Our daily skiing routines are falling into regular patterns. We now wake up at six o'clock in the morning, and strike camp in time to be on our way by eight o'clock. We then ski a one-and-a-half hour leg, pulling half-loaded sledges; off-load that gear; and then return with empty sledges to fetch the rest of our stuff.

The return journey with empty sledges only takes 20 or 30 minutes, depending on the terrain.

By the time we have done the second leg of our double-carry, it is time for a well-earned lunch. You pour hot water into your ready packed lunch-bag, and yumi-yumi: delicious! After half-an-hour's lunch-break, we are on our way again.

The afternoon is an exact repeat of the morning routine. We pitch camp for the night at about six in the evening, as twilight creeps slowly over the icy scenery. At this early time of year, we still need our forehead lamps on so that we can see to pitch the tents and do our evening chores.

Today also, the temperature was low: - 44 C in the morning, dropping to – 46 C during the course of the day. By the time we got to bed, the thermometer read – 48 C.

But, as we told you yesterday, a frosty day such as this is bearable enough as long as there is no wind. If it's a windy day, the chill-factor kicks in and it feels bitingly cold, even if the absolute temperature is significantly warmer.

We have now been a full week on the ice. The absolute distance traveled, on the map, is 25 km. We have gained much valuable experience in surviving extremely cold conditions. The team members have remained free of injury, disregarding a few minor blisters. Only minor equipment damage (a couple of broken ski poles; minor breakage to a sledge-harness buckle; some packing-bags broken; two clinical thermometers broken).

All is well with the Expedition.