Michelin Man

Day 25: Mongol Els (MNG) - Ulaanbaator (MNG). The wind howled across the desert plain. The sand hit my face and burned my eyes, the cold numbed by face. “One thing: Wearing all of these clothes makes my rucksack lighter”, shouted Karen against the noise of the wind. I tried to respond but I couldn't. My scarf had frozen to my beard making it difficult for me to move my mouth. This was an awesome experience!

During the night a huge storm had developed battering our little ger tent. In the middle of the desert there were no mains services, so we had huddled around a solitary candle playing cards, afraid to go to bed in case our little tent blew away. The temperature plummeted to -28C, which with the wind-chill, made it feel more like -40 to -45C. Karen and I had hardly slept at all. Not only were we afraid that our ger would be relocated by the desert storm, but we also needed to religiously stoke the fire every two hours to ensure it didn't go out. If we had not, the cold would have been unbearable.

Having made it through the night we were now outside experiencing this incredible phenomena. Looking a bit like the Michelin Man, we were practically wearing every single piece of clothing that we had brought with us on our trip: 2 pairs of thermals, 2 pairs of socks, 1 pair of trousers, 2 tops, 1 fleece, 1 waterproof jacket; 2 pairs of gloves, 1 hat & 1 scarf – and still the cold penetrated!

Bizarrely, this is what we wanted Mongolia to be like For the months of planning that preceded our adventure, Karen and I had speculated about what the formidable cold of Central Asia would really be like. But when we got to Ulaanbaator the temperatures were a balmy -3, leaving us a little; well, disappointed. But Mother Nature had come to our aid and given us a display of how unbelievably hostile this environment could be.

That feeling of standing in the desert, with that cold and that solitude – all five senses working overtime – will stay with us forever. Like I said: Awesome!