The Offical Diary for the Carpe Diem Trust's polar expedition. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Polar Art at the Pole Each of our sleds was decorated by a different artists (see diary entries 2 Mar 2007). Darfur is in two parts - the sled and the sled bag. The bag survived the journey pretty, and the sled is still very recognisable although quite battered and peeling. Snow White has lost most of its white!! The intricate work on the washers has survived quite well though. I Believe is also in two parts - the bottom of the sled itself, and the wooden sled board. The board is fine - completely intact. The writing on the bottom of the sled, however, is worn to the point of being almost invisible. You can tell that something was there, but it is not readable! We are hoping to display all three pieces, at a gallery to be confirmed. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/diary.php Hopefully this will work - I've been having some problems with my internet connection since I got back. Sorry for the delay in posting since our return. I will endeavour to put our photographs in the Photo section within the next few days. The following summary is culled from my diary: Leg One – 65 nautical miles The first leg was really tough. It took us several days to find our feet and get into a rhythm. Rich and I both skied the whole leg, but Mum struggled to gain confidence on skis and preferred to walk. We all found it incredibly hard going, and really struggled to get the miles out. In particular, we found that while Mum was perfectly capable of plodding on with her pulk (sled), she was very slow. This was quite worrying, as time was a real issue. We weren’t racing, but the reality of logistics and flights meant that we couldn’t afford to be too slow or we risked simply running out of time. The trouble was, at the start we didn't know how slow was too slow. The first few days we managed less than 10 nautical miles a day, which just wasn't enough. It was depressing - we were all tired and dirty, and on day three I started to worry. Two things were preying on my mind: firstly, it didn't seem to take to much wind to really impair our ability to function. The wind could be bitter and when it hit us we all suffered badly (but especially Mum and her hands). Secondly, we were just too slow. Even in the benign conditions and on flat ice we experienced on Day 2 we didn't seem to be able to get above 10 Nmiles a day. Frankly I was depressed and contemplating failure and we'd barely begun. We were all pretty miserable that night - lost in our personal exhaustion and wondering how far we'd get before having to quit. There was some excitement on Day 2 when we learned that one of the other teams had had a very close encounter with two polar bears, who actually played with and damaged their pulks! We had mixed feelings about bears - we wanted to see one, but not too close! On Day 4 things changed. We knew we had to up our mileage but we had a bad morning - Rich broke a ski binding, Mum got really cold trying to ski for an hour before going back to walking and we hit a nasty rubble field which really slowed us down and tired us out. In the afternoon I decided to try something. I unclipped Mum's pulk and clipped it to the back of mine like a train. It was heavy (I later estimated it to weigh around 75kg combined), but I could haul it. More importantly, I could haul it faster than Mum could - and without it she was much faster. We still had a poor run that day, but it was a turning point in my confidence. That morning I'd despaired of us even finishing. This simple acting of pulling two pulks for the afternoon gave me strength - from that moment I knew we could make it. I took Mum's pulk again on Day 5 for an exhausting day, with cold winds and low cloud making visibility difficult, and we managed far more respectable 12.5 Nmiles. We knew Jock (the race organiser) had hoped we'd reach Checkpoint One by Day 5, but it wasn't to be. However we put in a massive effort on Day 6 and covered 14.5 Nmiles to arrive at the first checkpoint just after 5pm. It was a really emotional moment. A few days earlier we'd been questioning our ability to get even this far. Now we'd done it and been greeted by all the other teams who lined up and cheered us in. As soon as we'd crossed the line, our pulks were taken from us and a group of the others quickly put our tent up for us. The first hurdle was over. We were given the option of starting straight away on Day 7, but we felt we needed the day to rest. All of the other teams opted to wait too, so that we could all start together on Monday. Unfortunately, our longed for day of rest was not to be. In the afternoon, there was an accident with the stove and some fuel vapour ignited, causing a fireball that ripped through the tent. It melted large holes in the inner and outer of the tent, destroyed several stuff sacks and a seating cushion, and badly scorched two sleeping bags – including burning a hole in mum’s which she was in at the time. Richard literally caught fire. His arms were alight for several long seconds. He was lucky to get away with only minor burns to his hand. Later, we learned that a Japanese adventurer who was crossing the region solo had a similar tent fire on the same day as us. He was not so lucky. He had to be evacuated by air with severe burns to his face and arms. It wasn’t until we took the tent down later, and saw how the entire inner had melted to the poles, that we realised just how lucky we had been. Following the potentially catastrophic tent fire, instead of relaxing we spent the afternoon moving our kit and spent a cold night in the checkpoint dome tent. The following morning we were able to take one of the checkpoint team's expedition tents and we were back in business. By now we just wanted to get back out on the ice and back into our routine. 0830 Monday morning, Leg 2 (the longest leg) started. Leg Two – 120 nautical miles Leg 2 was twice as long as leg 1, and as a result our pulks were heavy with food and fuel. 120 Nmiles of ice lay ahead and we would pass up the side of the Polar Bear National Park. Leg 2 really showed us that we were getting stronger. From the first day we averaged 13 Nmiles a day and although we were tired every night, we weren't exhausted. The going was very hard for the first few days, with miles of rubble and boulders. We all walked together rather than skied and on several days we struggled forwards against a bitter arctic wind. Mum did brilliantly on this leg, and pulled her own pulk the entire 120 Nmiles. Once again we were disappointed not to see much wildlife. Only we and the Brass Monkeys didn't actually see a Polar Bear! We saw tracks most days: polar bears, arctic foxes and wolves! Then for several days we experienced temperatures that were unseasonably hot (barely -10C), which bizarrely proved to be a real problem. We all overheated and suffered badly from dehydration. All of our drinking water had to be made every night by melting snow, and we carried it in thermos flasks which had extra insulation added by wrapping them in old foam sleeping mats. So we were severely limited in how much water we could carry, and the warm weather really took it out of us. Another problem with the ‘warm’ weather was the snow. The worst conditions underfoot for us was soft, deep snow. Frozen ground or firm ice was ideal, but when the snow was soft it gripped our pulks like glue and made them feel twice as heavy. Also, with Mum not skiing, it was very hard for her to walk through the soft snow drifts – she was effectively wading through deep snow which was slow and tiring. The soft snow was also treacherous – it hid holes and cracks in the ice. On day two of leg two, I heard a strange noise and stopped the others. It sounded like a child or animal screaming a long way away. Then it shifted in tone, and seemed to move closer. It took a few moments to realise that it was the ice sheet flexing and moving. The ice was literally singing to us! One of the things that struck me on this leg was how the scenery and terrain would change every few days. We moved from rubble field to following the beach along Bathurst Island, hitting smooth flat ice. My image of the arctic had been one of uniform whiteness but in fact the variety of scenery is stunning. One danger in the arctic is open water and we were concerned to see liquid water on several occasions. One evening as we pitched the tent Rich and I dug down a foot and came across slush and open water! We quickly filled the hole! Then on Day 13 I left the tent first thing, shovel in hand, to go for my morning 'ablutions'. I walked 10m and ended up, up to my ankles in water! I backtracked pretty quickly! Our morale was much higher during leg 2 and apart from aching backs we were in pretty good shape. The only exception were Mum's heels - her boots had worn holes in both of her boot inners and worn nasty blisters on her heels. We were being held together by zinc oxide tape and ibuprofen! We still needed to improve our mileage for the last two legs but we were now confident that we would make it. We intended to push ourselves harder, because we planned to make it to the pole and STAND ON TOP OF THE WORLD. Leg Three – 75 nautical miles Once we’d finished leg two, the longest leg, things were supposed to get easier – but in the end leg three proved to be the hardest so far. We set off from check point two at 1015 on Tue 24 April (day 16 since the start of the race), and immediately hit a bad rubble field. The whole of the first day was a horrible bash through the worst kind of terrain – rubble covered in soft, deep snow. The light quality in the morning was also very poor – a dull grey that sucked the contrast out of the terrain and made it difficult to see the dips and mounds. We literally stumbled our way through the ice boulders at a painfully slow pace. By the afternoon, our progress was so poor that I took mum’s pulk again and we tried to power walk some extras miles out of the last few hours of the day. We managed to scrape out 11.2 Nmiles, which was disappointing. We had calculated that we needed to average over 14 Nmiles a day on this leg. That night, I had a long chat with Jock about timings. We needed to know the last safe day we could arrive at checkpoint three. It turned out we had to complete this leg in another four days – that meant three 16 Nmile days and one 15 Nmile day. We’d have to really reach deep inside ourselves and find the strength to walk further than we’d yet managed, four days in a row. From here on in, I pulled two pulks – mine and mum’s – for the rest of the trip. If you’d asked me before the race if I was strong enough to haul two pulks across the kind of terrain we were crossing for over 12 hours a day, I would have said no. It’s amazing what reserves of strength you find when you really have to. There have been several times in my life when I’ve worried that my strength would fail me, but when the stakes are high enough, it never has. As it was, we managed two 16 Nmile days which were exhausting, before receiving some very bad news. Due to poor ice conditions the checkpoint team hadn’t managed to land at the planned checkpoint location. As a result we had three extra miles to do! What a kick in the teeth. We now needed to do two 17 Nmile days to get there on time. It was exhausting, but we managed it. Our bodies really started to show signs of wear and tear on this leg. Mum fell badly on the first day and hurt her back, and her boots gave her some nasty blisters that would trouble her for the whole trip. We all had bad chafing on our legs, and the cold was starting to affect our hands – our fingers would tingle at night when they were warm, which is a classic sign of minor cold damage. Richard had a painful knee, and my back and ankle were starting to trouble me. Bizarrely, I also suffered from a cold-burnt tongue. My tongue felt as though I had burnt it on a hot drink, but it was actually caused breathing dry, very cold air in through my mouth while out of breath! I also found my body craving calories. On the first leg, none of us had finished our day bags at the end of each day (rather than a ‘lunch’, we each had a day bag consisting of pieces of chocolate, nuts, biscuits and dried fruit which we’d graze on throughout the day). By leg two I’d started to finish the entire bag. By leg three, I was in danger of finishing it by 4pm – I had to ration myself for the last few hours. We were very lucky as a team. We knew that we would all get along well, but we maintained our sense of humour and never had a cross word the entire time. And just as important, at no point did we all have a weak day at the same time. At least one of us was always on form to chivvy the others along. We also found that whoever was in front was invariably the strong one – the act of leading seemed to give us strength – while whoever was at the back seemed to lose strength. We arrived at checkpoint three late on Sat 28 April, and collapsed for a well earned rest – only to start the final leg the following day at 1200. Leg Four – 60 nautical miles After enjoying the longest leg (two), and surviving the horrific rubble fields of leg three, there was an end of school atmosphere at the start of the final leg. Everyone seemed to think it was downhill from here on in – we had bested the worst the Arctic could through at us and survived. Four more days, and we’d reach the Pole. How wrong we were. Day one of the last leg started brilliantly. The weather was glorious, the ice was flat, and we had a fantastic first two hours. Then Mother Nature decided to remind us all who was boss. We hit a rubble field that was by far the worst yet – huge obstacles, tightly packed rubble and very soft, very deep snow concealing ankle-breaking cracks in the ice. Trying to haul two pulks over this was horrible – typically Murphy’s law seemed to decree that the distance between obstacles was usually exactly the same as the length of rope connecting me to my pulk. So I’d struggle over lump of ice several feet high and drop down the other side. Then I’d try to haul myself over the next piece, just as my pulk encountered the first one. I’d be scrambling to get a grip with my feet on the slippery surface, and the line attached to my harness would be taught as my pulk tried to pull me backwards. Then I’d hit a third obstacle, and find both pulks caught on their own lumps of ice at the same time behind me! It was exhausting. We reached the end of the day having managed barely eleven miles, when we needed to be averaging sixteen. Day two was even worse. The same awful rubble conditions, coupled with very poor light. It was worse for mum. She couldn’t ski, and the snow conditions meant that she would fall over quite literally once every 3-4 minutes. Sometimes she’d hit a really bad stretch, and would crawl on her hands and knees for 10 or 20 metres before struggling to her feet. It was painful to watch, but there was nothing I could do except keep struggling on myself. After 13 hours of walking, we had managed only eight miles! It was utterly depressing. For the first time since the first leg, we were seriously talking about the possibility of failure. At this speed, we simply wouldn’t make it to the Pole in time. We had no way of knowing how long the rubble would last – it might have been like that all the way to the Pole. Jock later told us these were the worst ice conditions for years. As it was, Mother Nature was teaching us a lesson, but not a terminal one. On day three we started off still struggling through the appalling terrain, but within an hour it started to thin. We had a very long way to go, but the conditions improved throughout the day, the weather was glorious, and soon we were speeding along as quickly as we could over flat, firm ice. It was a godsend. We went from the worst ice conditions we’d seen to the best, just when we needed it. Now we had to take advantage of it to get back on schedule. We exhausted ourselves that day, but we covered an amazing 20.5 Nmiles by 2115! We were back on track to finish the leg in four days. We still had the Noice Peninsular to cross, which was a bit of an unknown entity, but we only had 18.3 Nmiles to go to reach the Pole. However long it took, we vowed to do that in one day. As it was, the peninsular was easier than we’d feared. It was a beautiful and rugged landscape of gentle hills and valleys that we crossed in poor weather conditions – a strong icy wind and poor light. Towards the end of the day we were snowed on for the first time, but we were determined to finish the trip that day. At 2125 we successfully reached the Magnetic North Pole, setting two Guinness World Records: Mum was the oldest woman to reach the Pole by foot, and we were the first mother and son team to reach any Pole! We had done it. We were on top of the world! I lost one and a half stone in 24 days, and I am currently sporting a beard that would make Old Labour proud. All three of us are hobbling around (our bodies seemed to know exactly when they could give up – and have done so!!), but we’re delighted to be back in the UK where water comes out of a tap, we don’t wake up covered in frost, and going to the toilet isn’t a daily torture! http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/diary.php Dan Diary Update Walking to the Magnetic North Pole was always going to be hard, especially given that my 62 year old mother was one of my team mates! We were a team of three (me, Mum and my friend Richard) taking part in the Polar Race 2007, but we had no intention of racing. We just wanted to achieve. We wanted to experience this amazing environment and to stand on top of the world!! Leg One – 65 nautical miles The first leg was really tough. It took us several days to find our feet and get into a rhythm. Rich and I both skied the whole leg, but Mum struggled to gain confidence on skis and preferred to walk. We all found it incredibly hard going, and really struggled to get the miles out. In particular, we found that while Mum was perfectly capable of plodding on with her pulk (sled), she was very slow. This was quite worrying, as time was a real issue. We weren’t racing, but the reality of logistics and flights meant that we couldn’t afford to be too slow or we risked simply running out of time. The trouble was, at the start we didn't know how slow was too slow. The first few days we managed less than 10 nautical miles a day, which just wasn't enough.  It was depressing - we were all tired and dirty, and on day three I started to worry. Two things were preying on my mind: firstly, it didn't seem to take to much wind to really impair our ability to function. The wind could be bitter and when it hit us we all suffered badly (but especially Mum and her hands). Secondly, we were just too slow. Even in the benign conditions and on flat ice we experienced on Day 2 we didn't seem to be able to get above 10 Nmiles a day. Frankly I was depressed and contemplating failure and we'd barely begun. We were all pretty miserable that night - lost in our personal exhaustion and wondering how far we'd get before having to quit. There was some excitement on Day 2 when we learned that one of the other teams had had a very close encounter with two polar bears, who actually played with and damaged their pulks! We had mixed feelings about bears - we wanted to see one, but not too close! On Day 4 things changed. We knew we had to up our mileage but we had a bad morning - Rich broke a ski binding, Mum got really cold trying to ski for an hour before going back to walking and we hit a nasty rubble field which really slowed us down and tired us out. In the afternoon I decided to try something. I unclipped Mum's pulk and clipped it to the back of mine like a train. It was heavy (I later estimated it to weigh around 75kg combined), but I could haul it. More importantly, I could haul it faster than Mum could - and without it she was much faster. We still had a poor run that day, but it was a turning point in my confidence. That morning I'd despaired of us even finishing. This simple acting of pulling two pulks for the afternoon gave me strength - from that moment I knew we could make it. I took Mum's pulk again on Day 5 for an exhausting day, with cold winds and low cloud making visibility difficult, and we managed far more respectable 12.5 Nmiles. We knew Jock (the race organiser) had hoped we'd reach Checkpoint One by Day 5, but it wasn't to be. However we put in a massive effort on Day 6 and covered 14.5 Nmiles to arrive at the first checkpoint just after 5pm. It was a really emotional moment. A few days earlier we'd been questioning our ability to get even this far. Now we'd done it and been greeted by all the other teams who lined up and cheered us in. As soon as we'd crossed the line, our pulks were taken from us and a group of the others quickly put our tent up for us. The first hurdle was over. We were given the option of starting straight away on Day 7, but we felt we needed the day to rest. All of the other teams opted to wait too, so that we could all start together on Monday. Unfortunately, our longed for day of rest was not to be. In the afternoon, we suffered a near catastrophic tent fire when the fuel the vapour ignited and caused a fireball that ripped through the tent. It melted large holes in the inner and outer of the tent, destroyed several stuff sacks and a seating cushion, and badly scorched two sleeping bags – including burning a hole in mum’s which she was in at the time. Richard literally caught fire. His arms were alight for several long seconds. He was lucky to get away with only minor burns to his hand. Later, we learned that a Japanese adventurer who was crossing the region solo had a similar tent fire on the same day as us. He was not so lucky. He had to be evacuated by air with severe burns to his face and arms.  It wasn’t until we took the tent down later, and saw how the entire inner had melted to the poles, that we realised just how lucky we had been. Following the potentially catastrophic fire, instead of relaxing we spent the afternoon moving our kit and spent a cold night in the checkpoint dome tent. The following morning we were able to take one of the checkpoint team's expedition tents and we were back in business. By now we just wanted to get back out on the ice and back into our routine. 0830 Monday morning, Leg 2 (the longest leg) started. Leg Two – 120 nautical miles Leg 2 was twice as long as leg 1, and as a result our pulks were heavy with food and fuel. 120 Nmiles of ice lay ahead and we would pass up the side of the Polar Bear National Park. Leg 2 really showed us that we were getting stronger. From the first day we averaged 13 Nmiles a day and although we were tired every night, we weren't exhausted. The going was very hard for the first few days, with miles of rubble and boulders. We all walked together rather than skied and on several days we struggled forwards against a bitter arctic wind. Mum did brilliantly on this leg, and pulled her own pulk the entire 120 Nmiles. Once again we were disappointed not to see much wildlife. Only we and the Brass Monkeys didn't actually see a Polar Bear! We saw tracks most days: polar bears, arctic foxes and wolves! Then for several days we experienced temperatures that were unseasonably hot (barely -10C), which bizarrely proved to be a real problem. We all overheated and suffered badly from dehydration. All of our drinking water had to be made every night by melting snow, and we carried it in thermos flasks which had extra insulation added by wrapping them in old foam sleeping mats. So we were severely limited in how much water we could carry, and the warm weather really took it out of us. Another problem with the ‘warm’ weather was the snow. The worst conditions underfoot for us was soft, deep snow. Frozen ground or firm ice was ideal, but when the snow was soft it gripped our pulks like glue and made them feel twice as heavy. Also, with Mum not skiing, it was very hard for her to walk through the soft snow drifts – she was effectively wading through deep snow which was slow and tiring. The soft snow was also treacherous – it hid holes and cracks in the ice. On day two of leg two, I heard a strange noise and stopped the others. It sounded like a child or animal screaming a long way away. Then it shifted in tone, and seemed to move closer. It took a few moments to realise that it was the ice sheet flexing and moving. The ice was literally singing to us! One of the things that struck me on this leg was how the scenery and terrain would change every few days. We moved from rubble field to following the beach along Bathurst Island, hitting smooth flat ice. My image of the arctic had been one of uniform whiteness but in fact the variety of scenery is stunning. One danger in the arctic is open water and we were concerned to see liquid water on several occasions. One evening as we pitched the tent Rich and I dug down a foot and came across slush and open water! We quickly filled the hole! Then on Day 13 I left the tent first thing, shovel in hand, to go for my morning 'ablutions'. I walked 10m and ended up, up to my ankles in water! I backtracked pretty quickly! Our morale was much higher during leg 2 and apart from aching backs we were in pretty good shape. The only exception were Mum's heels - her boots had worn holes in both of her boot inners and worn nasty blisters on her heels. We were being held together by zinc oxide tape and ibuprofen! We still needed to improve our mileage for the last two legs but we were now confident that we would make it. We intended to push ourselves harder, because we planned to make it to the pole and STAND ON TOP OF THE WORLD.             Leg Three – 75 nautical miles Once we’d finished leg two, the longest leg, things were supposed to get easier – but in the end leg three proved to be the hardest so far.  We set off from check point two at 1015 on Tue 24 April (day 16 since the start of the race), and immediately hit a bad rubble field. The whole of the first day was a horrible bash through the worst kind of terrain – rubble covered in soft, deep snow. The light quality in the morning was also very poor – a dull grey that sucked the contrast out of the terrain and made it difficult to see the dips and mounds. We literally stumbled our way through the ice boulders at a painfully slow pace. By the afternoon, our progress was so poor that I took mum’s pulk again and we tried to power walk some extras miles out of the last few hours of the day.  We managed to scrape out 11.2 Nmiles, which was disappointing. We had calculated that we needed to average over 14 Nmiles a day on this leg. That night, I had a long chat with Jock about timings. We needed to know the last safe day we could arrive at checkpoint three. It turned out we had to complete this leg in another four days – that meant three 16 Nmile days and one 15 Nmile day. We’d have to really reach deep inside ourselves and find the strength to walk further than we’d yet managed, four days in a row. From here on in, I pulled two pulks – mine and mum’s – for the rest of the trip. If you’d asked me before the race if I was strong enough to haul two pulks across the kind of terrain we were crossing for over 12 hours a day, I would have said no. It’s amazing what reserves of strength you find when you really have to. There have been several times in my life when I’ve worried that my strength would fail me, but when the stakes are high enough, it never has.             As it was, we managed two 16 Nmile days which were exhausting, before receiving some very bad news. Due to poor ice conditions the checkpoint team hadn’t managed to land at the planned checkpoint location. As a result we had three extra miles to do! What a kick in the teeth. We now needed to do two 17 Nmile days to get there on time. It was exhausting, but we managed it. Our bodies really started to show signs of wear and tear on this leg. Mum fell badly on the first day and hurt her back, and her boots gave her some nasty blisters that would trouble her for the whole trip. We all had bad chafing on our legs, and the cold was starting to affect our hands – our fingers would tingle at night when they were warm, which is a classic sign of minor cold damage. Richard had a painful knee, and my back and ankle were starting to trouble me. Bizarrely, I also suffered from a cold-burnt tongue. My tongue felt as though I had burnt it on a hot drink, but it was actually caused breathing dry, very cold air in through my mouth while out of breath! I also found my body craving calories. On the first leg, none of us had finished our day bags at the end of each day (rather than a ‘lunch’, we each had a day bag consisting of pieces of chocolate, nuts, biscuits and dried fruit which we’d graze on throughout the day). By leg two I’d started to finish the entire bag. By leg three, I was in danger of finishing it by 4pm – I had to ration myself for the last few hours. We were very lucky as a team. We knew that we would all get along well, but we maintained our sense of humour and never had a cross word the entire time. And just as important, at no point did we all have a weak day at the same time. At least one of us was always on form to chivvy the others along. We also found that whoever was in front was invariably the strong one – the act of leading seemed to give us strength – while whoever was at the back seemed to lose strength.             We arrived at checkpoint three late on Sat 28 April, and collapsed for a well earned rest – only to start the final leg the following day at 1200.             Leg Four – 60 nautical miles             After enjoying the longest leg (two), and surviving the horrific rubble fields of leg three, there was an end of school atmosphere at the start of the final leg. Everyone seemed to think it was downhill from here on in – we had bested the worst the Arctic could through at us and survived. Four more days, and we’d reach the Pole. How wrong we were.             Day one of the last leg started brilliantly. The weather was glorious, the ice was flat, and we had a fantastic first two hours. Then Mother Nature decided to remind us all who was boss. We hit a rubble field that was by far the worst yet – huge obstacles, tightly packed rubble and very soft, very deep snow concealing ankle-breaking cracks in the ice. Trying to haul two pulks over this was horrible – typically Murphy’s law seemed to decree that the distance between obstacles was usually exactly the same as the length of rope connecting me to my pulk. So I’d struggle over lump of ice several feet high and drop down the other side. Then I’d try to haul myself over the next piece, just as my pulk encountered the first one. I’d be scrambling to get a grip with my feet on the slippery surface, and the line attached to my harness would be taught as my pulk tried to pull me backwards. Then I’d hit a third obstacle, and find both pulks caught on their own lumps of ice at the same time behind me! It was exhausting. We reached the end of the day having managed barely eleven miles, when we needed to be averaging sixteen.             Day two was even worse. The same awful rubble conditions, coupled with very poor light. It was worse for mum. She couldn’t ski, and the snow conditions meant that she would fall over quite literally once every 3-4 minutes. Sometimes she’d hit a really bad stretch, and would crawl on her hands and knees for 10 or 20 metres before struggling to her feet. It was painful to watch, but there was nothing I could do except keep struggling on myself. After 13 hours of walking, we had managed only eight miles! It was utterly depressing. For the first time since the first leg, we were seriously talking about the possibility of failure. At this speed, we simply wouldn’t make it to the Pole in time. We had no way of knowing how long the rubble would last – it might have been like that all the way to the Pole. Jock later told us these were the worst ice conditions for years. As it was, Mother Nature was teaching us a lesson, but not a terminal one. On day three we started off still struggling through the appalling terrain, but within an hour it started to thin. We had a very long way to go, but the conditions improved throughout the day, the weather was glorious, and soon we were speeding along as quickly as we could over flat, firm ice. It was a godsend. We went from the worst ice conditions we’d seen to the best, just when we needed it. Now we had to take advantage of it to get back on schedule. We exhausted ourselves that day, but we covered an amazing 20.5 Nmiles by 2115! We were back on track to finish the leg in four days. We still had the Noice Peninsular to cross, which was a bit of an unknown entity, but we only had 18.3 Nmiles to go to reach the Pole. However long it took, we vowed to do that in one day.   As it was, the peninsular was easier than we’d feared. It was a beautiful and rugged landscape of gentle hills and valleys that we crossed in poor weather conditions – a strong icy wind and poor light. Towards the end of the day we were snowed on for the first time, but we were determined to finish the trip that day. At 2125 we successfully reached the Magnetic North Pole, setting two Guinness World Records: Mum was the oldest woman to reach the Pole by foot, and we were the first mother and son team to reach any Pole! We had done it. We were on top of the world!   I lost one and a half stone in 24 days, and I am currently sporting a beard that would make Old Labour proud. All three of us are hobbling around (our bodies seemed to know exactly when they could give up – and have done so!!), but we’re delighted to be back in the UK where water comes out of a tap, we don’t wake up covered in frost, and going to the toilet isn’t a daily torture! http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/diary.php We've made it!!! We successfully reached the Magnetic North Pole after 24 days on the ice! We survived a near catastrophic tent fire, the worst ice conditions for years, and were almost stranded at the Pole when the plane broke a ski on landing. Apologies for the delay in updating the website, but the last week has been manic. I have drafted a short summary of each leg from my perspective, and attached a few photos. When I get time (and when my broadband connection is back up and working!!), I'll upload more photos. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/diary.php Leg 2 was twice as long as leg 1, and as a result our pulks were heavy with food and fuel. 120 Nmiles of ice lay ahead and we would pass up the side of the Polar Bear National Park. Leg 2 really showed us that we were getting stronger. From the first day we averaged 13 Nmiles a day and although we were tired every night, we weren't exhausted. The going was very hard for the first few days, with miles of rubble and boulders. We all walked together rather than skied and on several days we struggled forwards against a bitter arctic wind. Once again we were disappointed not to see much wildlife. Only we and the Brass Monkeys didn't actually see a Polar Bear! We saw tracks most days: polar bears, arctic foxes and wolves! One of the things that struck me on this leg was how the scenery and terrain would change every few days. We moved from rubble field to following the beach along Bathurst Island, hitting smooth flat ice. My image of the arctic had been one of uniform whiteness but in fact the variety of scenery is stunning. One danger in the arctic is open water and we were concerned to see liquid water on several occasions. One evening as we pitched the tent Rich and I dug down a foot and came across slush and open water! We quickly filled the hole! Then on Day 13 I left the tent first thing, shovel in hand, to go for my morning 'ablutions'. I walked 10m and ended up, up to my ankles in water! I backtracked pretty quickly! Our morale has been much higher during leg 2 and apart from aching backs we are in pretty good shape. The only exception are Mum's heels - her boots have worn holes in both of her boot inners and worn nasty blisters on her heels. We are being held together by zinc oxide tape and ibuprofen! We still need to improve our mileage for the last two legs but we are now confident that we will make it. We intend to push ourselves harder, because we intend to make it to the pole and STAND ON TOP OF THE WORLD. Carpe Diem Seize the Day. Dan, Jan and Rich. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/diary.php The first leg was really hard. It took us several days to find our feet and get some of the basics right, such as temperature management while skiing etc. Rich and I both skied the whole leg, but Mum struggled to gain confidence on skis and preferred to walk. We all found it incredibly hard going. We seemed to struggle to get the miles out. In particular, we found that while Mum is perfectly capable of plodding on with her pulk (sled), she is quite slow. This was quite worrying, as time is a real issue. We do not consider ourselves to be racing, but the reality of logistics and flights etc means that we can't be too slow or we'll simply run out of time. The trouble is, we don't know how slow is too slow. The first few days we managed less than 10Nm a day, which just wasn't enough. It was depressing - we were all tired and dirty, and on day three I started to worry. Two things were preying on my mind: firstly, it didn't seem to take to much wind to really impair our ability to function. The wind can be bitter and when it hits us we all suffer badly (but especially Mum and her hands). Secondly, we were just too slow. Even in the benign conditions and on flat ice on day 2 we didn't seem to be able to get above 10 Nmiles a day. Frankly I was depressed and contemplating failure and we'd barely begun. We were all pretty miserable that night - lost in our personal exhaustion and wondering how far we'd get before having to quit. There was some excitement on Day 2 when we learned that one of the other teams had had a very close encounter with two polar bear, who actually played with and damaged their pulks! We had mixed feelings about bears - we want to see one, but not too close! On Day 4 things changed. We knew we had to up our mileage but we had a bad morning - Rich broke a ski binding, Mum got really cold trying to ski for an hour before going back to walking and we hit a nasty rubble field which really slowed us down and tired us out. In the afternoon I decided to try something. I unclipped Mum's pulk and clipped it to the back of mine like a train. It was heavy (I later estimated it to weigh around 75kg combined), but I could haul it. More importantly, I could haul it faster than Mum could - and without it she was much faster. We still had a poor run that day, but it was a turning point in my confidence. That morning I'd despaired of us even finishing. This simple acting of pulling two pulks for the afternoon gave me strength - from that moment I knew we could make it. I took Mum's pulk again on Day 5 for an exhausting day, with cold winds and low cloud making visibility difficult, and we managed far more respectable 12.5 Nmiles. We knew Jock had hoped we'd reach Checkpoint by Day 5, but it wasn't to be. However we put in a massive effort on Day 6 and covered 14.5 Nmiles to arrive at the first checkpoint just after 5pm. It was a really emotional moment. A few days earlier we'd been questioning our ability to get even this far. Now we'd done it and been greeted by all the other teams who lined up and cheered us in. As soon as we'd crossed the line, our pulks were taken from us and a group of the others quickly put our tent up for us. The first hurdle was over. We were given the option of starting straight away on Day 7, but we felt we needed the day to rest. All of the other teams opted to wait too, so that we could all start together on Monday. Unfortunately our longed for day of rest was not to be, as an accident with the stove led to burn damage to our tent rendering it unusable. Instead of relaxing we spent the afternoon moving our kit and spent a cold night in the checkpoint dome tent. The following morning we were able to take one of the checkpoint team's expedition tents and we were back in business. By now we just wanted to get back out on the ice and back into our routine. 0830 Monday morning, Leg 2 (the longest leg) started. Dan, Jan and Rich   http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/diary.php The Team completed the first leg of the race on Saturday 14th April in 5days 4hrs & 16mins. They covered 61Nm and averaged 11.79Nm a day.  It was a tough week for them and they finished a day behind the majority of the teams leaving only a day to refuel and get ready for leg two. Unfortunately they didn't have time to write a diary entry but they managed to send this message and some photos. "We are trudging along slowly but morale is high. We're exhausted & at times Dan has been hauling two sleds (his and his Mum's) but we are confident we'll make it." They started Leg Two on Monday and are making good progress so far. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/diary.php It is Easter Monday and the race is starting at Midday - that is in 2 hours.  We are all packed - ahead of the other teams, and now just waiting for the go. We had a bit of a storm yesterday getting up to 20 mph winds, which were coming from the South so it was not too cold, we also had the wind behind us so it did not feel too bad, (walking into the wind is cold!!).  Both Dan and Rich have got the hang of cross country skiing, but Jan prefers to walk, but due to all the training she has been doing with Charlotte and Dan she can walk as fast as we can ski, so we can average approx 2 knots, over the terrain. This week we have had gun training, stove training, skiing training and generally been out in the cold learning how to operate. At its coldest it was -30 in the tent and at the hottest (without stoves) it was -12. When we get the stoves on we have managed to get the temp up to +12, which by comparison feels blisteringly hot and we have to strip off, which is not a pleasant sight or smell, but at least it is warm and we can dry any damp kit. We have had problems with one of our stoves in the training exercise, but Rich gave them a deep clean last night and it seems to be OK at the moment, the other one is great. The food here at South Camp is great - 2 meat portions per meal, loads of salad, fresh fruit salads and chocolate cheesecake, so we have all put on about 5 pounds this week, but I am sure we are going to loose it all again. We have packed enough food away into the 4 legs, so leg one should last no more than 6 days, leg 2 12 days, leg 3 7 days and leg 4 6 days, if we go beyond that we will have to think about half rations. The freeze dried main meals are great - especially the beef stew, but the breakfasts are horrible - just like carboard mixed with rabbit food and sawdust. Still I am sure we will grow to love them as we get hungry. We will try to send another diary update at the first check in point. Well here we go! http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/diary.php Latest News - The Team depart for Canada on Sunday 1 April 2007. This is it - we are finally ready to go. It's been a frantic last few weeks, trying to get everything squared away and ready for our departure. We have finally run out of time, so anything not ready by now will just have to do! We hope to bring you regular updates from the Arctic. We expect to be able to send photographs and diary entries from the race start, each of the checkpoints, and the race finish - so do please check the Diary/News and the Photos sections regularly. You should also be able to check our progress daily on the chart provided by the race organisers by clicking here. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/diary.php BLUE Climate and Oceans Project We have recently learned about a new project being set up by Conrad Humphreys Racing that chimes perfectly with our team philosophy. BLUE is a vehicle for raising awareness about the threat of man's activities to the health of our oceans and the resultant impact on global climate change. It will provide people with a way of being BLUE - by which individuals, corporations and governments can move towards a more balanced and harmonious way of living on earth. BLUE will aim to make caring for our environment COOL and will focus on a number of issues which if addressed could help to safeguard the life of our planet. Sport, adventure and human endeavour can play a major part in highlighting and celebrating the beauty of our natural environment and the BLUETM PROJECT will use sport as a vehicle to engage with the consumer to actively play their part in caring about the health of our planet. For more information, visit: www.theblueproject.org http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/diary.php Sled Packing. Time is just flying by, and this weekend we had a rude reminder of that. All of the team gear (tents, sleeping bags, stoves etc) had to be packed into the (now colourful and artistic) sleds, which we then weighed and wrapped in bubble-wrap ready to be shipped to Canada. It was a fun day, as the group training sessions always are. It's nice to meet up with the other teams - it reminds us that we're not the only ones going through the pressure of training, fundraising etc!   We now have less than one month to go, and most things are done. Funding remains the biggest problem, but we have committed so much of our own funds to this project already that we are going no matter what.   After packing up the gear, we had a lesson from the expedition doctor on frostbite, hypothermia, and all the other nasties that we'll need to be ready for. Again, it was a sobering reminder that what we are doing is serious, and if we are not well prepared and switched on, potentially dangerous. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/diary.php Rose Hall and Louis Eastwood. Mark then put us in touch with Rose and Louis, who are both students at the Camberwell College of Arts. Rose is studying for a BA in Sculpture, and Louis for a BA in Painting. We are delighted to be involving two talented art students, and they kindly agreed (at very short notice) to decorate our third sled. They opted for simplicity and elegance, and painted the top of the sled a pure white (we'll have to be careful not to lose it in the snow!). A hint of colour and pattern is provided by the decorations on the six washers, each of which is painted a different colour and is decorated with images of guns and flowers. Rose and Louis say that there is no underlying message behind this - any message is in the eye of the beholder. We have nick-named this sled Snow White, and this will be Dan's sled. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Mark McGowan. Bob put us in touch with Mark, who is a performance artist often in the news. Mark also quickly agreed to decorate a sled, and has chosen to use the opportunity to highlight the appalling plight of refugees and displaced persons in the Darfur region of Sudan, which has been described as one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. Also credited with creating this piece are: Simon Ould, Sophie Reeve, Aaron Barschak and Guy Hilton. We have nick-named this sled Darfur, and this will be Jan's sled. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Bob and Roberta Smith. Bob was the first to come on board, replying to my email within an hour. He has used a theme that has featured in his work before - 'I believe in...' He has painted the words 'I Believe in the North Pole' on the bottom of the sled, where they will be subject to attack from the snow and ice as we haul the sleds along. He has also decorated one of the sled boards with the same message. We have nick-named this sled I Believe, and this will be Richard's sled. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Several months ago we had a brainwave. Wouldn't it be amazing to have three interesting and well known contemporary artists turn each of our sleds into three distinct works of art. These would then remain works in progress for the duration of the expedition, only becoming complete works after they have been dragged, carrying our life-essential equipment, to the Pole!   I believe this is a unique concept - I haven't heard of any other expedition or artist attempting such a project. The Carpe Diem Trust will benefit through the media appeal of this project, and subsequently by auctioning the battered pieces of art. The artists will benefit through publicity and involvement in an unusual artistic first.  Well, today I saw the fruits of that idea, when I drove to London to collect the sleds from three very different groups of artists. See the other entries for today for details and photos of each sled. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Disaster - Heyday have pulled out with no explanation. With barely two months to go this is a real blow to our fundraising efforts. They have been talking up this link (to be our title sponsor) for almost four months, and have taken up a huge amount of our time and effort. We're going to struggle to pull back from this one, and with the start of the race in sight our finances are looking are looking decidedly shaky. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Fitness Wake Up Call in Wales. As part of the group training, we spent a very wet weekend in Wales practicing living in the tent, using the stove, eating the food etc. We also hiked for miles over giant sand dunes hauling sleds to prove to the race organisers that we are up to the job. It was a fantastic weekend, and if nothing else, it proved that the sleeping bags are too warm for Wales!! http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Heyday confirmed sponsorship. A fantastic Christmas present  Heyday have confirmed that they want to be our title sponsor. With fund raising going very slowly, this is a terrific boost. Hopefully we'll be able to hit the ground running in January with a new energy. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Shotgun training. One of the dangers the team will face is the threat of Polar Bear attack. This is a very real danger, and as such we will carry a shotgun at all times. In a previous race a team actually had to shoot a bear which tried to claw its way in through the side of the tent during the night! http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Filming with BBC Midlands Today. We had a fun day training and being interviewed by the BBC. You can see the results from the link on our home page. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml It's amazing what can turn up apparently out of the blue. We have an entry on a website called Crazy Goals. Dan had an email today from a lady who saw our expedition listed there, and she might be interested in following our adventure for a documentary. It just goes to show that you never know where these opportunities will come from. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml As stated in our Environmental Policy, we intend to plant sufficient trees to offset twice the carbon dioxide emissions that our expedition produces. It would be appalling to travel to a unique environment like the Arctic, and in doing so help to destroy that very environment! We are teaming up with a not-for-profit organisation called Growaforest to do this. Hopefully sometime in the next few months we will have the opportunity to travel to Lancashire to meet the guys who run Growaforest, and to help them plant some of the 24 trees that we will be funding. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Exciting news - BBC Midlands Today have confirmed that they would like to send a camera crew to interview us and film us training on Sat 18 Nov 06. We were closely followed by Midlands Today in 1997 when Jan and Dan rowed the Atlantic, and so it is nice to be working with them again. Hopefully they will follow our training and preparation between now and the Race, and do a piece on us when we get back. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml A very positive meeting today with HeyDay – an organisation backed by Age Concern – who may be interested in teaming up with us. They are a new organisation aimed at helping people to prepare for and enjoy a secure and fulfilling retirement. The potential tie in with our expedition could be great – Mum is going to be the oldest woman ever to walk/ski to the Magnetic North Pole and she is the perfect example that age is no barrier to achievement. She is a widow and a grandmother, and next year she will join the ranks of polar explorers! http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Jan has moved to the East Midlands, and so the entire team are now based in and around Leicester. This will be a great help when it comes to training etc. Hopefully it will also help with sponsorship, as we can now concentrate our efforts regionally with companies local to Leicestershire. Greens Health & Fitness and Dan Senior at Nutrafit are now training the whole team! http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Very disappointing news today – UKP Partnerships/Green Flag have decided not to sponsor us. This is a real blow – we were really hoping that they would come on board http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Jan and Dan were honoured today at the International Boat Show in Southampton. They were belatedly awarded a Guinness World Record certificate by Graig Glenday, Editor-in-Chief of Guinness World Records, for being the first mother and son to row across any ocean in 1997/8. http://www.oceanrowing.com/Guinness_World_Records/September18/11a.htm http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml A very positive meeting with UKI Partnerships/Green Flag, who may be interested in coming on board as a major sponsor. Fingers crossed. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Great news – a website design company called Carpe Diem Inc have agreed to sponsor us by designing and building our website. This is wonderful news – until now we have been trying to run our site from Richard’s kitchen (and a big thanks to Antonia for being our webmistress!) but it will be a great help to have a professional website for the expedition and the Trust. Thanks Bill from Carpe Diem Inc. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml The efforts of our trainers Charlotte Rehn of GoNordic and Daniel Senior from NutraFit are starting to bear fruit. Our fitness levels are rising as our waist lines are shrinking, and so we were in a great shape to hold our heads up high as we crossed the finish line of this years Summer Tough Guy competition - The Nettle Warrior. The course took us up and down the hills of Wolverhampton, through rivers and lakes, mud, under barbed wire, through tunnels, mud, and over ropeways and piles of burning straw, and for good measure a little more mud. It was absolutely great fun and we recommend it to all, so thanks to all of you who have sponsored us so far. http://www.toughguy.co.uk/tg06-NW06.shtml http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml We have teamed up with a PR and Events Management company called Oceans Events, who will help us to target potential sponsors and to market ourselves a bit more professionally. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml After contacting literally thousands of companies over the last few months, we have had some positive interest from UKI Partnerships who own the Green Flag break down service. We are hoping to schedule a meeting soon, so fingers crossed that they may be our first major sponsors. http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml Victory!! Not in the Polar Race but on BBC One’s Test the Nation! All three of us were part of the Explorers Team and we won every round to convincingly win the overall programme. It just goes to show that your average ocean rower, polar explorer or mountaineer has brains as well as a mad desire to abandon the comforts of home! http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml We are delighted to announce that we have had our most useful two offers of sponsorship yet! Greens Health and Fitness in Leicester have offered us free membership to get us fit for the Polar Race, and at the same time personal fitness trainer Dan Senior from Nutrafit has agreed to train us for free. I’m sure that we may come to regret this later when he’s beasting us around the gym, but it will be a real boost to our training efforts! http://www.cd-inc.co.uk/carpediemtrust/feed.xml