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glacier calved.
    Trekking across the snow and ice covered ground during
    the one hour walk to the glacier itself was pretty strenuous,
    but he was glad for the exercise. The polar station, as
    comfortable as it was under the circumstances, was feeling
    cramped. Ever since his decision to quit his university job as
    soon as he returned to Stockholm, he was even more
    impatient to leave. Being outside like this was much more to
    his liking. In fact, that was the part he"d liked so much
    about fieldwork. It was what had initially attracted him to
    his previous job as Park Ranger. Being outside was better
    even than teaching.
    He had a lot of thinking to do about his next job. Just
    not right this minute.
    He was carrying his ice axe, crampons, enough ice
    screws to last two trips, his harness, and several ropes.
    Fumio was following behind, and he was an experienced
    glacier climber as well. He was in charge of the first aid kit
    and the satellite phone, just in case there was an unexpected
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    crevasse or shift in the ice flow and they needed to call into
    the station for help.
    “I don"t like the look of the sky.” Fumio came closer so
    they could talk above the strong wind. “That storm is not
    going to wait until tomorrow.”
    “The weather forecast the other guys do is usually pretty
    reliable.” Magnus looked up all the same. There were some
    dark clouds on the horizon, but they hadn"t moved much in
    the past hour since they"d left the station. They should be
    safe.
    “Yeah, well, you never know around here. It may be
    summer and the weather is supposed to be more stable, but
    there are so many factors even meteorologists don"t know
    about. Call me a cynic, but weather forecasting is more of an
    art than a science. They always leave me with a lot of
    skepticism about their reliability.” Fumio was now walking
    beside Magnus. “I"d rather trust my instincts.”
    “And those instincts are telling you the storm will close
    in today?” Magnus shook his head. “That would be a major
    problem, with us exposed out here. It might even mess up
    our ability to communicate in case of any real problems. Do
    you think we should turn back?”
    “Nah, what if the storm doesn"t hit? We"ll be the
    laughing stock for weeks.” Fumio grinned and slapped
    Magnus"s shoulder. “Besides, not getting our weekly
    readings will mean an irreplaceable gap in our data. We"ll be
    fine.”
    Magnus wasn"t so sure. Instincts, like emotions, or so
    he had learned, shouldn"t be ignored. He checked the sky
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    again. Nothing had visibly changed yet, but his hackles were
    now up. The last thing he wanted was to run any
    unnecessary risks, especially this close to being able to go
    home.
    They continued on until they reached the landward
    edge of the glacier. Putting the crampons onto their heavy
    hiking boots, slipping on their harnesses and tying
    themselves in were almost automatic activities. But Magnus
    had learned early not to switch his brain off while performing
    them. His attention needed to be on every single detail,
    making sure that not only he was safe, but his climbing
    partner as well. Climbing glaciers was no joking matter, and
    too many accidents happened because so-called experienced
    people became complacent and forgot to watch themselves.
    “Okay, are you ready to go?” Fumio tugged their double
    ropes one last time.
    Magnus nodded and took the lead for the first half hour.
    They moved slowly and carefully until they were on the top,
    and made a few measurements as they went. Fumio took
    over for the second half hour, and they had soon reached the
    first marker. Temperature and wind speed were written
    down, and a small ice sample was packed into their
    insulated bag. As soon as they were done, they went on.
    They were both physically fit, and neither felt the need for a
    break at this early stage.
    Three hours later they had reached the last