Because simply camping is difficult and time consuming in polar environments, we spend a lot of time prior to heading out on Lake Winnipeg focus focused on learning 'tent time'. Each morning and evening follows a scripted routine that saves time and energy, and equally important, keeps us safe. Each task has enough subtle nuance that it takes some time to get use to.

Luckily it's not rocket science and Day 5 of polar training means that the team is functioning like a well oiled machine.

Side note: one of the students, Brad, actually is a rocket scientists and he has independently verified that our tent procedures are indeed not rocket science.

Getting up and out of a warm sleeping bag and into a cold tent is never easy, but on Day 5 even that was a manageable task. We quickly broke camp and then skied toward the narrows where we turned around the day prior.

Snow conditions are frustrating for sure but we were able to skirt the edge of the peninsula then wind our way to the southern shore of Elk Island, a provincial park. Skiing along the shore, we followed several large wolf tracks for over a mile.

Throughout the day, temperatures increase enough for us to be able to ski without our hoods on. By the time we stopped for lunch and soup from our Stanley soup flasks, it was a comfortable 15 degrees. We lounged on top of our sleds and laughed knowing that an extra few minutes of relaxation was not creating a life threatening situation (compared to yesterday).

A while later we encounter a wide swath of pressured is - big angular plates of four to six inch thick pieces of ice stacked up against one another eerily similar to what we get on the Arctic Ocean. For our situation, it simply meant 'a good training opportunity' and we spent the next two hours snaking our way through the shards and ridges. For one section we took our skis off and walked as the ice was so rough. During another, we set up a relay to get our sleds up and over.

We eventually made our way to a small smooth swath of ice at the northern end of Elk Island. I wanted to keep pushing, but after a short scout, realized this was the only place suitable for camping. So, I made the call to stop for the day and the groups set up the tents and camp like seasoned polar pros.