North Pole Ski Last Degree 2018
Apr 18
#5: iceberg
Published at 17:48
We gained another 2km overnight from drift but also lost 4 degrees of easterly, which matters little.
Mid morning we spotted an iceberg on the horizon, around 10 degrees east of our bearing but it was too enticing to miss. At one point it disappeared in a bank of fog but emerged with sunlight beaming on its western face. A field of heavy pressure seemed to fortify its southern flank but we broke through and found ourselves perched under its pinnacled skyline. Such icebergs are rarely seen this far north, particularly ones as large as this one, around 50m at its highest and 300m at its longest. The detour was well worth the effort.
As we skied along its edge a pocket of deep snow caught Lorenz unaware and an overbalance snapped his ski pole clean in half. I carry a spare and will try and repair the broken one tonight. The iceberg visit was fully worth the broken pole.
Now camped with another 17.3km behind us and 42.1 to go, three easy days of skiing if conditions hold. The forecast is for wind up to 10kn from the NE to NNE over the next few days so we could find ourselves on the treadmill.
Pics of various iceberg shots
Eric
+8937362+12548604+01:Camp4
Mid morning we spotted an iceberg on the horizon, around 10 degrees east of our bearing but it was too enticing to miss. At one point it disappeared in a bank of fog but emerged with sunlight beaming on its western face. A field of heavy pressure seemed to fortify its southern flank but we broke through and found ourselves perched under its pinnacled skyline. Such icebergs are rarely seen this far north, particularly ones as large as this one, around 50m at its highest and 300m at its longest. The detour was well worth the effort.
As we skied along its edge a pocket of deep snow caught Lorenz unaware and an overbalance snapped his ski pole clean in half. I carry a spare and will try and repair the broken one tonight. The iceberg visit was fully worth the broken pole.
Now camped with another 17.3km behind us and 42.1 to go, three easy days of skiing if conditions hold. The forecast is for wind up to 10kn from the NE to NNE over the next few days so we could find ourselves on the treadmill.
Pics of various iceberg shots
Eric
+8937362+12548604+01:Camp4
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