At two am it’s light enough in the tent to read without a torch.

Not direct sun light, the sun is below the horizon but not by much. I could do with a bit of dark to get to sleep. We have been guiding for a few days now and it’s very enjoyable. Small groups, lots of space, and people laugh at my jokes. We give all our clients trekking crampons. Just strap them to what ever shoes they bring. Even put a pair on some skate shoes. The guiding is very relaxed and the trip is up to the guide. If I want to take some ice climbing gear on the day walk for a play with the clients I can. If I don’t like the way the clients behave then I can come back. If it is raining too much then I can cut the trip short. I can talk lots and lots if I want or not at all. The general idea is that if the guide is having a good time then the clients will too. This could be a total flop but the other guides are keen and motivated and maybe it’s just the Icelandic way but it all seems to work. They are very safety conscious here but there is also an expectation that you challenge the individual clients. They have high expectations of kiwi guides so James and Tracy (kiwi guides who worked last year) must have done a good job. They expect us to be able to guide a walk after one trip with another guide. Since the clients come back in one piece and with smiles on their faces we must be pulling it off. Karen has been sent away for a week to another glacier to run a new operation by herself. A smaller glacier near the town of Vik, halfway between here and Reykjavik. She guides shorter trips, but up to three trips a day. Its closer to Reykjavik so people can do day trips from the capital. I’m currently the only one who can drive the bus so I’m staying here for now. The glacier I work on is one of tens of glaciers that drain the largest ice cap in Europe. The total size is 8000km2! Its one monster volcanic plateau with the craters being the accumulation zones for the snow and the valleys on the flanks having the glaciers. It’s much older and slower than the Fox but also retreating. This is not that bad a thing as there are still old farms covered with ice from before the mini ice age a few hundred years ago. I seem to have trouble posting phots by wireless conncetion. you all might have to wait a while to see them.
Ben.