Yesterday was D-day. Documentary-day. Episode one was shown on national television. We all watched with family and friends and is looked great. Nice to see what has happened in the last two years.

Did you mis it?? Oh, boy. Well you can still see the whole episode online. Here it is.

The moment we (at least) all have been waiting for.
Coming Tuesday the Avro will start with the 5-episode series of the expedition. The have already made a really cool website on which you can find a lot of information about the series. There are extra video’s and an introduction video to all of us.
The process of the last two years have not always been so easy, but the result… just fabulous.

Just 10 days back in Holland and again busy with the project. In a studio in Amstelveen, Henk Jan and I did the voice-over for the first part of the documentary. One of those things I didn’t expect to learn when I started the project. I found it difficult, but great to do. Speak a bit lower, a bit faster, more intonation, sing a bit, and speak in the microphone.

Imagine me in a small room behind a microphone with a headphone on trying to speak the right line in the right speed while running and laughing. Pffffffff, but after 4 hours they were happy with it. Only 4 more episodes to go.

Sanne

Finally, after 2 years of preparation, training, searching for sponsors and weight-gaining, the expedition team has left for the icecap.

 With over 30 friends and family members, 2 camera teams and a photographer for the newspapers the departures hall at schiphol was well filled.. We expect them home somewhere around the end of may, precise time and date of their arrival will be announced on this weblog. In the meantime, updates on their situation on the icecap will also be given here. Stay tuned!

Good luck guys, have a safe and wonderful trip, and  return home safely!

Last night we met a team six people from the AVRO in a cosy brown pub in Utrecht. The AVRO is a Dutch public broadcasting company. They will broadcast a series of five 30-minute television programmes about the expedition. This is superdelux ! It will be broadcasted 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 August 2008 at Nederland-3 around 23:30.
The AVRO treated us on drinks and explained how we could help them making the series a success. It means we will have to do some more filming ourselves and assist them when necessary in drawing attention to the series. It’s now also possible to say a few words in Dutch (for the Dutch audience) which will help in filming those first shouts and cries when something exciting happens. The AVRO team looked like a fine group of people and we all have faith that the series will be great !

We will have our final big training tonight in a commercial freezer. Especially for this moment we have invited some press. And yes, they turned up in huge numbers.

2 newspapers, 2 radio stations, 1 tv station, 2 press offices and a handfull freelance photographers.

It’s becoming obvious, the deadline is closing and we are getting noticed by the press.

Some weeks ago we found a clothing sponsor for the project; Bergans of Norway. Our previous expedition name, project 66° North was very similar to another outdoor clothing brand: 66° North (Iceland). Therefore we decided to change the name of the project. But…, how can we come up with a new name; we were already so familiar with Project 66° North. Many names crossed our minds. After a final evening of shouting names and yelling silly things, one of us came with the name Project Inland Ice; a fine name which tells the entire story. The Greenland Ice Sheet is sometimes also referred to as Inland Ice, or its Danish equivalent, Indlandsis. Greenland and Ice, the cold and the climate, that’s all what counts!

Friday evening I (Sanne) had a interview with Morgen Rabobank. It is a magazine for starting entrepreneurs. Giving interviews is one of those thinks we learn during this project. Before I was very nervous, but now that’s no problem any more. Although the interview was no problem for me, it was almost an expedition for the journalist. My house is never warm and even after I turned the heating on ,it was a bit too cold. Well, it gave an extra dimension to the interview. The brochure will be published in February.

On the 22 of November we send our first newsletter. In the letter we will tell the latest hot news about the project. Before going to Greenland we will send a monthly update.
During the icecap crossing we will send mail dispatches on a more frequently basis. Of course this depends on the weather, where we are, what the situation is and what the process on the icecap is.
Leave your name and email address on the website and you don’t miss a thing.

The expedition team couldn’t wait until 2008 and decided to go on a small expedition in Holland. On the 10th of October the whole team dressed up in Hawaii summer outfit. We hauled our sleds from the Dam square to the Vondelpark in Amsterdam. The weather was super and conditions were great. The team successfully made it to the Vondelpark. During the trip we had the opportunity together with the HIER climate campaign to hand-out information from HIER to the surprised public.

Our pictures were taken by many a tourist. We had friendly discussions with the public too. Also our documentary maker Kevin had a successful day. He shot a lot of film material. Kevin thought it was such fun for him to watch us in Hawaii shorts that he proposed we should repeat these events. Of course it is our hope that in the future it won’t be necessary to dress in Hawaii shorts to cross Greenland with wheels under the sleds !