We had two significant achievements today. First, we crossed the 85th parallel, and second, we made our first 10 nautical mile day.

We are very pleased with this mileage and we hope only to increase it as our sleds get lighter, and as conditions improve enough that we can switch back to skis (they were on snowshoes all day today).

The weather was sunny, with no wind and -30 F temps. We are all in great spirits.

We are around N85.04.58, W78.24.23.

Maxime Chaya via Iridium
Day 24 Briefing in Arabic

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Stuart Smith (Team Member)
Day 24 Briefing in English

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We made good progress today, with 7 nautical miles covered in 8 hours.

Though stormy weather threatened, it never materialized and we experienced some of the warmest temperatures at -12 F with clear skies and little wind.

Stuart transmitted a wonderful podcast about our day, tent life, sleeping and why our sleeping bags get heavier each day… (see podcast below!)

Our current position in degrees, minutes, seconds is N84.10.30, W78.02.18.

Maxime Chaya via Iridium
Day 16 Briefing in French

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Stuart Smith (Team Member)

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Maxime Chaya Pulling through a Pressure Ridge

Lonnie and Maxime

In the Tent at the End of the Day

Today we upped the ante by clocking 7.25 nautical miles in 7.25 hours. We are getting more efficient with each day!

We had a good day today, with mostly pans of ice separated by pressure ridges and dense pack.

As we close in on 84 degrees we are happy to report that all is well. Stuart has left a wonderful podcast so make sure to check it out! (below)

Our position in degrees, minutes and seconds is N83.57.07, W77.54.42

Stuart Smith (Team Member)
Day 14 Briefing in English

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Maxime Chaya via Iridium
Day 14 Briefing in Arabic

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Maxime Chaya via Iridium (Part 1)
Day 13 Briefing in Arabic

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Maxime Chaya via Iridium (Part 2)
Day 13 Briefing in Arabic

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We made good progress today covering 6.4 nautical miles in 7 hours & 15 minutes. We were lucky to find a frozen lead trending North by Northwest, which we were able to follow for almost 2 miles. Finding a lead to travel on is akin to getting out of bumper-to-bumper traffic and getting on a super highway, with no obstacles to block your progress. A lead running due north is rare, but if it is trending in the right direction it is often a blessing!

We also encountered some more polar bear tracks, which always adds some excitement.

Stuart answers the question: “How do they go to the bathroom?”

Everything is organized in the tent, and then they run outside every morning, do their business, and then run back to the tent thinking “I’m glad that’s over!”
All three of us have our routines down to less than 3 minutes – including the dash to and from the tent!

The expedition is as hard if not harder than I anticipated, but I am thankful for our progress and good spirits so far.

Our current location in degrees, minutes and seconds is N83.49.52 W77.53.16

Stuart Smith

Lonnie Dupre

Today we made 5.9 nautical miles in 7 hours of travel. The ice conditions were better than yesterday, with roughly 1/3 of the day in rough ice, and the rest meandering in a zig zag fashion trying to avoid the worst of the very prominent snow drifts that exist in the lee of every piece of ice.

In general during the expedition the wind has been blowing mostly east to west, sometimes west to east at approximately 5-15 mph. This means that the snow drifts are all east-west. Heading north we have to cross them all the time. This makes for a LOT of work!

The wind brings some other challenges, like protecting your face from frostbite. We are all watching out for each other in this regard, letting each other know if there is a patch of skin that is exposed. But the wind can also bring some beautiful sights, like today when the blowing snow particles in air scattered the sun’s rays making a multitude of sun dogs appear behind us towards Ellesmere. “It was beautiful” is an understatement.

Our position in degrees, minutes and seconds is N83.43.28, W77.40.18

Maxime Chaya via Iridium
Day 7 Briefing in Arabic

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Stuart says, “we had their best mileage to date with one tenth of a nautical mile more than yesterday (which took an additional 1/2 hour of travel). Ice conditions remain the same (moderately difficult), and temperatures remain seasonal at -38 F (-38C).

We are happy to celebrate a full week on the ice. This is a major accomplishment, as the first 7 days are always the hardest. With each passing day sleds get lighter, the team becomes more efficient, the days get longer, and the weather gets warmer.

Of course you never know what’s around the corner! (polar bears perhaps?)

Our current location in degrees, minutes, and seconds is N83.17.04 W77.34.16.