April 6, 2014
Day 23. The Polar Grind
Another day on the ice and we were left with more than ample time to contemplate nearly every imaginable topic.
Well, at least general topics. To think about our lives as they may exist when we are finished is a dangerous thing.
Its warmed up enough (you know to minus 20) that I've finally got my Nokia Windows phone playing music for part of the day while I'm skiing and its definitely a welcome distraction - although many of the songs remind me of previous expeditions - for better or worse.
We struggled for the entire first hour of the day trying to find any larger pans. The soft snow was still tugging at our sleds and we feared it was going to be another brutal slog of a day (it was but not as bad as yesterday). Next shift, I got lucky and found an older frozen lead to follow for about 400 meters. Then through some really beautiful blue blocks of pressure, some small pans and then something moderately better.
Halfway through my shift Ryan realized he had dropped his outer mitts. He skied back to where we had filmed a short distance back, but no mitts. Luckily he had a spare pair.
I've been haunted by my dreams the past few nights - not that they're particularly bad, its just that they seem so real. When I wake up I it takes me a while to figure out which is reality and which is dream.
Today at soup break we talked about some of the things we appreciate more because we have so little out here.
For me, there is one simple act that never fails to amaze me when I'm home: the moment I get into bed and feel the softness of the mattress. So nice.
Not that I necessarily need a mattress to be comfortable. I've always believed comfort is a state of mind. Here our two ThermaRest pads each are luxury enough, but still...
Ryan talked about going to a movie, 'I'd wear lots of clothes - so I'm warm - then get a big popcorn, soda and a coffee and just sit and relax.'
We ended the day with surface conditions improving slightly and a beautiful sundog / halo to our left. Perfectly arced rainbows framed a low yellow sun and another beam of light appeared directly below the sun extending straight down.
Amazing and beautiful.
Distance traveled: 8.16 nm
Image: Weaving around pressure (ridges).
Well, at least general topics. To think about our lives as they may exist when we are finished is a dangerous thing.
Its warmed up enough (you know to minus 20) that I've finally got my Nokia Windows phone playing music for part of the day while I'm skiing and its definitely a welcome distraction - although many of the songs remind me of previous expeditions - for better or worse.
We struggled for the entire first hour of the day trying to find any larger pans. The soft snow was still tugging at our sleds and we feared it was going to be another brutal slog of a day (it was but not as bad as yesterday). Next shift, I got lucky and found an older frozen lead to follow for about 400 meters. Then through some really beautiful blue blocks of pressure, some small pans and then something moderately better.
Halfway through my shift Ryan realized he had dropped his outer mitts. He skied back to where we had filmed a short distance back, but no mitts. Luckily he had a spare pair.
I've been haunted by my dreams the past few nights - not that they're particularly bad, its just that they seem so real. When I wake up I it takes me a while to figure out which is reality and which is dream.
Today at soup break we talked about some of the things we appreciate more because we have so little out here.
For me, there is one simple act that never fails to amaze me when I'm home: the moment I get into bed and feel the softness of the mattress. So nice.
Not that I necessarily need a mattress to be comfortable. I've always believed comfort is a state of mind. Here our two ThermaRest pads each are luxury enough, but still...
Ryan talked about going to a movie, 'I'd wear lots of clothes - so I'm warm - then get a big popcorn, soda and a coffee and just sit and relax.'
We ended the day with surface conditions improving slightly and a beautiful sundog / halo to our left. Perfectly arced rainbows framed a low yellow sun and another beam of light appeared directly below the sun extending straight down.
Amazing and beautiful.
Distance traveled: 8.16 nm
Image: Weaving around pressure (ridges).