Day 7

April 22:
Current position is 89° 19’ 840’ North, 004° 58’ 102 West.  The team took a layover day today to rest up from their intense efforts at “going nowhere fast”!  The Arctic treadmill is working against them combined with massive amounts of open water.  They are finding more open water than they have seen in the 15 years they have been leading North Pole expeditions.  Each night, they drift further south and spend the day trying to recapture lost ground, ending up basically right back where they started.  One team member, John Thompson, is having some significant frostnip issues on his hands and for his own health and health of the team overall, he will be transferred back to Longyearbyen tomorrow.  The team will be getting a shuttle by helicopter over this huge area of open water to a position with firmer ice conditions closer to the North Pole.  They will then continue their trek to the north.  Meanwhile their spirits are high as they enjoyed their day flying kites, resting, reading, soaking in the beauty of the Arctic (and drifting south 7 nautical miles!).

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