We are on the move! Yesterday we enjoyed our stay at Ice Station Barneo, got a good look around the base, and spent the night in nice, warm tents.
At 11.30 this morning we flew by helicopter together with a Russian group, which is headed for the same destination. Our pilot actually flew us right across the North Pole, landing at W160˚, which is clear on the other side. The reason for that is the strong ice drift, which would otherwise carry us in the wrong direction. We don’t need that extra challenge. The pilot kindly offered to give us a better point of departure.
After walking 8 km today, we are now camped at N89˚04’, W160˚. It feels great to relax after we have begun to get a good rhythm out on the ice. That takes a while.
It has been a fairly mild day, about 12–15 degrees below, but with a chilling wind – fortunately not enough to cause real problems. It’s been cloudy with a wondrous play of colours in the icy landscape. We crossed a few small leads on thin ice, but didn’t experience any undesirable drama. Everyone is doing perfectly fine.
We have seen a lot of pack ice, which takes on its own beautiful bluish hues. We’ve walked in awe past the magnificent blocks of ice that are everywhere. The ice here is young, only a year old. Our measurements show that it is 150 cm thick.
