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Polar Explorers Lonnie Dupre and Eric Larsen send daily dispatches during their unprecedented four-month journey to the North Pole and back. The expedition team will pull and paddle specially modified canoes across nearly 1,000 miles of shifting sea ice and open ocean. Their objective is to complete the first ever summer expedition to the North Pole and to highlight the growing issues surrounding global warming.
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Still Pressured Ice?

Jun 12, 2006
overcast, whiteout, 31.5 F, 10 nautical miles
Day 43. One of the subjects of conversations during our sit down breaks (we take two during the day) is, obviously, ice. Ice we've seen, ice we can see and the ice that might be just up ahead. We are surprised by the amount of pressured ice this far north.

We had assumed that by 87 degrees north, the conditions would flatten out and the pressure and small broken slab ice would diminish. Instead, we are seeing worse and worse conditions. We theorized today that global warming was the cause. Thinner ice, more storms, more pressure. We also wondered about the future of polar exploration. Unsettling.

We spend most of our waking hours moving forward on the ice. We figure the only ones spending more time on the ice than us are polar bears. They'll perch themselves at a seal's breathing hole for hours, even days, waiting for the seal to come up for air so that they can pounce. If we sit for more than 15 minutes, we are chilled to the bone, whereas the polar bear can sit for hours, not making a move, lying in wait. They are so perfectly adapted to this environment.

We are seeing more and more algae growing in the cracks and just under thin ice that is around 2 feet thick. This algae is a critical component of an Arctic food chain that supports small shrimp and tiny codfish.

We skied in just our long underwear tops today. It was warm again and the southerly breeze is really eating up the snow. It's just plain wet and sticky. To make matters worse, the soft snow balled up under our skis, taking away what little glide we sometimes have. We're getting a good tricep workout, however, as our ski poles stick firmly in the snow and we have to yank them out after each step.

In 6 miles we will be at 88 degrees north, only 120 miles from the Pole. Though we are within striking distance, we must not slacken in our drive to get there as the snow may soon not be able to support our weight on skis and find us post-hole, up to our waists, slowing us to a snailier rate than our normal snail's pace.

The end of the day stretched a bit long as five minutes before 'quittin' time' we got mixed up in a small pan-brash ice combo that had us back in snowshoes and long lining every which way. Then a tent pole broke today, most likely during a sled roll-over in the pack ice. That small repair to the Hilleberg Hotel took an additional half hour. It started raining so we crawled quickly inside, out of the weather, and mentally away from the ice.

On a lighter note, we've got a new favorite noodle dish, creamy tomato. We've also managed to discuss what life might be like when it's lived somewhere besides a tent.

Today's picture: We are beginning to see more areas of slushy snow and leads that are widening into small pools.

Word of the day: brinkmanship - hopefully, we are not pursuing our course to the point of disaster.

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