So close!

The teams continued to make good progress today and both ski teams are within striking distance of the North Pole, despite some close encounters with the Arctic Ocean.   They had sunny, clear skies with very light wind.

The Last Degree Ski Team is at 89.54.203 N, 174.33.100 W.  They crossed over the international date line which was exciting.  After traveling 3 miles, they encountered a 15 foot lead which they had to ski parallel to for about 2 miles.  Sebastian got his feet wet but was quickly able to change into dry socks and spare boot liners (he speaks of his adventure in the audio dispatch below).  After that, they had clear sailing for about 5 hours and made camp around 5:00 PM (a relatively early day).  They report the wind has shifted to blowing from the north vs. south.  Their drift is still northerly and they're hoping it will take a while for this to change with the wind.  They do anticipate a cold day tomorrow skiing into the wind but all are very excited by the prospect of reaching the North Pole tomorrow.

                                                                Skiing into the sun

                                                                      Skiing alongside a lead

The Chinese Ski Team called in from 89.57.88 N, 168.19 W.  They had a beautiful day with big pans of ice and a handful of leads, one of which two of the team members fell into though the excitement was short lived as they quickly changed and got warm again.  They are very excited to reach the North Pole tomorrow.  Everyone is in a festive mood and they are looking forward to standing at the top of the world.  We expect them to arrive some time mid-morning.

The Last Degree Dogsled Team called in from 89.44.034 N, 176.28.7 W.  They reported good travel conditions, mostly pans of ice. They crossed 5-6 leads that were relatively small.  They saw an amazing horseshoe shaped rainbow pointing upward on top of the sun.  We take that to be a good sign as an upturned horseshoe is good luck.  The team members are all in high spirits.  They have a rallying cry of “one team, one dream” that they use to keep themselves motivated.  When they phoned in, they were all gathering in one tent for some snacks and hot drinks.  They enjoyed Mike and Sara’s white chocolate fudge and Stacey’s banana bread.  They send their best wishes to Sara and Mike and hope she is feeling better.  This morning Chris Maher’s cinnamon sugar quesadillas got the team ready for a day of hard work.  They’re hoping for continued good conditions with the plan to make as many miles tomorrow as possible.

 

 

Check back tomorrow for what we hope will be updates from the North Pole for two of the teams and within shouting distance for the third!