The drop off at the start point was without problems. Flying 3.5 hours to Eureka, refueling there, and flying another 2 hours, we set foot at 83 degrees latitude. Temperature was -50C°, and there was no wind. We now started our journey.

For the first four days we traveled 28km. It was very difficult to move. Sledges are heavy. Temperature on the first day was -48C°, the second day -39C°, the third day -36C°, and today the fourth day -31C°. First two days we had a contrary wind of 7m/s. The temperature inside the tent was -25C°. We are using special masks. Everybody have some light frostbites on ears or noses. At lunch time we usually look like this:

The mask, self-made just before journey, is an indispensable item.

In the evening we have dinner and dry our clothes and do some repairing. Every evening I write a diary and mark our position on the map using GPS data. It is very cold. The computer has to be warmed up for 3 hours before it can be used. Digital cameras with warmed battery can take only 4 or 5 shots at a time.

Mr. Ohba is very tough. He weighs only 62kg but drags a sledge weighing 100kg. Today we moved along a narrow path of 10 to 20m width. Sometimes there were only 5m between rocks and Arctic desert. The pack ice is up to 10m in height. We don't know yet how to go past it, but we will see.

Connecting to a pilot school

Sunset