March 29, 2010
Day 27. Two for Two... In the Bad Way
Do you want the good news or bad news first? We drifted two and a half miles last night. Fortunately, nearly a quarter of that was north. Yipee! That's good news. Unfortunately, we had another cold water submersion today. AJ fell in up to his waist.
Side note: he was not able to collect an algae sample during his dunk. Side note number two: he had just collected a sample from a previous lead.
Growing up near a small creek, I spent much of my winters on the ice - skating, skiing or just poking around. Sometimes, friends and I would accidentally find thin spots and fall through. Over time, we learned how to judge the strength and integrity quickly - a few stout stomps with our boots.
Here our methodology isn't much different. We usually give three or four hard pokes with our ski pole and if the tip doesn't go through, it's safe. Well... Not always. Sea ice behaves differently than freshwater ice. Chunks of ice frozen together can quickly break apart under pressure as can thin ice. It's a subtle difference but an important one for us to recognize.
More changes in the ice today, most likely because of the strong wind and full moon (tides). Cresting a small ridge, we could see a newer crack in the ice and an eight foot gap of open water. Later we would see a maze of zig zagging cracks. It felt like we were in some polar version of an Indiana Jones movie, but instead of a bridge collapsing, it was ice.
AJ went in at one of those spots - newly covered with spindrift, Darcy and I already crossing, degrading the quality of the ice.
After wrestling himself out, with Darcy's help, we got moving again (this is almost becoming a routine now). While AJ's feet were relatively warm because he was wearing vapor barrier socks and had positioned his pants over his boots, his legs were soaked. We decided to set up the tent and get him into dry clothes.
The rest day was difficult but without incident. OK, maybe a couple. Darcy's sled slipped and slid part way in the water crossing an ice bridge. AJ's sled pulled him backwards down a pressure ridge after a miscommunication, the wind was up and brutally cold, an cool arch of slabbed ice that Darcy was taking a picture of collapsed right as he turned his back.... Every day is an adventure You never know what you're going to get.
Image: Crossing an ice chunk bridge.
The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by Bing with major support from the University of Plymouth, Terramar, Seventh Generation, Goal0, Atlas, Sierra Designs and Optic Nerve.
Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.
For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com
For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/
For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com
For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net
Side note: he was not able to collect an algae sample during his dunk. Side note number two: he had just collected a sample from a previous lead.
Growing up near a small creek, I spent much of my winters on the ice - skating, skiing or just poking around. Sometimes, friends and I would accidentally find thin spots and fall through. Over time, we learned how to judge the strength and integrity quickly - a few stout stomps with our boots.
Here our methodology isn't much different. We usually give three or four hard pokes with our ski pole and if the tip doesn't go through, it's safe. Well... Not always. Sea ice behaves differently than freshwater ice. Chunks of ice frozen together can quickly break apart under pressure as can thin ice. It's a subtle difference but an important one for us to recognize.
More changes in the ice today, most likely because of the strong wind and full moon (tides). Cresting a small ridge, we could see a newer crack in the ice and an eight foot gap of open water. Later we would see a maze of zig zagging cracks. It felt like we were in some polar version of an Indiana Jones movie, but instead of a bridge collapsing, it was ice.
AJ went in at one of those spots - newly covered with spindrift, Darcy and I already crossing, degrading the quality of the ice.
After wrestling himself out, with Darcy's help, we got moving again (this is almost becoming a routine now). While AJ's feet were relatively warm because he was wearing vapor barrier socks and had positioned his pants over his boots, his legs were soaked. We decided to set up the tent and get him into dry clothes.
The rest day was difficult but without incident. OK, maybe a couple. Darcy's sled slipped and slid part way in the water crossing an ice bridge. AJ's sled pulled him backwards down a pressure ridge after a miscommunication, the wind was up and brutally cold, an cool arch of slabbed ice that Darcy was taking a picture of collapsed right as he turned his back.... Every day is an adventure You never know what you're going to get.
Image: Crossing an ice chunk bridge.
The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by Bing with major support from the University of Plymouth, Terramar, Seventh Generation, Goal0, Atlas, Sierra Designs and Optic Nerve.
Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.
For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com
For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/
For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com
For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net