The team are 6 days into their trip on the shifting pack ice of the Arctic Ocean, attempting to ski roughly 100 km over the treacherous terrain to reach the Geographic North Pole. If successful many of the women will be the first person from their country to ski the last degree to the Geographic North Pole!
‘The world is facing global problems – such as climate change – that can only be tackled with global solutions. We want to send a strong and positive message about gender equality and the need for greater cultural understanding when tackling large problems.’
Sending out a strong and positive message they certainly are! Here we have the latest from the teams UK base as they continue on their epic expedition…..
Today was tough!
It started with a great 1.5 hour ski trek at which point the team arrived at a pressure ridge of ice rubble They got some elevation to try and look through and see the end and the huge boulders of blue ice went as far as the eye could see.
They then spent a lot of the day skiing around this ridge over very rocky and uneven ground looking for a gap to pass through. They found an OK place and hoped at the possibility of getting through.
It was an exhausting and dangerous ice portage as there were big holes between the massive boulders. Each team member helped to haul, lift and pass sledges, skis and poles along to the next team member in a human chain. They broke through to open ground at 1730 and there were so thrilled with their achievement they celebrated with huge grins, high fives and hugs.
They only made 7 km towards the north pole today but they all feel so proud of what they have achieved.
It has been a windy and overcast day, but not so cold.
Tent life has grown an added dimension as the team have started to barter for their favourite foods. Chicken tikka is as rare as hens teeth and Beef stew has a high bargaining value! Felicity bartered for macaroni cheese tonight and was delight with her dinner.
Update on Mariam; she is doing really well and recovering still at Barneo.
The daily phone cast from the ice is really worth a listen where you can hear directly from the team. Click on the dots on the map to hear about their days. Also available at the Expedition_LIVE page you can find our latest Tweets and Instagram posts:
www.euroarabianexpedition.com/expeditionlive
You can also listen to Natasa and Felicity from the ice here: http://ipad.io/66smwvt
