April 3

The first night of the expedition! Hooray! After much planning and preparation we are delighted to have the team members all together in Longyearbyen. Tonight kicked off with a welcome reception and dinner at a local favorite restaurant. Specialties on the table included reindeer tortillas and halibut (tommorow is whale and seal...) Everyone is in good spirits and looking forward to the upcoming adventure. The temperature today was around -10F which is not too cold, but just about right for your first day in the Arctic. It is much colder at the North Pole! Check back tomorrow for another dispatch!

April 4

Today the team spent the day with last minute preparations for the expedition. It was a beautiful sunny day and after going over each person's kite one more time, they went for a ski session to warm up the muscles for the coming days. Later they packed their speds and prepped them for transport. Everything needs to be at the airport tonight in advance of tomorrow morning's flight (weather dependent). For dinner they had a nice meal overlooking the Longyear Valley and they watched the low sun set behind the mountains across the fjord. It cast a pale golden hue over the snow and made everything appear as though it had been touched by gold.

April 5

Today the team flew via charter air to the Borneo Ice Station. Borneo, sometimes called Barneo, is a small basecamp currently located about 20 kilometers from the North Pole (it drifts with the ice, and therefore changes location every day!) . Borneo is a temporary ice camp. It is established every April to support North Pole expeditions and science teams that are studying the pack ice near the North Pole. Borneo consists of a heated mess tent where people gather for meals and socializing, as well as several sleeping tents. It has an ice runway and a very dedicated staff who call it home for the season.

The weather today was perfect for flying; sunny, clear and about -20F. After landing the team had an orientation followed by lunch. Later they put on their skis and spent some time skiing around the camp to loosen up the ski muscles. The snow is firm and well-packed and though Amy, Linda and Steve are all good skiers, it is also possible to walk on the snow. After skiing the team had a social hour/wine tasting in the mess tent. The wine-tasting featured wine from three countries that have had particularly interesting & historical North Pole expeditions (France, Australia and Italy). Later on Bert Peary Stafford, great grandson of Admiral Robert Peary, gave a presentation about his great-grandfather's discovery of the North Pole. He brought along a family photo album as well as one of Peary's sextants. Though the 24 hour sunlight makes the difference between night and day negligible, most of the team headed to bed not too late. If you can remember where you are, it's an incredible feeling to know that you are so close to the North Pole. Tommorrow they will arrive at the top of the world! Check back for more details!

The Borneo Ice Sataion

April 6 - 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF PEARY AND HENSON REACHING THE NORTH POLE

Today marks the 100 year anniversary of the Peary and Henson reaching the North Pole in 1909. Our team is currently celebrating this day in history along with their own achievement of standing at the top of the world.

They departed the Borneo Ice Station today under the bright sunlight of a gorgeous day. Winds are calm, sun is shining, and the temperature hovers around -30C. After getting dropped off a few kilometers away from the North Pole, the team skied in the remaining distance and set up camp. After an initial celebration they climbed into their tent where they cooked up a hearty dinner, and had a special tribute to Peary and Henson by singing an honorary song and blowing out a candle shaped as the number "100". Bert Peary Stafford who joined in for the meal and festivities answered questions about his great grandfather. All the while they slowly drift away from the North Pole. Their current position is N89.59.58, E46.42.10... now 11.....no make that 13.....now 17 (that's how fast they are drifting!) Everyone is happy and healthy and glad to be at the North Pole. Check back soon for more details!

How is polar travel different today from 100 years ago?

Today, as our own team heads north on their own quest to reach the North Pole, we celebrate a very special anniversary. 100 years ago today the North Pole was first reached by Admiral Robert Peary, his steadfast assistant Matthew Henson, and four Inuit guides. This marked a historic achievement in the annals of exploration.

How does polar travel today different today from 100 years ago? Amazingly, there are more similarities than differences. We still struggle with extremely cold temperatures that threaten our fingers, toes, cheeks and noses. Though our clothing has changed to include nylon and breathable materials, many would argue that traditional Inuit clothing is still the best; and many of our most important pieces of clothing (anorak, mitts, mukluks, etc.) are inspired by Inuit design and ingenuity. Thus on a daily basis our teams on the ice experience conditions and travel conditions that are very close to what Peary and Henson experienced in 1909. It's an incredible feeling not only to be following in the footsteps of such polar heroes, but also to share the same emotions that they must have felt on a daily basis.

Perhaps the two biggest differences between polar expeditions of 1909 and polar expeditions today are satellite communications and air support. Back in 1909 Peary and Henson had no way to communicate their successes and no way to call for help if needed. 100 years later, no expedition travels without a satellite phone and at least one other form of emergency communication. Satellite communications allow our teams to request assistance in emergencies, but it also allows them to communicate their daily achievements and struggles. Air support is another big difference between 1909 polar expeditions and today's expeditions. When our expedition reaches the North Pole they will be picked up by charter air and they'll return back to civilization in the relative comfort of a heated plane over the course of one day. Once Peary and Henson reached the Pole their journey was only half over - they still had to get home!

The final difference, which has only become perceptible to the one-the-ice skier or dogsledder in the last couple of years, is the changing ice. Due to global warming the Arctic Sea ice is melting at an astonishing rate. In fact the summer of 2008 showed the least amount of sea ice on record. Though sea ice returns with the colder temperatures of winter, it only has a few months to develop before the warmer temperatures of spring and summer return. For a team on the ice this means much thinner ice (which poses many interesting dilemma) and less snow pack for melting water, building snow shelters, etc. For the citizen of the world, this change in sea ice is much more significant, marking a potentially irreversible change in ocean currents and global temperatures. Though you may be far from the North Pole you can still be a part of its survival. Click here to learn 30 things you can do to help stop global warming.