eight countries financed the expedition, including Glassvatt's French mother company, the Saint-Gobain corporation. The French sponsors wanted a French truck to be used, but the Norwegians insisted on a Scandinavian one. The latter position won through, and a Scania-Vabis was selected for the task. The expedition's leader later admitted that a French truck probably would have been more suitable for driving in the desert. On 22 February 1959, at 9:15 am, the expedition left Mo i Rana. Responsibility for the expedition was given to Sivert Klevan, an engineer with a good instinct for public relations. The ice was to be procured from the glacier Svartisen, and a glaciologist was brought along to give advice. It soon became clear that the entire three-ton block could not be brought out in one go. Instead, 200 kg blocks were cut out with a chainsaw, carried away on a sled, and flown by helicopter down to the town centre. There they were melted together to make a block of ice weighing 3,050 kg. The block was placed in a specially constructed iron container, which was insulated with wood and glass wool. The container was placed on top of a truck that would carry it all the way to the Equator, accompanied by a van carrying equipment and a sedan with a film crew. Through Europe The first stop for the expedition was Oslo. There it was greeted by a great ceremony at Studenterlunden in front of the University. The truck was loaded with of medicines, to the value of 50,000 Norwegian krone. These medicines were to be delivered to the hospital of humanitarian Albert Schweitzer in Lambaréné, near the final destination of Libreville, the capital of Gabon. From Oslo the expedition continued to Helsingborg in Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark, where more medicines were brought along. For public relations purposes the expedition made its way through several European citiesincluding Hamburg, Cologne, The Hague and Brusselsand was received with ceremony and much attention everywhere. In Belgium a problem arose over a missing customs declaration for the ice, but this was solved when a customs official agreed to accompany the cars through the country. Klevan later received a personal apology for this inconvenience, conveyed by the Norwegian foreign minister Halvard Lange from Lange's Belgian colleague and personal friend. In Paris the expedition was escorted by police through the streets, and the crew members were invited to