Today was spent training for extreme conditions in Svalbard. These conditions could include being attacked by a polar bear or falling out of a speeding boat in the middle of the Barents Sea. Hopefully not on the same day. The rifle training was fun. Our team was very good and I especially enjoy shooting high powered rifles (30-06) like any proud rural Mainer. The most fun part of the rifle training was when we were put through a exercise regime to get us tired and stressed then immediately picking up our rifles and shooting at the polar bear target. The retired Norweigan Army man in charge of the training worked us preety hard (I felt as though the 2000+ miles of bike riding I had logged prior to the trip vainished, as my heart rate red lined immediately!) and then as we stood with our rifles, huffing and puffing, he told us to relax while the bear charges. How do you relax in the face of a charging 1000 lb polar bear? Anyway, my shooting went well and we had an exciting time. Lets hope that is the last shooting we need to do on our expedition. We then went through surival suite training. We learned how to stay afloat in the 36 degree water. The experience was one I will never forget. Chalk up another outstanding life experience (a lot of those lately!) We were told, after a couple of practice swims, to jump out of a moving boat preety far in the harbor and swim back. I enjoyed every chilling moment of it! Tonight we have some food shopping to do, a meeting and then we leave for Kapp Linne early Saturday morning.
Comments