A trip on the glacier

The snow and avalanche study establishment people have put up an antenna at a place called Sankalp point about 5 km from here. It is located on the glacier, on a 1 km thick layer of ice. We trekked down all the way. We had to ascend the glacier first. It is quite steep and since there has been minimal fresh snow deposition this year, it was all ice. So we were slipping all the way. Things were easier once we reached the plateau. There were small crevasses all over, but none were dangerous. All over, the radiation from the sun had raised ridges wherever it hit. We took about an hour and a half to reach Sankalp point. There is a living module, Banjara, over there, meant for use during convoys to the ice shelf. We reached that place and had a picnic there. The temperature was at least 10 deg less than Maitri, and the temp at Maitri has dropped to - 18deg. So it was damn chilly. Our breath froze on the balaclava; ice also froze on my glasses. I was shivering so much that I was unable to even hold my cup of tea. Banjara is very well equipped. It has sleeping arrangements for 10 people, toilets, cooking, heating, TV- everything. It was very well stocked. So we had some snacks and juices followed by beer. But it was damn cold and windy inspite of the bright sun. We spent an hour there and then trekked back. Once we were on our way, we did not feel so cold. On our way down the glacier, it was so slippery that we were unable to walk. It was also dangerous. So we sled down all the way. As a result I am aching all over now. It was so slippery that there was no way to break our slide. But it was a lot of fun.