The team made great progress today, logging 8 nautical miles in 7 hours of skiing. They were also "given" a couple miles last night while they slept by a positive northward drift (see below for more information abot drift). Both Sichen and Hrafnkell took the lead today, guiding the team across the pack ice for approximately 2 hours each. Choosing the route and navigating north can be both exciting and challenging and we hear that they did great jobs being "out in front". When they called in the sky had turned cloudy and there was a wind out of the south west. The team was in camp and getting ready for a big dinner and hot drinks.
Traveling north in perfect conditions.
Today the team saw signs of Arctic life... polar bear footprints frozen in the snow. They estimate that the print was several days old. The bear was obviously heading north in search of seals, its primary source of food. Seeing polar bears or polar bear foot prints so far north is uncommon. Polar bears much prefer to live further to the south where open water and seals are much more plentiful. The polar bear footprints are a special reminder that even at the end of the Earth there is life to be celebrated and admired.
The foot of a polar bear vs. the foot of a skier.
About drift... Many people don't realize that the Arctic Ocean is in constant motion and the Arctic Fox team is at the whim of the ocean's currents and drift. If the current is drifting to the north the team will also drift north, if the currents turn to the south the team will also drift to the south. The drift is unpredictable in its direction and intensity. Every night when the team goes to bed they check their location on their GPS. In the morning one of the first things they do is check the GPS to see where the drift has taken them. Sometimes it may only be a hundred meters east or west, and other times it can be several nautical miles! Polar drift is unique to the North Pole, and it is one of the factors that makes any North Pole expedition so unpredictable!
Make sure to listen to today's daily audio reports from the team (the first one is in English) and check back tomorrow for another update from the team! We expect that they will reach the North Pole tomorrow!
