As I lie on my side in the tent trying to decide what to write about, I catch sight of my reflection in the small, handheld gadget I’m typing this on.

I look old.

My woolly hat is low over my brow. My eyes look tired and drawn. Wrinkle lines radiate from the corners. And we have only been out on the ice for a few days. What, I keep asking myself, will I be like after 110 days and 1800 miles of Antarctica have finished with me?
All three of us are in a strange position: we have each done enough to not need to prove anything to other people or to ourselves. This can make the cold, plodding, difficult grind of an expedition feel somewhat daft. As we took off our skis and unclipped our harnesses after one hard day’s hauling, we each confessed that, independently, each one of us had been mulling over other less painful options for life (wedding photographer; writer; teacher).

We all laughed at that, relieved perhaps to discover we were not alone. But also because we each know we would actually find it very hard to leave all this behind. Greenland is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been – the mountains, the vastness, the solitude – and it’s a privilege to have it as my office. And I am realising out here that the three of us are in a very exciting position. Although we have all done interesting things, we are now in a position to begin something really difficult and significant in our lives.

We do not know if we will succeed (it would be pointless if it was guaranteed). But we are discovering out here in Greenland that we have one of the key ingredients for a successful expedition.

Laughter.

It’s the single best way of diffusing tensions, making light of misery and keeping things fun and positive.
So far we are all getting on very well. Ben and Martin talk about North Pole trips, Martin and I discuss photography, and we all chat together about what Antarctica will be like and how we can boost our chances of success down there.

So long as the tent remains full of laughter and good-natured mickey-taking then I believe our prospects are very good indeed.
The prospects, however, for my wrinkle-free, youthful good looks seem rather less positive.

Al

We’ve been in Greenland for five days now, and on the ice itself for two-and-a-half. I’d always remembered the mountains, valleys and glaciers of this vast island’s east coast having some pretty breathtaking scenery (I was last here six years ago) but somehow the sheer scale and majesty of it all had faded in my mind, and it’s been a real joy seeing it through the eyes and lenses of my two teammates, Al and Martin.

We’re here to test clothing, equipment and food for our four-month expedition in Antarctica later this year -a dress rehearsal in many ways- but perhaps more importantly we’re here to test ourselves as a team. To see how our little trio might get on for four months and 1,800 miles.

We’ve been hauling deliberately heavy loads, and a lot of kit that sadly won’t make it past my scales to Antarctica. Nikon have been kind enough to supply us with a giant pile of photographic gear, and we’re pulling brand spanking new D800 and D4 cameras, 25 camera batteries (enough for 16,500 photographs), and an array of lenses including a monster 200mm f2. Al’s proving a consumate cameraman and is also dragging a slider, a tripod, microphones and eyepieces, and between three sledges we have almost half a terrabyte of Compact Flash and SD storage. So the holiday snaps should come out alright.

While I’m plugging sponsors, we wouldn’t be here without Land Rover‘s ongoing and unstinting support, and without a huge amount of assistance from CF Partners. Thank you.

I’ll get Al to write something about team dynamics tomorrow, but right now, as the leader of this grizzled motley crew, lying here on the floor of the tent in the faint warmth of the evening sun, the only way I could be happier with how things are going would be if I could find my missing spoon…

It is the second day in Greeland for Ben, Martin and Al. Here is a quick update from Ben on what they have been up to in the last 24 hours.

I’ll post a fuller update -and indeed a proper introduction to what we’re up to- in the next few days…