Day 1 - Sunday 12 March 2006

I am up at 6am and have repacked my bags yet again. I am so nervous driving to Heathrow. Will I be up to this challenge? Will everyone else be superfit? All these thoughts are going around in my head and turning my stomach to butterflies.

I make my way to the SAS desk and there are three familiar faces - David, Duncan and Judy. I suddenly feel a lot better. Then there are all the others looking keen. Phil 'the Crazy Musher' gives me a handwarmer and a lanyard (this becomes one of the most useful pieces of equipment on the trip) and Peter organizes us in a group for the check-in so well that I think he is our expedition leader at first. We all wander around duty free buying booze and wet wipes before boarding the flight to Oslo. As soon as we reach the coast of Norway, I see the land is covered in snow and now it feels as if the adventure is really starting. There is time at Olso airport to get a snack before boarding the next flight to Alta in the far north.

At Alta we are met by Sid, our leader from Across the Divide and Per Thore, the local agent. Kirsty, the doctor has travelled with us from Heathrow. We pile into a minibus and on the way to our overnight stop at Gargia, someone notices a faint light across the night sky. A great cry goes up 'it's the Northern Lights! and we are all pressing our noses up against the bus window trying to catch a glimpse of them through the trees.

Gargia is a small settlement of wooden accommodation blocks and huts with a central building which houses a kitchen, bar and restaurant. It is also has an equipment store in the basement. We are given a keys for our rooms then go to dinner and have our first briefing. This is when I realise that I have brought far too many clothes. Sid tells us that all we need is a set of thermals and a thin fleece to wear under our suits. We are put into groups and given tasks for the next day. I am on late shift dog feeding and shit picking! - Nice!

Dinner is salmon, vegetables and potatoes and chocolate mousse for pudding. I buy a can of lager which costs about £5. This might be a good opportunity to cut down on drinking! After dinner we get our Arctic suits and boots. The Arctic suits are all in one and very cumbersome. The boots seem very large.

I go back to the room I am sharing with Jane and we both repack our bags till well after midnight.