May 6, 2014
Day 53. THE NORTH POLE!
Well, it took 8 hours but we managed to cover the whiteout, windy, leads everywhere, fractured, pressured, thin ice to the North Pole.
We are elated and exhausted - we have nothing left.
I know there were some concerns about inReach tracking for an hour near the pole, but I keep the beacon in a chest pocket on my bibs (and a camera inside my shirt) and they kept getting caught on the edge of leads as I was trying to climb out of the water. It is very scary to be in the water and unable to pull yourself out. Therefore, for the final lead, I took everything out and put it safely in the sled. Sorry to those who were nervous.
If you were watching our progress live, you probably also noticed how much we were moving south -- that's because in stopping to put my drysuit on, we would loose up too one quarter mile of progress.
I will follow up more later but I wanted to thank Maria and Merritt the two most amazing people in the world (besides my nephew's Tyler and Luke).
Major props to WebExpeditions Tim Harincar who is the smartest person I know. Another big thanks to expedition manager Elisabeth Pletcher who managed.. Everything!
Of course, none of this would be possible without the generous support of my major sponsors : DeLorme & MSR
Project: Granite Gear, Stanley, Wigwam, Microsoft, Yaktrax, Yonder, webExpeditions, Smack, Mountain Professionals
Gear: Sony, Iridium, Hilleberg, Bergans, Optic Nerve, Merrell, Princeton Tech, Scratch Labs, Thermarest, Wenger, Scarpa, Clif, Goal Zero, Action Wipes, Asnes, Helly Hansen, be Media, Nemo, Epic, Potable Aqua, Thule, Scream Agency, Ergodyne
Yesterday, the government released the National Climate Assessment. Now, I'm not a scientist, but I've spent my life in the snow. I'm seeing climate change first-hand. Its affecting places like the north pole, where I am now and I'm here because we all need to take notice. Please believe the science, and take action like by joining Protect Our Winters and help them support the EPA standards on power plants, the source of 40% of US carbon emissions.
There's more just like this expedition - reaching the North Pole is not the end of a journey rather the beginning...
And the real work starts now.
Think Snow!
Distance traveled: 3.5 nautical miles (in 8 hours)
Image: Yours truly going for yet another swim today.
We are elated and exhausted - we have nothing left.
I know there were some concerns about inReach tracking for an hour near the pole, but I keep the beacon in a chest pocket on my bibs (and a camera inside my shirt) and they kept getting caught on the edge of leads as I was trying to climb out of the water. It is very scary to be in the water and unable to pull yourself out. Therefore, for the final lead, I took everything out and put it safely in the sled. Sorry to those who were nervous.
If you were watching our progress live, you probably also noticed how much we were moving south -- that's because in stopping to put my drysuit on, we would loose up too one quarter mile of progress.
I will follow up more later but I wanted to thank Maria and Merritt the two most amazing people in the world (besides my nephew's Tyler and Luke).
Major props to WebExpeditions Tim Harincar who is the smartest person I know. Another big thanks to expedition manager Elisabeth Pletcher who managed.. Everything!
Of course, none of this would be possible without the generous support of my major sponsors : DeLorme & MSR
Project: Granite Gear, Stanley, Wigwam, Microsoft, Yaktrax, Yonder, webExpeditions, Smack, Mountain Professionals
Gear: Sony, Iridium, Hilleberg, Bergans, Optic Nerve, Merrell, Princeton Tech, Scratch Labs, Thermarest, Wenger, Scarpa, Clif, Goal Zero, Action Wipes, Asnes, Helly Hansen, be Media, Nemo, Epic, Potable Aqua, Thule, Scream Agency, Ergodyne
Yesterday, the government released the National Climate Assessment. Now, I'm not a scientist, but I've spent my life in the snow. I'm seeing climate change first-hand. Its affecting places like the north pole, where I am now and I'm here because we all need to take notice. Please believe the science, and take action like by joining Protect Our Winters and help them support the EPA standards on power plants, the source of 40% of US carbon emissions.
There's more just like this expedition - reaching the North Pole is not the end of a journey rather the beginning...
And the real work starts now.
Think Snow!
Distance traveled: 3.5 nautical miles (in 8 hours)
Image: Yours truly going for yet another swim today.