A shared breakfast at the guesthouse and we were ready to go. We were picked up by snowmobile with a wooden trailer and given a rough ride through the settlement and dropped just outside the village on the ice and snow covered bay; and told to wait for the dog sleds to arrive. Linda, Aaron and I were standing there for about 15 minutes - waiting. Narelle and Kel were about 400 metres away, but they were next to their guide and dogs. Ours were nowhere to be seen. Then over the hill came the 2 teams, a fantastic sight. The dogs were very excited. Our guide was a 22 year old hunter/guide called Age (pronounced "Ogy"). There were 12 dogs, arranged with a lead dog in front and the other dogs on increasingly shorter leads arranged randomly. They were not in two's and in a straight line as we had seen in Norway. We later learnt that the reason for this is when they go hunting. The Greenland dog is bred for hunting polar bears. When the hunter sees a bear he will rein in one or two of the closest dogs, set them free and they will corner the bear. The remaining dogs will keep the sled moving. The bears are intimidated by the dogs and this will give the hunter the opportunity to move in for the kill. There are 17 licensed hunters in the village and they have killed 35 bears this year. There is a quota but it wasn't clear how it was shared by the hunters. As a point of interest; Ittoqqortoomiit is the most remote community in the Western Hemisphere. Linda's guide was a 16 year old licenced hunter/guide called Martin and he had a team of 12 dogs. Narelle and Kel's guide was also called Age (Ogy 1) and he was the "chief guide", a 24 year old with 13 dogs to his team. The dogs were so excited. I will use "Ogy" spelling for simplicity. The sled is wooden construction about 3 metres in length, no brake on ours although Ogy 1 did have a break on his, and the guides mostly ride up the front on an elevated box containing the supplies. We were told to get on, either side saddle or legs straddled. Not comfortable and difficult to hang on. Aaron chose the middle and I had the relative comfort of leaning with my back on to the bags and other stores. I sat straddled and this was not comfortable! Poor Aaron, he sacrificed so much for me on the sled. We were sitting on bags of dog food, our sleeping bags and mattresses, and a musk ox skin, all lashed down. It might sound comfortable but with each day at least 6 hours ....... We were off, bouncing over the ice..... hanging on. It was a good day, with a cloudy sky and some sun shining through; at least to start with! We went out on the fjord ice and headed for Kap Hope, which is one of 2 deserted villages in the area; although one old man emerged when we arrived. We were frozen, the weather had started to close in and it was clear it was going to turn nasty. I had long-johns, fleecy pants, tracking pants and the woolen lined overalls that had been provided. I had 4 layers on up top and I wore my neck warmer, balaclava and beany. The overalls provided also had a large woolen lined hood. Yet all of us were quite cold, after only 1 and 1/2 hours! Aaron and I put on an extra pair of socks. After about 15 minutes rest, for the dogs more than us; we were on our way again. We continued on the ice and turned into the mouth of Hurry Fjord. It was still very bumpy riding and hanging on. The weather was worsening. Our lunch stop was at a small cabin called Dom Brava, which provided shelter from the wind, snow and very cold temperature that had descended upon us. We were all huddled together the cabin while the guides got the primus stoves working for heat and boiling water. Lunch was noodles, biscuits, chocolate and hot drinks (tea, coffee and chocolate). "Are we having fun?" became the funny statement we would use as a group. Despite it all, yes we were; it was great. We continued up the fjord, past Constable Point on the left in the distance, heading for a cabin at the very head of the fjord. The weather was worsening, with the temperature dropping and the wind howling, and snow and sleet in our faces. The guide asked us if we were cold, and told us to hug ourselves, clap our hands together and run next to the sled if necessary. He also gave us chocolate bars. Our toes and fingers were tingling with pain and we were both doing our best to move them and to hang on. Our sled had falling behind the other two and we finally arrived at the cabin about 6.30pm. Although I was cold on the sled and I had pain in my fingers and toes, I was not prepared for what happened next. I got off the sled and walked into the cabin and began shaking uncontrolably. Aaron seemed to manage much better and although he was also cold he soon warmed up. Linda and Narelle were also shaking. We huddled together but that didn't really help me, I just couldn't stop shaking. Aaron vigorously rubbed me for about 10-15 minutes and I began to feel better. "Are we having fun?" Kel used his temperature gauge; no wonder we were all cold. It was minus 15 degrees and with at least a 10-15 kph wind, the chill factor was minus 30 degrees! Wow! The hut was small, but soon warmed up with the primis stoves working for warmth and the guides beginning to prepare hot water and dinner. It has been a great day and we all laughed and recounted the experience over hot chocolate, musk ox mince, spaghetti, more chocolate and more hot drinks. Sleeping on the floor on a swag with a thin mattress and warm sleeping bag was cramped but ... hey... this is the Arctic, and we were on an adventure. The guides had created an igloo type toilet. It was important to pee, as the urine inside your body reduces the body heat. Peeing actually has a warming effect. A disturbed sleep, but the cabin was warm. The dogs slept outside tethered on a chain. They actually enjoy the cold and can withstand temperatures down to minus 50 degrees. They can also grow an extra fat layer very quickly if needed. The dogs had worked very hard today and deserved their rest. Photo is of both of us about to start the dog sled adventure.