9 July 2009 A VERY Early Morning

We started our day of July 9th by getting up at breakfast at 12:30 am! Once we got our gear stashed, it was time to get on the bus to the airport at 1:30. Our LC-130 took off with everyone for Greenland near 2 am with great views out the side windows right away. The windows in the rear were even bigger and everyone had an opportunity to move to the back to take photos and look at the ice. A little over two hours later and we were landing on the ice sheet at the Summit of Greenland! Smoother than Alaska Airlines landing in Juneau!

Clothed in our cold weather gear; snowpants, boots, parka, gloves and hat and carrying our backpacks we moved slowly as we made our way to the Big House. Even with the excitement of arriving it was evident that the elevation, thin dry air and reflection from the snow were quite a dramatic change from being at sea level. The team moved slowly and eventually we met around the tables for a check in with the medic and some brief information about staying hydrated, keeping our bodies moving, breathing deeply and eating well especially during this first day of acclimation. Some of us ate some breakfast as we listened in on the orientation from Camp Manager, Kathy for our first day at Summit.

It was still very early in the morning and we finally were going to get to sleep for more than a couple hours. Sorting out the gear to the tents and getting settled in meant having time to sleep until noon. I'm sharing a tent with Trine, a student from Denmark. We are in an Arctic Oven tent and it definitely heated up by mid-day.

After a great lunch, the Summit Staff gave us a thorough tour of the entire Summit Camp. There are lots of projects going on and in addition to watching our steps for drifted snow, we were also on the look out for machines and areas where it's not safe for walking. Our team now has an idea of some ideas for projects, videos and investigations!

The great part of our schedule here this first day was incorporating rest with activity. It's important to take it easy and know that we have time to get acclimated. Great meals, good people, incredible support for understanding the goals and daily work of the Summit Station! We also had presentations and learned from Tom, teacher from Aasiaat and Lars, teacher from Copenhagen about their home places, landscapes and communities.