April 4, 2010
Day 33. Almost 87
Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny must be having a territory dispute because when we woke up, there were no Easter eggs waiting for us. Or peeps. Or Cadbury chocolate eggs. Still, we all celebrated a bit by calling home on the Iridium Satellite Phone. AJ was especially pleased as he hadn't talked to his family in a while.
I'm not sure where I was last Easter, but I do know that it has been a long time since I've been home for a holiday. The last two Thanksgivings, Christmases and New Years I've been in Antarctica. Last fourth of July on Denali The thought occurred to me that I miss that time right after a holiday meal, everyone still at the table and relaxed, plates pushed back, casual conversations about nothing in particular...
We lost a mile due to yesterday's bitter north wind while we slept and anticipated losing more today traveling - the whole walking on a conveyor belt the wrong direction thing. Surprisingly, the wind died, then switched in the three hours between wake up and first shift. Now with the sun out too, it was actually quite pleasant.
Until the wall of pressure. There has been an ongoing debate as to the best navigation styles. Darcy likes to stop, unhook from his sled, climb up on some ice and scout the route ahead. For my part, I rarely if ever scout any more. Instead, I ski head up, scanning the horizon and seize clear route opportunities as they arise. AJ's style is halfway between Darcy and I.
To make a long story short, there has to be a pretty big obstacle for me to unhook and scout - which I did twice today. Up high, I could see the route through but it wouldn't be easy. Traveling through the ice is a lot like rock climbing. The exception here, however, is that we are trying to string together a series of easier moves versus more difficult.
To get through this 100 meter section of pressure, we had to follow a smooth swath of snow to the west, dog leg north through some bigger blocks, make a hair pin turn to the south east, then a sharp left northward turn for the real work. The first move: lifting the front of the sled three feet to rest it in an ice block. Next, reposition feet, lean back and pull the sled up to a balance point a few feet higher. Third, step down the other side of the ridge leaning into our Granite Gear harness and pull the sled over and down to a sloping smooth area. Next, a two person lift... For two more ridges.
Our reward would come later in the afternoon when we skied on an older flat lead for almost two hours. The sun was out and we were moving at a nice pace. I was warm (a big plus). For a long while, all the stress of this trip, the preparations, fundraising (still ongoing), the two months skiing the South Pole leg and years of planning and preparations just disolved away. I skied awestuck by my surroundings. Small blue slabs, long snow covered cracks, intricate patterns of wind blown snow, a rich light from a low sun that created long shadows even by the tiny ice flowers.
Yes we miss being home, but we wouldn't trade this experience for anything.
In another hour, we skied up to an open water lead stretching as far as we could see to the east and west. Ahh the Arctic, always full of surprises. In short order, we catamaraned the sleds and donned drysuits. As my suit is the only one that doesn't leak, I got to swim while we ferried AJ and Darcy across.
Happy Easter!
Image: Darcy and AJ pulling sleds through a very difficult section of pressure.
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
I'm not sure where I was last Easter, but I do know that it has been a long time since I've been home for a holiday. The last two Thanksgivings, Christmases and New Years I've been in Antarctica. Last fourth of July on Denali The thought occurred to me that I miss that time right after a holiday meal, everyone still at the table and relaxed, plates pushed back, casual conversations about nothing in particular...
We lost a mile due to yesterday's bitter north wind while we slept and anticipated losing more today traveling - the whole walking on a conveyor belt the wrong direction thing. Surprisingly, the wind died, then switched in the three hours between wake up and first shift. Now with the sun out too, it was actually quite pleasant.
Until the wall of pressure. There has been an ongoing debate as to the best navigation styles. Darcy likes to stop, unhook from his sled, climb up on some ice and scout the route ahead. For my part, I rarely if ever scout any more. Instead, I ski head up, scanning the horizon and seize clear route opportunities as they arise. AJ's style is halfway between Darcy and I.
To make a long story short, there has to be a pretty big obstacle for me to unhook and scout - which I did twice today. Up high, I could see the route through but it wouldn't be easy. Traveling through the ice is a lot like rock climbing. The exception here, however, is that we are trying to string together a series of easier moves versus more difficult.
To get through this 100 meter section of pressure, we had to follow a smooth swath of snow to the west, dog leg north through some bigger blocks, make a hair pin turn to the south east, then a sharp left northward turn for the real work. The first move: lifting the front of the sled three feet to rest it in an ice block. Next, reposition feet, lean back and pull the sled up to a balance point a few feet higher. Third, step down the other side of the ridge leaning into our Granite Gear harness and pull the sled over and down to a sloping smooth area. Next, a two person lift... For two more ridges.
Our reward would come later in the afternoon when we skied on an older flat lead for almost two hours. The sun was out and we were moving at a nice pace. I was warm (a big plus). For a long while, all the stress of this trip, the preparations, fundraising (still ongoing), the two months skiing the South Pole leg and years of planning and preparations just disolved away. I skied awestuck by my surroundings. Small blue slabs, long snow covered cracks, intricate patterns of wind blown snow, a rich light from a low sun that created long shadows even by the tiny ice flowers.
Yes we miss being home, but we wouldn't trade this experience for anything.
In another hour, we skied up to an open water lead stretching as far as we could see to the east and west. Ahh the Arctic, always full of surprises. In short order, we catamaraned the sleds and donned drysuits. As my suit is the only one that doesn't leak, I got to swim while we ferried AJ and Darcy across.
Happy Easter!
Image: Darcy and AJ pulling sleds through a very difficult section of pressure.
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