His undersides are like sharp potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.

It also meant, if the worst came to the worst, I could actually jump in and swim across and drag the sledge over after me.

I was 26. I remember sitting there looking down at my sledge. I had my skis ready to go, I had a satellite phone, a pump action shotgun in case I was attacked by a polar bear.