Børge Ousland

It’s the 30th of June today. Yesterday we had nothing to report, because we stayed put right where we were. Nothing is changed today – there is still lousy weather, stiff gales and an incessant rain. It does, however, seem to be letting up a little bit, so we’re hoping to be able to continue tomorrow. As I mentioned on Thursday, we’re camped right where Nansen and Johansen spent a winter of trials and tribulations. The weather forced our stay, but for us it’s not a bad place to be. Besides, we really needed a few days of rest now. To relax. To carry out some minor repairs on our equipment…

We’ve constantly been seeing walrus; they’re active in the open leads of water and on the ice nearby. As a precaution, we have decided to link together our kayaks, to make them less vulnerable to capsizing during a close encounter with a curious walrus. Every day now, we have seen them – so it’s only a question of time before curiosity gets the best of them, and decides to come real close for a visit. We’ll see if we move by sea tomorrow; it all depends on the wind’s direction.

Another thing we did today is to change our undershirts. Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen waited until Christmas Eve for that …well, actually they just wrung their garments, and so the cleaner outer surface was turned against their skin. I’m fortunate, however, to have a brand new shirt, the first clean one I’ve put on for more than two months. You have no idea how good that simple luxury feels!

Thomas and I have made a decision. We are going to start walking at night instead. In order to do that, we’ll get up at 10am instead of 5 tomorrow, and gradually push the start a bit later each of the next few days. There are several good reasons for that. It’s gotten so warm now, that we can really feel the sun roasting us in the middle of the day. And it melts the ice. Since the nights are cooler, there’s usually a thin layer of frost and ice on the snow – providing a really good glide. And we won’t be getting the burning sun smack in our face, the sunlight is incredibly strong up here in the Arctic, and we can really feel it burn.

Anyways, that’s our plan for tomorrow. For the time being, however, at least for one more night, Thomas and I are right here by Nansen’s stone hut. We’re relaxing in our tents, playing cards, reading and listening to music. Take care!

It’s the 28th of June now, the 59th day of our expedition: “In the Footsteps of Fridtjof Nansen”. Our position is N81˚12’, E55˚33’.

We had a rather exciting start to our day. A polar bear came visiting, expecting breakfast – a huge beast, with a tint of grey in his old beard. We brought out the pepper spray, which of course is designed for human troublemakers; but it was clearly effective on the polar bear, too. He didn’t want anything to do with us after that. He found out that his close encounter with these strange, two-legged creatures was too painful.

It’s been a good day for us. Since the ice was pushed all the way against the shore, it was impossible to continue by sea, which is the easiest way around these steep crags. Luckily we managed to find a route across the glaciers. When we came down to an ice-covered bay, we continued for a while along the shore. When the ice stopped, and the walkable shore narrowed and finally disappeared, we were still a few kilometres away from the destination we had our mind set on. Thomas and I put the boats on the water, and in the absence of floating ice we paddled on along Jackson Island. Soon I recognised these remarkable rock formations!

Just around a promontory, we spotted the stone hut built by Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen – it’s still here. That’s our camp. It feels incredibly good and very exciting to finally have reached this historic destination. I have read about it many times, this simple stone hut in Franz Josef’s Land where they dug in and spent the winter, enduring the long months from August 1895 to May 1896.

Many thoughts are going through my mind. I’ve never ceased to wonder what they must have thought and felt, their longings and deprivations, and their hopes. They showed us a remarkable ability to never lose hope, to never give up! I think that is the greatest thing of all about the legendary expedition of Nansen and Johansen.

The stone hut seems almost submerged in the terrain. The log they used as lodgepole is still here, right above our heads. I tell you – it’s a very special feeling to stand here in wonder, 112 years after those great Arctic explorers were standing on the same spot.

Remnants of the stone hut where Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen spent a demanding winter.