Børge Ousland

There seems to be no ending to the highlights on this trip. Today a couple from Arizona was flown up to the South Pole. They became (probably) the first couple to marry at the Pole.
There was no way Stephen and I was going to miss that ceremony. And it was very special. But it meant by the time we were back at Barneo around 15:00, Salvatore was back in Longyearbyen and in the shower. He was on the first flight. We will take the second which is scheduled for 20:00. That gives us the chance to join the wedding party at Barneo. At least for some hours.

Yesterday we enjoyed the company of several celebrity explorers and had a very special day. Today Stephen and I are alone. Salvatore should have been with us, but he was unlucky, fell down a big ice ridge and strained a muscle.
He then chose to go with the chopper back to Barneo where they have a doctor. And we are here as there were no space in the helicopter. Lucky us. They day has been the most perfect Polar day. We have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
To morrow we will be picked up and returned to Barneo. There are 2 scheduled flights back to Longyearbyen tomorrow. We will board the last. We could not be happier with the trip. The guys are flying!

They called in today to tell they reached the Pole already yesterday. They had flow out soon after we spoke yesterday. The weather was great and they went skiing right away. Conditions were top, and at 22:45 they stood on the very top of the world!
They were very pleased. And in they exuberance and delight of getting closer, they even overshot the Pole by 20 metres.
But it was not just plain sailing. The temperatures had danced between -33 to -35°C. Om top of that did they face a brisk breeze straight in their faces. – That means it has been seriously cold. They coped very well, but it can not have been bad to dive into the tent wit mission completed.
During the night they drifted son 3-400m metres away fro the Pole. But basically they just used the day for leisure, taking tons of photos an enjoying themselves.
They even played a visit to some other explorers who also reached the North Pole. – All I all t made for a very good day.
The plan now is to get picked up by the chopper and stay one night at the science base Barneo before returning to Longyearbyen. They all send their greetings to family and friends.

[caption id="attachment_358" align="aligncenter" width="250" caption="Good conditions, hard to ski"][/caption]

With bad weather heading for Spitsbergen we were relieved the plane took off on time. 11:00 we headed north! With me on this expedition to the very North Pole is Salvatore Leonardi and Stephen Sherry.
We were blessed with suburb weather, and as we landed on the science base Barneo it was sunny, no wind and a polar -30°C. On top of that the reports are that the ice is good and the drift very little..
In one hour we will board the helicopter that will tae us up to about 10 km fro the very Pole. From there and to the top of the world we will experience one of the most unique places on the earth.