Børge Ousland

Now we’re in the tent again. Almost anybody can ski when the weather is fine, but it’s only the best that can make something when faced with difficult conditions and poor weather. In all humility, I think Mike and I count ourselves in the latter category. Today the northeasterly wind was coming at us fiercely, blowing 8–10 seconds per metre, and gave us a really chilly start. But we walked all day and pushed ourselves 15 km northwards, no doubt losing a few kilometres to the ice drift. When we woke up this morning, we registered that we had already lost 2–3 km compared to where we pitched our tent last night. Well, this evening there is 160 km left to go. Our new position is N88°33’51, E83°54’ 36”.

We swam over two fairly wide leads today. One of them, which was covered with thin ice, we followed for many hours, hoping to find a crossing point. Finally we came to an “island” that divided the lead into two narrower stretches. We donned our special “swimwear” and swam them. A little later, we had to repeat the procedure to cross a new 70 metre wide lead. We managed fine, really.

Very early in the day, we came to a rather narrow lead. Here we place our two pulks next to each other, making a fairly stable bridge and crawling across on top of them. A week ago I sent you a photo where we used that very same technique.

Let’s hope most of the ice movement is behind us. Tonight the wind has died down, and yet temperatures have risen to –15°C. This morning it was –24°, it was windy and cold and miserable. As the day progressed, however, the day became milder and more pleasant.

Nevertheless it has been a day with many challenges – and they’re not over yet. My right ski snapped, right under the binding. Sheltered in the tent, I cut that ski, moved the binding forward, leaving me with an extremely short ski. I think I’ll manage all right; I only need it to last a few more days, enough for us to complete our journey.

From our tent we notice how much calmer the wind is now. Perhaps both the wind and the direction of the ice drift are changing. We hope so! It would be really nice to have a few more days with improved progress.

We have walked 10 hours today and put 22 km behind us, leaving 172 km between tonight’s camp and the pole. If the arithmetic doesn’t quite add up with what I told you last night, that’s because we drifted 2 km south while in our tents. Even though it’s perfectly calm, we still seem to be drifting the wrong way at a pace of 0.3 km per hour.

However, the ice conditions are by and large excellent. We encountered fresh pack ice several times today and had to do a bit of climbing over it, but that’s really been the only hindrance. It’s colder than yesterday; temperatures tend to fall as soon as the weather clears up. This morning it was –32°C, but in the course of the day it reached –36°C. Much of the day there hasn’t been a single gust of wind. Mike and I haven’t had any problems walking, even though the glide isn’t great – but as soon as we take a pause, the chill hits us.

Today, part of the sun’s orb peered over the horizon for several hours. A bit strange, really, because it isn’t really “shining” – it seems more like a very distant glowing ball.

I am glad we’re no longer stressing to reach the North Pole in a hurry. I believe it’s truly important to have time to think as we’re walking, and especially to reflect on what we’ve really been doing on this expedition. We think about completing our journey in a good way, we think about the friendship that has evolved, the landscape we see around us – and not least of all about what has been happening inside us. For an expedition like this is also a mental journey.

As I mentioned, we’re not stressing to reach N90°, even though we’re putting in the same amount of time out there on the ice as before. Ten hours is a solid stretch and we really feel it at day’s end. But we’re not nearly as exhausted as when we were pushing ourselves to put in 12 straight hours; that nearly broke us. Last night we slept between 6 and 7 hours – a bit less than ideal. But it’s fine for now, really. We’ve gotten into a good rhythm with 10-hour days, and I think that is what we’ll continue to do.

We’re now at N88°27’37”, E87°02’20”. With luck that position won’t change much while we sleep. Talk to you tomorrow.

The two of us are now at N88°16’38”, E85°51’10”. We have done 21 km today, leaving 192 km more to go. It’s been a good day, really. It was merely –25°C when we stepped out of the tent today – and that’s summer temperatures compared to what we’ve been through! No cold fingers and not a single cold toe; that’s wonderful for a change. By the time we went to bed, the thermometer had sunk to –29°C, but even that is more than acceptable.

The wind was not as chilly today – it felt downright kind – and Mike and I have kept a nice and steady pace. However, we’re drifting backwards, no doubt about it, because our hours on ice with this good glide would normally have been rewarded with a few additional kilometres of progress.

We’re walking on good ice again, much better than the slushy and sandy ice that had plagued us the last few days. The sandy ice is due to sediments flowing down the great Siberian rivers, but I think we’ve seen the last of it. Hope so.

We’re walking at a good and even pace, pushing forward. I only have two problems. One is the pressure pains in my right foot, and especially the heel. I keep trying with spare socks, soles, even bits of foam mattress to alleviate the strain. But regardless of what I have done it’s been painful all day, and I don’t know why.

The second problem is that the steel edge of my right ski, the one I repaired last night, is already coming undone. That ski won’t last more than a couple of days before it snaps in two. These skis, which were supposed to be so strong and wonderful, have proved to be a great disappointment. They’re simply not up to it!

I am going to make one last attempt to repair them now. If that doesn’t help, then I have to cut them off, move the binding forward, and continue the trip on extremely short skis. I’ll manage somehow.

It’s been cloudy today, with a pretty strong wind coming at us from the north, carrying snow. That is the reason for the southerly drift. Well, that’s how it is. We’ll see what tomorrow bring and move closer yet to our goal.

The North Pole gave us a real beating yesterday; it was a real lesson, driving home the fact that you can’t just “run ahead” up here. The weather forecast we received yesterday says it all – northerly winds all week.

It was –36°C when we started this morning. We have been walking straight into that headwind all day, which has been blowing at 9 metres per second. The northerly wind pushes the ice southwards at 0.7 km per hour, meaning we have less to show for our efforts. In addition we encountered a lot of rubble-like ice and slush ice, which also slows our pace. Our focus is to preserve our health and not take any irresponsible chances, making sure we reach the North Pole in a dignified manner.

That’s our goal. And we realized that couldn’t do it by continuing to press on with 12-hour days when the Arctic weather was fighting us. So we calmed things down a bit.

Well, it’s time to re-fasten that steel edge with Araldite glue. I’ve been waiting for it to thaw a bit. If I do the repairs now, the ski should be fully usable in the morning. Really glad we have an excellent repair kit!

Today we slept an hour extra. Mike and I had planned on walking for 9 hours today, when the steel edge of my right ski – the one I hadn’t repaired – came loose and stuck out. After 7 hours we stopped and pitched our tent. We had progressed 12 km today, leaving 211 km to go before we reach the Pole. Our position now is N88°06’47”, E86°59’42”.

There is every indication that reaching N89° latitude is going to be a real tribulation. The cold weather makes us very tired. Yesterday was one of the hardest days so far. Now we’re just trying to keep our routine; the plan is to carry on tomorrow, unless the weather is truly miserable.

We’ll see what date we end up arriving at our goal – perhaps March 23rd, 24th or 25th. Thereabouts. We’re not quite sure, but the North Pole and the weather conditions are master here. Reaching our destination then will be good, really excellent, and far earlier than we expected two or three weeks ago. And March 23rd was the date we had originally set for our arrival.

Yesterday I must have been too exhausted to mention that we saw a glimpse of the sun on the southern horizon. It’s light 24 hours a day now, and the sun will soon rise. The light makes life easier up here. We’re only struggling with the chill and weather. It all has a lot to do with the lunar cycle. When the moon is full, as it is now, the weather usually improves. Well, better and better… it gets colder but calmer. When the wind blows, temperatures have a tendency to rise a bit.

Mike and I are now at N88°00’23”, E89°26’04”. This has been one of the very toughest days of our expedition.

The day started with temperatures of –34°C, and we had the wind against us all day. When we called it quits, the thermometer showed –37°C. We’re taking such a beating from this wind that we simply can’t continue in this tempo. The two of us are just getting more and more tired, more and more exhausted, as the chilling wind sucks away all our strength. We’ve been for 10 hours today.

We have promised to do our best – and that’s what we’re doing. However, that also means taking care of ourselves and minding our health. Mike is suffering new frostbite damage on his fingertips, which now have cracked open. My feet aren’t getting warm and I have pains in my right heel, no doubt after walking long distances and long hours with little pause.

We simply have to let go of the idea of reaching the North Pole in a hurry, be sensible in this extreme weather, and make safe decisions. There is still a long ways to go. Tomorrow we’re falling back into a less strenuous routine, settling for 10 hours walking, and no longer stretching the day beyond 24 hours. We simply can’t walk 12 hours and make do with 6 hours sleep when the weather is fighting us. We have to have the weather on our side if we’re to push that hard – and the winds and weather are definitely not. It’s against us, and according to the forecast we can expect northerly winds and chilly temperatures all week. So that’s why we’re calming down our pace.

N88° has been one of the hardest yet – and this day one of the toughest. We’re exhausted, but are pleased that we only have two degrees of latitude left.

The most goal of this expedition is to reach the North Pole in a sensible way. The great difficulties and major challenges are behind us. Now we have to mind our well being. If the weather suddenly improves, we can make an extra effort. Otherwise we’re going to continue at a normal pace.

We’re both exhausted and hope to soon be asleep.

This Day 50 of our expedition. Our position this evening is N87°49’44”, E89°46’07”. We walked for almost 12 hours today and covered 23 km. We’re not quite satisfied with that. Our slower progress today was due to poorer ice – a lot of slush ice and a fair number of leads that stretch north–south, no doubt due to the wind the last few days.

Five days ago we put away the headlights. Even at night the southern sky is lit up by the sun as it climbs ever higher towards the horizon. And on the other side of the sky we’ll soon have a full moon. Probably tomorrow.

It’s been a week of extreme cold. Today was ever so slightly better than yesterday, with the thermometer showing between –36° and –37°C. I must admit that we’re tired of these cold temperatures, literally. The cold saps our strength and leaves us really exhausted at the end of the day. This morning it took us an extra hour before we were ready to go.

At least we’re eating well. I’m now consuming 7000 calories per day. Mike looks better; his larger portions are clearly doing him a world of good.

We use two stoves inside the tent – one to heat water and make food, the other to warm up Mike’s fingers. We had some problems with the pump to one of the stoves leaking and had to replace the o-rings, but otherwise our equipment is functioning well. Well, that was my report for today. Talk to you tomorrow.

Our winter wandering friends may have hoped for warmer weather today – instead temperatures dropped another couple of notches. –40°C is probably far colder than inside your freezer. On the bright side it should be noted that the northwesterly winds abated as the day progressed.

Under these extreme conditions Børge and Mike wrapped themselves in many layers of winter clothing as best they, taken every caution to avoid frostbite. The hands and feet, and their faces, are at risk – and there is no margin for error. They trudged on for 12 hours, progressing another 25 km northwards. The distance would have been greater if they had been spared the southerly drift.

Status for the expedition? Position N87°37’44, E90°37’09. That leaves 265 km until N90° – better known as the North Pole. But now it’s time for some well-deserved sleep before they tackle yet another of their special, 26-hour Arctic days.

Today was much more drudgery than yesterday. The ice was drifting southwards an average of 300 metres every hour. We’re not really aiming at a specific date; our goal has always been to give it our very best shot. The hardest part so far were the weeks in darkness on the ice outside Cape Arktichesky at the start of the expedition.

Now we’re just continuing to do what we’ve done all along – to press onward to reach our destination as quickly as possible. That is why we’re stretching our days. And that’s really our whole plan. Conditions can change so incredibly quickly here in the Arctic – suddenly the weather can change or our equipment cause problems.

Today was just such a day, on the very edge of what is manageable and safe. It was –38?C, and that’s not taking into account the wind factor. All day we were chilled by a 3–4 metre per second wind from the north, and we’ve been walking against it for 12 hours. On a day like this, there is no room for even one stray thought. Mike and I have been fully concentrated on surviving, each and every hour, keeping our bodies and limbs warm enough and avoiding frostbite.

When we’re walking for such a long stretch we become tired, and it is very easy to make a fatal mistake. So we have to be very careful. Mike had problems with his fingers at the end of the day. It went fine – no frostbite. But if temperatures are just as cold tomorrow, and a northerly wind on top of that, we’re going to have to cut the day short. We simply have to adapt to the situation. That’s just the way it is.

This expedition has everything in it. We have far to go. Tonight’s position is N87?24’25”, E90?35’39”. That leaves 290 km to go to Pole.

Please take the time to scroll further down the blog – we have recently posted some incredible photographs that we have received from Børge & Mike. Their new shots give us a good impression of the variable ice conditions and surroundings, show the polar bear that twice woke them in their tents and stalked them all day. The photos also clearly show how much lighter it has become in recent weeks, as the sun continues to climb higher toward their horizon.

We covered 28 km in what turned out to be a pretty rough day. We’ve started the final push for the North Pole, deciding to extend our walking time to 12 hours. This evening we came to a huge open lead that was impossible to cross, and we had to settle for changing our course and following the edge of the ice. Our camp has GPS coordinates N87?12’47”, E91?51’37”.

We had the wind coming at us from northwest today, it was –34?C and a poor glide for our skis on the snow and ice. But we pressed on and are now within 87 degrees latitude and are starting the countdown with 311 km to go.

Mike and I are no longer on a 24-hour clock. As mentioned, we will be out on the ice 12 hours every “day”, but also sleeping 1.5 hours longer each “night”. This way a smaller portion of our time is taken up by all the other tasks that need doing. However, it also means that you will be getting our progress reports at irregular times; we’ll be reporting in a bit later every day.

Well, we’re going to make a run for it! And we’ll see how things develop. Naturally we’re hoping that the weather, ice conditions and drift will be to our advantage – and not least of all that our equipment performs without fail. I look forward to giving you a new report tomorrow.