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Welcome to the 2009 North Pole Ski Expedition Blog. Click here for today's update... April 14 The team has arrived and everyone is looking forward to getting on with the expedition. They met tonight for a welcome reception and dinner where they talked about the expedition and swapped stories about previous experiences, etc. Everyone is prepared and their kits look good. Just one more day until they land on the ice! April 15 Today the team spent the day going over last minute preparations for the expedition. They went over expedition logistics and procedures, and spent some time with the group gear, reviewing its care and maintenance. Everyone is in high spirits and looking forward to the charter flight tomorrow. In less than 24 hours they'll be on the ice heading North! Check back tomorrow for their first dispatch from the ice. April 16 The team is on the ice, and heading North. We got a call from them
shortly after they landed at 89 degrees. They had already skied
a couple of miles and were planning to put in another hour or so
before setting up camp. Their position when they called in was N89.02.17,
E150.52.57. This will change a bit as they ski onward and also as
they drift overnight. The winds were out of the southeast and the
temperature was -23. They hope to send in an audio dispatch so check
back in soon for the update from the team! April 17 The team had a great day of travel and all are in excellent spirits.
They skied for 6.5 hours and made 11 nautical miles thanks to the
drift and superb travel conditions. They did not encounter any open
water, some small rubble and a few pressure ridges they had to negotiate
over but all in all, fantastic conditions. The winds were out of
the SE at 15-20 mph which helped push them toward their goal.
Their current position is N 89.19.12, E 146.08.15.Temperature
was around -15 F. They wish a special happy birthday to Bob's daughter
Lydia and Ryan's father Dean. April 18 The team reports a phenomenal day with sunny skies and minimal
winds. They had relatively flat ice with some rubble. They ran across
their first bit of open water- a lead running southwest to northeast.
They had to travel 4 miles along the lead till they were finally
able to cross and continue heading north. They enjoyed a dinner
of Peary Pasta with salmon and Marie Sharp's hot sauce and are ready
for a nightcap. They are halfway to their destination, having made
8.5 nautical miles in 8.5 hours. Their current position is N 89.31.36,
E 152.42.11. April 19 The team had a more challenging day in terms of weather- overcast
skies with limited visibility, flat light making it challenging
to see the bumps and depressions in the ice. It was snowing with
10-15 knot winds from the southeast. Temperatures were around -15
F. They ran into more open water leads which presented like a puzzle
needing to be figured out. They negotiated them skillfully and no
one got wet. They traveled for 6.5 hours and made 9.2 nautical miles,
leaving them 16.5 nautical miles to the North Pole. Their current
position is N 89.43.32, E 135.30.52. April 20 Today the team reports a beutiful sunny day... "couldn't be beat" were the actual words they used to describe it. Winds were out of the SW at 15 MPH and temperatures were around -8F. They had a handful of leads today that they were able to navigate around with little trouble. One of them required a detour of about 20 minutes. It's always very satisfying to find a way across a lead. Of course you never know how long you will need to look - it could be 50 meters or several kilometers! And when you do find a spot where the lead pinches closed or where there is some type of a snow "bridge" that is strong enough to hold your weight, you always feel lucky. As they were sending their dispatch the team was in the process of cooking dinner, which tonight is a delicious lasagne with garlic bread. Their current position is N89.55.48, E134.25.21 Listen to today's audio dispatch from Ryan Allen April 21 We knew that their luck couldn't hold out forever! Today the team is tent-bound, after waking to blowing winds of around 30 MPH with low visibility. During the night they drifted to within 2 nautical miles of the North Pole before holding steady, and then beginning to drift a little to the south and west. Being tent-bound during a storm can be a relaxing way to spend the day especially when it sounds nasty outside and you are warm and relaxed inside. When the team reported in they were all together sharing a meal and playing cards. They'll see where the drift takes them tonight, and assuming the weather clears somewhat they will be back on their skis tomorrow. Listen to today's audio dispatch from Ryan and the whole team April 22 Hooray! After a long push against a strong south drift the team has reached the North Pole! They lost over 8 miles last night to the south drift, and when they first called in today they had made up most of those miles and only had 1.7 nautical miles left to reach the Pole but they had already been moving for 11 hours. Covering the remaining 1.7 nautical miles may not seem like a big distance, but given the drift and the possibility of encountering a lead you can never be sure that it will be a walk in the park. They poured their hearts into making it and kept plugging away for another 2.5 hours. When they were within one half mile of the pole they encountered a lead about 100 yards across. They were pretty sure that it wouldn't be frozen all the way across, but Ryan went out to scope the ice thickness and determined it was relatively safe, and they all skied across without incident. Once on the other side they were able to hone in on 90 degrees. After 13.5 hours of skiing, they are very tired, but in excellent spirits and feeling very satisfied. They are trying to conserve battery power on their satellite phone so if you are expecting a call and don't get one that is likely why. No doubt they are all thinking of family and friends and they are looking forward to sharing tales about the day with everyone back home! Again, congratulations to the team! Way to go!!! Listen to today's audio dispatch! The team has enjoyed a few days of well deserved rest and relaxation, having worked hard to achieve their goal. Since arriving at the geographic North Pole, they have drifted back to N 89.47.42, E 03.54.15. They spent the day building an igloo- something one just must do if one has extra time at the North Pole! They plan to be picked up tomorrow and flown back to Barneo base camp. Still conserving battery power, they did not phone in an audio dispatch today. Once again, we wish them congratulations on a job extremely well done! |
