April 11 - "Man was it cold"

N 89.45.26
E 127. 126

They are getting closer! Team Test Your Limits are giving it their all, making 10 miles of northward progress today in some of the coldest temperatures of the expedition. Today had less open water than yesterday, but lots of big blocky ice that required negotiation. In these circumstances sometimes the easiest and fastest thing to do is stop, take off skis climb up and over the obstacle. The cold temperatures require more calories, and when we talked to the team they were hard at work replenishing their internal furnaces. On the menu tonight bagels grilled with butter, cheese and salami, soup, and lasagna. Mmmmmm.....

And here's from Heather... "Started out early this am trying to get the distance done...only to spend almost 4 hours to get 1.7 miles! Ice cubes, water - Dale dipped his toe in (he didn't want to be left out) - but nothing else. He is absolutely fine. Then things really improved and we were able to make some good time/distance. Dale led for quite a while - quote...'interesting to see the whole empty ice field right to the horizon with no tracks ahead - hoping I wont miss a soft spot'

"We are at 89.45 East 129 - 15 miles left to go..... Overall total distance covered 81.61 nautical miles

"Everyone is doing well, the difference today was the cold, man was it cold - 25 plus windchill putting it down to about -40. The kind of cold that defies explanation - damp as well. We came into camp and the wind really picked up - major challenge for fingers and toes.

"We are loading up tonight - bagels with salami, cheese appetizer followed by Lasagna in a pot (sorry LP and EDL) The two polar cowboys continue to amaze finding paths through the chaos. Hoping the wind is blowing us closer to TNP



Check back tomorrow for another update from the ice.