Just a few days before the end of the expedition, and after A LOT of patience, the beautiful lights started dancing in the sky. That night, we saw green (the most common color), pink, and, for the first time ever, I also saw white Auroras. If you ever get the chance to see the Auroras dance in the sky, I highly recommend it!
Staying warm is one of the first challenges that people living in polar environments have to encounter. In our modern times, polar explorers often layer their clothing. This means instead of using one bulky warm layer, we use several thin layers to help take moisture (your sweat!) away from your body. Layers also allow warm air to stay in the spaces between each layer of clothing which keeps you warm. Wearing layers means it’s really easy to add another layer if you’re cold, or take one layer off if you’re warm. I also loved wearing my big parka outside, and I started calling it my big sleeping bag coat! The puffy layers in this parka give lots of small spaces for warm air to stay trapped inside, and the exterior helps protect me from the wind. If it was really windy, I could put the hood up and the fur ruff acted as a shield from the wind so it didn’t hit my face.
When I visited Greenland before the expedition, I learned about some of the traditional clothes Greenlandic people made to protect themselves from the cold. Similar to many native cultures, they used the hides of local animals to construct their clothing.
