We are camping 8.8 nautical miles (16.3km) from the North Pole tonight. Most expeditions would dash for the pole just to grab it, to make sure all your efforts are paid for when you punch in the 90 degrees of latitude in your GPS. You end up skiing 20 to 30 miles in one go […]
There is huge uncertainty among scientists when the Arctic sea is going to be ice free in the September low minimum. Some models predict this century while others may suggest it will be closer to next century. There are some predictions that it may even be this summer since we already know that 2017 will […]
In the last few days we have been getting messages from Mark Drinkwater from ESA to veer to a radical easterly direction instead of going straight North to the pole. Apparently spring has arrived in the Arctic somewhere in the 7 million square km and the ice is starting to break up as it transport […]
People have asked what our camp life is like and what we do once we crawl in the tent. Our tenting routine is quiet laborious but also very disciplined because by the end of the day we are not only tired but extremely cold, so we need to get warm in a hurry. We all […]
If I had to choose a favorite day so far on this expedition, it will be today. Not just because we are now on the other side of the countdown to 90 degrees but because of the gifts the arctic gave us throughout the day. Thanks to the excellent weather forecast from Helga van Leur […]
It warmed up in the Arctic today and we noticed! For the first time I did not have frost inside my jacket or clumps of ice hanging from the fur in my hood. The inner soles of my Baffin boots were not frozen neither were the zippers of my outside pockets. All this to a […]
A journalist asked me for a few days ago if I can see the difference here at the North Pole between 2007 and this year. I had a think about it because you are here so briefly in one area at a specific time of the year so any observations I can make and compare […]
The weather report of today (thanks Helga van Leur and Mark Drinkwater) finely came through. Warmer temperatures (-28C), snow and wind from the southwest, luckily in our backs. Navigating becomes challenging in this kind of weather, you don’t know what north or south is or up and down. The sky and surface all blend into […]
Once in a while the Arctic throws something at you which makes you stop in your tracks and you need a moment to comprehend what just happens. Today we had such a moment. Still being unbearable cold, the first hour out of the tent is the moment of the naked truth – rested, warm and […]
A milestone today – skied 1/2 degree of latitude. Victor Serov who I call into every night with our position is really happy with our progress: ” You are doing very well Bernice and you are doing science” is his encouraging response every time I call in. I imagine he is sitting in a tent […]
