January 24, 2017
Another Whiteout
Well... Another day. Another whiteout. If I were to think about it too much, I would realize that I have spent an inordinate amount of time in one cold place or another skiing in white nothingness, overcast skies, flat light and on the more exciting days, snow. Polar travel is many things and a surprising amount of those things are very similar to the inside of a ping pong ball. Endless white with no horizon to gauge progress. Am I painting a pretty enough picture for you. The nice part is of you choose to pick up palette and brush. You'll only need one color - you guessed it - white. Am I rambling here - wait don't answer that...
I had an incredible night's sleep, tucked snuggly in my Therm-a-Rest sleeping bag and blanket. I don't know what it is about sleeps my bags and tents but I seem to sleep better in both. Needless to say, I was more than a bit hesitant to get out of my warm cocoon and start melting snow for breakfast. But I got out and it wasn't so bad.
Actually from a winter / polar perspective the temperatures have been quite balmy - too warm actually. Still, the warm temperatures make tent life pretty easy and we don't have to worry as much about getting freezer burn from things like our MSR fuel bottles.
While temperatures aren't as cold as we like, it did snow during the night and we were hopeful that most of the slush would freeze. After packing up camp and heading out, we quickly realized that this record warming trend was still wreaking havoc on us.
Ice had formed on the top layer of ice slush but it wasn't yet strong enough to support our full weight in most spots. We quickly broke through on nearly every step. Once our skis and skins were wet they would stick to the new fluffy snow instantly creating huge ice balls underneath our feet and skis. It was nearly impossible to ski at times. Surprisingly, this is actually great training for Arctic Ocean travel as we have similar conditions on newly frozen leads.
In the end, we were able to weave around to more drifted areas while still progressing Nothing. Tim and Joseph simply took off their skis and started walking - at a pace nearly identical to our weaving snow encrusted pace.
Nearly half way through the day we encountered a small pressure ridge - slabs of ice heaved together by the wind - and we practiced going up and over, again, just like the Arctic Ocean.
In the warmer weather, our hourly breaks were relaxing as we chugged Skratch Labs hydration drink and ate a variety of snacks. Half way through the day, we pulled out out Stanley insulated flasks and devoured piping hot soup. Somewhere along the way we also picked up a dead fish, but that's a longer story than I have time to tell.
In the afternoon, the wind picked up and visibility dropped and even though we were in a whiteout, we skied with big smiles because the changing weather means colder temperatures and firm ice.
I had an incredible night's sleep, tucked snuggly in my Therm-a-Rest sleeping bag and blanket. I don't know what it is about sleeps my bags and tents but I seem to sleep better in both. Needless to say, I was more than a bit hesitant to get out of my warm cocoon and start melting snow for breakfast. But I got out and it wasn't so bad.
Actually from a winter / polar perspective the temperatures have been quite balmy - too warm actually. Still, the warm temperatures make tent life pretty easy and we don't have to worry as much about getting freezer burn from things like our MSR fuel bottles.
While temperatures aren't as cold as we like, it did snow during the night and we were hopeful that most of the slush would freeze. After packing up camp and heading out, we quickly realized that this record warming trend was still wreaking havoc on us.
Ice had formed on the top layer of ice slush but it wasn't yet strong enough to support our full weight in most spots. We quickly broke through on nearly every step. Once our skis and skins were wet they would stick to the new fluffy snow instantly creating huge ice balls underneath our feet and skis. It was nearly impossible to ski at times. Surprisingly, this is actually great training for Arctic Ocean travel as we have similar conditions on newly frozen leads.
In the end, we were able to weave around to more drifted areas while still progressing Nothing. Tim and Joseph simply took off their skis and started walking - at a pace nearly identical to our weaving snow encrusted pace.
Nearly half way through the day we encountered a small pressure ridge - slabs of ice heaved together by the wind - and we practiced going up and over, again, just like the Arctic Ocean.
In the warmer weather, our hourly breaks were relaxing as we chugged Skratch Labs hydration drink and ate a variety of snacks. Half way through the day, we pulled out out Stanley insulated flasks and devoured piping hot soup. Somewhere along the way we also picked up a dead fish, but that's a longer story than I have time to tell.
In the afternoon, the wind picked up and visibility dropped and even though we were in a whiteout, we skied with big smiles because the changing weather means colder temperatures and firm ice.