Børge Ousland

It is the 16th of July and Day 76. Our position is N80˚03’01”, E51˚16’46”.

This has been one incredible day! The weather has worked to our advantage. It’s actually been a clear and sunny day – and that has been a long time coming. For weeks now, we’ve been wandering around in ice fog with poor visibility, or beneath a blanket of low clouds. We’ve scarcely seen the sun, but today it was there!

More importantly: the wind was with us. It came from behind us, from the northeast. And we had a perfect start position where we were camped on our little island. All day the wind and weather really worked to our advantage.

Thomas and I sailed and paddled for ten hours to cross De Bruyne Sound. We’ve had to maneuver our way through drifting ice. But by using our binoculars and standing up in the kayak to expand our view, we found a route through it all. After that, progress was easier – and the last 20 km were open sea.

Today’s leg was 37 km. Now we’re camped on Northbrook, our last island – and reaching it today is really quite a milestone for us.

This is the island where Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen met another Arctic explorer, Frederick George Jackson. That occurred at Cape Flora, on the other side of Northbrook Island. We still have 40 km or so to go. Along the way, there are many glacier fronts, so we will need good wind and weather here as well. It would be hopeless to struggle against the wind and current.

Now we have time. The key was to cross this huge expanse of sea called De Bruyne Sound. That’s a great victory for us! It feels like a millstone has been lifted from our shoulders, and we admit that we’ve been worried. Thomas and I would have had an almost insurmountable challenge if the sound had been full of ice. And if the wind had been against us, we would never have been able to move so far by kayak.

We’re overjoyed that we are finally here, and can relax on the shore of Northbrook. We are camped on a small headland on the northeast side of the island.

Good morning! This is our report for 15 July, Day 75. Our position is now N80˚20’, E52˚18’.

Finally we managed to continue! It didn’t turn into a really hard storm like the weather reports indicated. Conditions were acceptable as we pressed on last night. Paddling against the strong headwind and current limited our progress – it was rough going, even though our mileage doesn’t show that. After winning 10 km by sea, Thomas and I pitched camp on one of the islands west of the Arctic station of Tikhaya Bay.

We’re in a good now. From here, as we look out over De Bruyne Sound, we can glimpse Northbrook Island for the first time. It’s the last of the islands in this archipelago. Cape Flora is situated on the distant shore of Northbrook. After all these weeks, it feels great to see that island!

There is just a single crossing left now – but that one is quite a stretch, a real challenge! The distance is 37 km. Fortunately there is just open water, with a few icebergs and floes floating on currents. We need good weather to cross that sound, and preferably more than a little help from the wind. We’ll hear the report from our weatherman Hans Ambühl later and make our decision then, to continue or wait. Hopefully we can give it a try, but we really have to do it all in on go.

Today we saw walrus, a mother and child who came a bit too close for comfort. They surfaced and huffed and puffed only a metre and a half from our kayak. The mother reared in the water and shook her head back and forth while she looked at us with a challenge. I tell you, those tusks look fearsome up close. Then they retreated peacefull and we never saw them again.

Walrus are quite exciting. Anyone who has read the stories of Fridtjof Nansen’s expedition know that you are never safe. But so far we’ve been all right.

We’re camped here waiting to see what the weather will bring. We have to do this right, and in a safe manner.

It’s 14 July and Day 74 – and it’s the peak of summer. Our thermometer still shows a temperature of 2˚C. It was windy today, but not nearly as bad as we had feared. Now we’re camped at a good, sheltered site. The weather report indicates that we will have better weather in the days to come, with a northerly or northeasterly wind. That’s exactly what we need to cross the strait to Nortbrook Island.

The last few days, the wind has been blowing from the north and pushing the ice out of the Melanius Strait. There is almost only water here in front of us. That’s a great advantage! Because in this area it’s far better to move across open water than to move on skis. When the ice is so broken up, with many open leads, it takes a long time to move by foot. With open water, we can just paddle or even sail!

Our plan is to head northeast to a little island about 20 km out in the strait, and from there turn south to reach Northbrook Island. Hopefully we will still have a northerly wind then, at our backs, so that we can hoist our sails. Anyways, that’s the plan and we’re crossing our fingers that it will work. Right now we’re hoping the wind will remain relatively weak – because the seas can quickly become rather choppy out there.

Thomas and I will try to reach that first island in the morning. Our next report will show weather we made it and what our status is.

Today is the 13th of July and Day 73 of our expedition. We are still on Tikhaya Bay, Hooker Island. Our meteorologist is reporting bad weather, with heavy winds tomorrow. So we decided to wait here, rather then continue further out to what would be a more exposed campsite.

There are many interesting things to see here, lots of old buildings. People have lived and died here, and there is quite a lot of junk and debris left behind. So for many reasons it’s more exciting to wait here than to wait further out for the storm. We’ll be fine here until it blows over… …to Northbrook Island and Cape Floor. We need a couple of days of good weather to wait for the drifting ice to slow down. Thomas and I have to be sure. And our timeframe allows us to wait.

We’re feeling “almost 100%”. Thomas got a bad chink in his back. When he started to lift and carry something out here, his back just made a loud “pop”. Now he’s in pain – probably a couple of vertebrae clinching a nerve. He’s flat out in the tent and in need of nursing. Sorry to say… But I am sure he is so motivated that we’ll be fine …don’t think it will be a major problem. But for the time being he’s hurting and in need of a bit of consolation as well.

Other than that, our spirits are tops. I’ll have a new report for you in the morning.

Well, it’s time for our report of 12 July, Day 71. Our camp’s position is N80˚20’, E52˚46’.

The wind died down and it stopped raining in the course of the night. We got up an hour early today to take advantage of the current, paddling along the shore. Thomas and I actually found a route through the pack ice, very close to the shore. At one point we came right up close to a huge female walrus and here baby, they were resting peacefully on an ice floe. That’s quite a sight!

We reached our goal today: Tikhaya Bay. I believe this is the oldest Arctic outpost in Frans Josef Land, established in 1929. They closed it in 1959. Except for a few buildings that have obviously had visitors in recent years, it hasn’t been used since then. But it’s really quite a nice station – much more pleasant than the one we saw on Hoffmann Island. That one was rather depressing. But here it’s all right. Besides, here we’re camped by the largest bird colony in Frans Josefs-land, called Rubini Rock.

We really don’t know how long we’ll be here. Apparently there is bad weather on the way, so we’ll just have to wait it out and see. We need a couple of days of good weather in a row, before we can think about crossing our “British Channel” over to Northbrook Island and Cape Flora. The strait is 31 km wide, and that’s quite a distance to cross.

Right now Thomas and I are camped right in the station itself. We’re going to have a look around in the morning – and we’re eager to find out what the weather brings. Talk to you tomorrow!

It’s 11 July and Day 71. Our position is unchanged, and the weather has been dreadful. It has been raining and snowing and raining – and there’s been a fierce southerly wind all day. Thomas and I decided it was best to stay put. No point in pressing on in rain and headwind; we’d just get soaked and exhausted. Besides, we’re not in a hurry.

The location of our campsite is magnificent! It’s right below the birdrock that I was telling you about yesterday. We were out earlier to have a look around and stretch our legs, and the surroundings here are really something.

The wind has pushed away the ice and opened up a large area of water. When we looked back at where we crossed on our skis – well, that ice is all gone now. Instead there is 2 km of water. But we don’t mind, we’re more than happy to continue by sea.

Our plan now is to paddle further into the fjord to find a less exposed site. Winds keep pounding the headland where we’re camped. It may be beautiful her, but we’re more vulnerable than we like. On Thursday the weather is supposed to get even worse, with stronger winds. That’s why we would prefer to head south, in the direction of the Arctic station at Tikhaya Bay. That’s on Hooker Island. Time will tell if we can reach it tomorrow.

The weather decides everything. We’ll just have to wait and see what it’s like in the morning. It’s rather unpredictable right now. But Thomas and I are hoping to head further along the shore by sea, and to find a good campsite. Then we’ll see if this turns into a full-blown storm. If so, it’s not really a problem; we can handle that for a day or to.

In other words: position unchanged. We’re camped on this slippery, almost inaccessible headland. Nevertheless we had visitors yesterday …no, actually it was today. This morning a she-bear and two cubs came sniffing at our tent. Then they sauntered off peacefully.

It’s lively here at this camp – and all is well.

It’s the 10th of July and Day 70 of “In the Footsteps of Nansen”. Our position here is N80˚23’, E43˚00’. Today has been a very exciting and different day. We don’t often have polar bears at our doorstep, but this morning three of them came to visit. Fortunately, they retreated when they were satisfied, without us having to take action. It’s really interesting to notice how different the behaviour of individual bears is.

We’ve had to say goodbye to the safe, flat ice that rested along the shore. When we climbed a hill to scout ahead this morning, we saw all the ice moving. It’s all broken up by the northwesterly winds we’ve had the last few days. Now we’re once again facing this detestable pack ice, where we need to jump from floe to floe. …and the ice is moving fast through this sound, probably 400–500 metres per hour. …open leads and carry on. …incredible how quickly it’s coming. …you wouldn’t think we had ever done anything but move through pack ice. Actually, that’s one thing we’re really good at. It’s almost just exciting…

Yes, we’re camped very close to a mountain here, and so it easily cuts our mobile link to the satellite. That’s why my last message probably got rather amputated, I suspect. Well, here’s the continuation.

We had to enter the pack ice today, but it didn’t take long to find our rhythm, jumping from floe to floe like we did in the Arctic Sea. And we crossed six or seven of them by kayak, in our usual manner. What we do is simply climb on and sit on top of it, without putting our drysuits on, because it saves so much time. Besides, these were narrow lead. But we did get a fright when a walrus stuck its head up just as we were sticking our paddles in the water. There’s no chance to get bored up here!

Thomas and I managed to reach our goal for the day: the northwestern promontory of Hooke Island. That’s where we’re camped now, at the foot of this amazing mountain! If there Frans Josef Land has a distinguishing trait, it has to be all these birds!! From every steep mountain we come, there is a resounding symphony… There must be thousands of birds right nearby. It’s wonderful to lie in our tent and listen to it, especially while we’re falling asleep. Because that tells us we’re camped at a good, safe spot of land.

As mentioned, we had to bid farewell to the nice, flat ice that we had been walking on along the shore. I’m sure that’s a sign of things to come. Now that it’s summer, we’re reaching more open waters, or the ice we meet is broken up or pushed into pack ice. So we might as well preparing ourselves for rougher conditions ahead than we’ve seen the last few days.

That’s all for today.

We’ve reached 9 July and it’s Day 69. How time flies! The position of our camp is N80˚28’, E53˚28’.

It’s been a hard day. We made our goal, the southern tip of this island, but we really had to struggle to reach it! Thomas and I have been wading in water that reaches up to our ankles, while wearing skis on our feet. There are dams all over the ice, and we’ve tried to walk zig-zag between patches of snow and dams of water. The two of us have progressed 28 km – but I assure you that we’ve walked considerably further than that!

It’s not that we’re in a hurry. That’s not why we pressed on. But we have to crossed the water all in one go, because it’s simply no fun having to camp out there on the thin ice. And today the ice was in much poorer condition than yesterday. It supports us surprisingly well, although we do peer down into black sea through all the holes we pass. Twice today the ice has cracked beneath our skis. Within a couple of weeks I am sure it will be impossible to walk here.

Due to the current around the headlands, there are many wide cracks that spread out like the branches of trees. Nansen and Johansen were able to walk on the ice along the outer shore of this island – but they were here a whole month earlier than we are. After spending the winter in the icy wilderness, they started moving south a soon as spring came. We passed the stone hut where they stayed. So the conditions were considerably different from ours, with much better ice that made it easier for them to ski, and…

Hi, it’s the 8th of July and Day 68. Our position is N80˚34’, E54˚21’. We left Champ Island after searching in vain in the wrong place for some special rock formations. Now we’re following our planned route. Conditions have been excellent today, and we really needed that – because at 32 km this was one of our longest crossings yet, at least the longest without a ski-sail. We crossed a wide fjord. Fortunately it was frozen, allowing us to cross on skis.

Since it was night, temperatures were cooler, a few degrees below in Centigrade, with nice frost on the ice and snow. Our skis had good glide, as did the pulks and kayaks that we’re pulling. We’re tired, but really glad that we completed this leg, from Champ Island over to the next one.

Thomas and I have seen a lot of polar bear tracks today – at least ten sets. And that is unusually may. We walked right up on a female with two cubs that were sleeping or resting. As soon as they saw us, they got up in a hurry and scuffled off in the opposite direction. It’s fascinating how different polar bears are. While some are extremely curious, whether hungry or just eager to have a look, others run off the moment they spot you. These cubs were tiny and must have been born very recently, this year.

We’re now camped on a tiny island just off the island named after Nansen. We came here rather than continuing the last stretch, because the wind picked up and conditions suddenly became very difficult with fog all around us. So we were lucky that this island was so close. We really want to have our camp on solid ground – and now we do.

A little summary, because I’m not sure how much you lost when the satellite connection was broken: Thomas and I have walked 32 km today, one of our longest legs yet. And this was a very crucial leg of this expedition, since the islands here are separated by great distances. We’ve covered that distance on good ice, and can thank the cooler night for these excellent conditions. Walking at night was the right choice to make.

It’s the 7th of June and Day 67. We’re still on Champ Island – our position is N80˚36’, E56˚07’. We held a relaxed tempo today. Never did find those rock formations; it turned out the position we had been given was wrong, and that place is actually much further to the east. Well, there’s nothing we can do about that. Thomas and I did walk a bit further eastward, but only to find a good campsite. Now we’re relaxing and charging our batteries, so to speak.

Tomorrow we have a 30 km crossing to reach the other side of the fjord – one of our longest crossings on this expedition. It looks like the ice is going to be good, but we still want to do it in one day. Neither of us want to risk setting up camp and ending up on thin ice.

A polar bear come to visit us this morning, and wanted to join us in the tent for breakfast. Fortunately, it was the nervous kind. As soon as we said “Boo!”, it shot away across the ice, never to return. Nothin’ to worry about…

The weather was good today – or rather, during the night. Just cold enough. It’s clearly been beneficial to change our sleeping rhythm. We’re finding it much easier to walk when it’s -2˚C or so, and a layer of frost on the snow and ice.

Both of us are doing fine. I’ll call you with a new report tomorrow, hopefully from the other side of the fjord.