February 26, 2010
In Iqaluit
Upon sitting in our seats on the flight from Ottawa, the three of us immediately fell asleep. We had all been operating on very little sleep for the past week. We arrived in Iqaluit four groggy hours later and were greeted to yet another hurdle in our ever increasing list of obstacles.
Our flight to Resolute was canceled due to bad weather. Enter crisis management. We would now have to find a place to stay in Iqaluit, move our thirteen gear bags (each weighing between 50-70 pounds) via taxi, unload bags from the taxi to our hotel, check in, move the aforementioned bags into the hotel, and then... Despite all this work we were pleased to actually be en route and have at least one night to regroup and catch up on our sleep. We are becoming experts in managing chaos. Nothing about this trip seems to be giving us a break.
I wish I had more time and space to share Iqaluit with you. But in lieu of this, I'll offer a simple Bing Images link: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=iqaluit&go=&form=QBIL
Darcy and I were so tired that our bodies were starting to break down a bit. At dinner, both of us shivered constantly even though we were inside and it was relatively warm. Darcy commented, 'Even in the military you know it's all [sleep deprivation] going to end. In this situation, we don't know what to expect, and that makes it much more difficult.' We feel asleep before our head hit the pillows. Each of us logging 11, 12 and 13 hours of sleep respectively.
We have a fourth person staying with us. Khai Nguyen, who I met in Antarctic after he completed a last degree trip, happened to be traveling to Resolute the exact same time as us. He was also stranded in Iqaluit. So, he piled into the taxi (remember all those bags) and eventually into our small one bed hotel room. Everyone is friends in the Arctic.
Today our hotel room also served as expedition head quarters. Here we made great progress on organizing and repacking gear. Much of the day was spent making expedition dinners. For this, we combined two packs of Mountain House freeze-dried dinners, 50 milliliters of olive oil and two pieces of jerky for a grand total of 1300 calorie meal. Not bad for just dinner.
We also began the gear modification process. Screwing skins on to our skis, tying extra long pull cords on our Sierra Designs parkas and a few other odds and ends. These may seem like small little tasks but every effort here means an energy savings on the ice. Add up all those little pieces of energy and you increase your potential for success.
We are constantly forming and reforming plans. We have had to deal with a lot of unexpected circumstances, but as a team we are integrating well. For most big decisions, we have a quick team meeting, offer opinions, discuss options and then come up with a plan. Of course, most times working AJ and Darcy is easy because they are already doing the things that need to be done.
We are still on schedule for a March 2nd departure, although a back log in Ellesmere flights due to bad weather in Resolute could delay us some. We are finally rested and our spirits our high. With every completed task, we increase the chances of our success. Soon we will know the direct benefits of all these efforts. For now, we take pride in the fact that we have come this far.
Picture: AJ sorting Mountain House freeze-dried dinners. All told, we repacked.
The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by Bing with major support from the University of Plymouth, Terramar, Goal0, Atlas and Sierra Designs.
Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.
For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com. For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com. For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net
Our flight to Resolute was canceled due to bad weather. Enter crisis management. We would now have to find a place to stay in Iqaluit, move our thirteen gear bags (each weighing between 50-70 pounds) via taxi, unload bags from the taxi to our hotel, check in, move the aforementioned bags into the hotel, and then... Despite all this work we were pleased to actually be en route and have at least one night to regroup and catch up on our sleep. We are becoming experts in managing chaos. Nothing about this trip seems to be giving us a break.
I wish I had more time and space to share Iqaluit with you. But in lieu of this, I'll offer a simple Bing Images link: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=iqaluit&go=&form=QBIL
Darcy and I were so tired that our bodies were starting to break down a bit. At dinner, both of us shivered constantly even though we were inside and it was relatively warm. Darcy commented, 'Even in the military you know it's all [sleep deprivation] going to end. In this situation, we don't know what to expect, and that makes it much more difficult.' We feel asleep before our head hit the pillows. Each of us logging 11, 12 and 13 hours of sleep respectively.
We have a fourth person staying with us. Khai Nguyen, who I met in Antarctic after he completed a last degree trip, happened to be traveling to Resolute the exact same time as us. He was also stranded in Iqaluit. So, he piled into the taxi (remember all those bags) and eventually into our small one bed hotel room. Everyone is friends in the Arctic.
Today our hotel room also served as expedition head quarters. Here we made great progress on organizing and repacking gear. Much of the day was spent making expedition dinners. For this, we combined two packs of Mountain House freeze-dried dinners, 50 milliliters of olive oil and two pieces of jerky for a grand total of 1300 calorie meal. Not bad for just dinner.
We also began the gear modification process. Screwing skins on to our skis, tying extra long pull cords on our Sierra Designs parkas and a few other odds and ends. These may seem like small little tasks but every effort here means an energy savings on the ice. Add up all those little pieces of energy and you increase your potential for success.
We are constantly forming and reforming plans. We have had to deal with a lot of unexpected circumstances, but as a team we are integrating well. For most big decisions, we have a quick team meeting, offer opinions, discuss options and then come up with a plan. Of course, most times working AJ and Darcy is easy because they are already doing the things that need to be done.
We are still on schedule for a March 2nd departure, although a back log in Ellesmere flights due to bad weather in Resolute could delay us some. We are finally rested and our spirits our high. With every completed task, we increase the chances of our success. Soon we will know the direct benefits of all these efforts. For now, we take pride in the fact that we have come this far.
Picture: AJ sorting Mountain House freeze-dried dinners. All told, we repacked.
The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by Bing with major support from the University of Plymouth, Terramar, Goal0, Atlas and Sierra Designs.
Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.
For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com. For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com. For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net