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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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Energy Conservation

Jun 16, 2006
sunny, overcast, sunny, 32.5 F, 7 nautical miles
Day 47. The icescape is softening with each day over 32F. The sharp edges of ice and snowdrifts are now rounded. A curved blanket of white has folded into the abrupt corners of each drift. On the down side, our ski tips are starting to submarine periodically under the snow, creating additional effort for our legs as we have to stop, put the leg in reverse, then lift the ski back up to the surface.

We are all about conservation of energy more so now than ever. With two difficult days in a row anything we can do to be more efficient in our forward progress is immediately implemented.

For example, we are still having a serious problem with the snow sticking the bottoms of our ski skins. Solution #1: The lead man snowshoes (instead of skiing), breaking trail as the second person, now with a groomed track, skis with considerably less effort. Solution #2: We are trying an experiment on a pair of skis by reducing the width and length of skins to make them glide better with less sticking. Of course, we only have so much to work with.

We are taking fewer and fewer detours, too. A section of brash ice is now a bridge, wide gaps are spanned with skis or jumped on snowshoes, ice chunks become ferries. One might argue that we are taking more risks; however, it is simply that we better understand the consequence of each movement.

We participated (via satellite phone) in a press conference the other day to help promote an off shore wind farm near Long Island. It was an honor to be able to talk about our experiences and how reducing our dependency on oil will help stop global warming and save the polar bear. Groups like Renewable Energy Long Island (RELI) and Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) are taking positive steps to meet our energy needs and protect our environment.

The sun was out for nearly two-thirds of the day - more than enough to recharge our depleted vitamin D stores. When you are deprived of so many things a little goes a long way. It was nice to see the route ahead, clouds above and the terrain beneath our skis and snowshoes.

Today was important for another reason. We figured out what our super powers would be should we ever leave polar exploration to fight crime. Eric would use the Larsen Long Line - unhooking the two pull ropes and reattaching just one end. Lonnie has now perfected the Lonnie Lever - a method of pulling a sled-canoe up a ledge by leaning back and using his the momentum of his body falling back to leverage the weight. We're not exactly sure how these skills will translate into actually being able to catch crooks, but we've got some time for that.

Finally, it's not too late to help get the polar bear listed as a threatened species. Be sure to Take Action today!

Today's picture: The ice chunk that Lonnie used to cross this lead toppled over and fell apart in pieces too small to stand. Luckily, there was a small ice chunk nearby to use as a ferry. Eric is holding a rope while Lonnie pulls him over.

Word of the day - neologism - a new word (look it up and you'll know what we mean).

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