you when we get back. Rest days are always interesting for me because they give you so much time to relax and just enjoy the beauty of the mountains. Sometimes it is important to be next to the mountains as it is to be on top of them and you think about all the good things and wish you could share it with more people; that's how I feel today. Hope everybody is good there, and we'll talk to the Zone tomorrow. Bye.
— Todd Burleson, Expedition Leader
 68 58 29 42 [click to zoom] (photo: Alpine Ascents Collection)
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 (original photo: Art Wolfe)
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