Today has been far from a perfect day. We’ve had two very serious accidents. Before breaking camp this morning, we expressed that it would be another day of even progress, without any major surprises. But they came. The weather was poor, with an ice-cold breeze from the side, probably 10 or 12 meters per second, and almost no visibility.
We walked and made solid progress. Then suddenly Mike disappears through a snow-covered lead that he did not see. It looked white, just like everything else, under its snowy blanket. By the time he realized that there was only water and really thin ice. he had already lost his balance. He got his foot wet, but quickly managed to make onto firmer ice. We set up the tent in a hurry so could dry his foot and change socks.
In less than an hour, we were walking again. We pressed on for another five or six hours, until we came to one of many leads. It looked like a normal crossing point, and I made it across just fine, onto an ice floe that was perhaps ten square metres. When Mike tried to follow, the little ice floe slid forward, and he suddenly found himself with one foot on each side of a widening gap. He fell into the water to his waist and got really soaked. Fortunately, he grabbed the edge of the ice and pulled himself up, before rolling in the snow. That soaked up most of the water from his outer clothing, and he could just brush off the snow. His ice-cold underwear was a different story.
Once again I pitched the tent immediately. What saved us is that the temperature was fairly mild, only –15?C, otherwise this accident might have been far more serious. The rest of the day we’ve been drying clothes. With great success, I might add; they’re almost dry, and he’ll be able to wear them in the morning. We brought my reserve stove into the tent and hung everything up inside. The mittens were rinsed in freshwater to get rid of the salt before we dried them.
Well, we are 12 km closer to the North Pole, and have 637 km to go. Our position is N84°17’41”, E102°49’09”.
Borge and Mike you guys are doing great, even with the unanticipated dips.. Borge, Your country needs you to help inspire the Nordic Ski Team for the 2010 Olypics.Mike stay dry.