North Pole Ski Last Degree 2018
Apr 15
#2: on the frozen trail
Published at 18:12
Our flight from Longyearbyen to Barneo Ice Camp left at 1am, depositing 20 groggy adventurers on the frozen Arctic Ocean at 4am. But adrenaline is powerful stuff and after collecting stove fuel and filling fuel bottles we jumped on board two helicopters and flew south east to 89 south and 134 east. We bid farewell to the two other teams in our chopper and with a temperature of -32C headed north on skis dragging our 50+ kg sleds.
The ocean is of course flat but it freezes into a chaotic jumble of pans, pressure ridges and leads of open water, often with a layer of snow on top sometimes sculpted into ridges of sastrugi by the wind. Ridges we have aplenty but the water remains hidden below the 1.8m thick veneer of ice.
We skied until midday, covering over 13km in 5 hours, very impressive. We set up camp and slept until 6pm, now well into our evening routine. I’m tenting with Bobby, Cordula and Lorenz are in the other.
It was a bracingly cold start and a deep-end intro to moisture management, always tough during the first couple of days but time rewards the patient and the savvy.
Pics
1. Bobby, Cordula and Lorenz with our chariot
2. Lorenz
3. Skiing on a frozen lead
The ocean is of course flat but it freezes into a chaotic jumble of pans, pressure ridges and leads of open water, often with a layer of snow on top sometimes sculpted into ridges of sastrugi by the wind. Ridges we have aplenty but the water remains hidden below the 1.8m thick veneer of ice.
We skied until midday, covering over 13km in 5 hours, very impressive. We set up camp and slept until 6pm, now well into our evening routine. I’m tenting with Bobby, Cordula and Lorenz are in the other.
It was a bracingly cold start and a deep-end intro to moisture management, always tough during the first couple of days but time rewards the patient and the savvy.
Pics
1. Bobby, Cordula and Lorenz with our chariot
2. Lorenz
3. Skiing on a frozen lead
- Name: Camp 1
- Elevation: 1 m
- Latitude: 89° 7’ 13” North
- Longitude: 133° 19’ 22” East
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