We are in our tents for the very last time this season – at least on the Arctic ice. The helicopter picked us up at 6pm this evening and flew us to Ice Station Barneo, where we are now camped.

Earlier today we left our camp on the North Pole and headed south. We had a careful hope of finding an open lead – and we did, which was lucky, because almost all the terrain around us was completely frozen and the ice packed together. There was almost no seawater in view at all, just this one open lead. But it was enough to allow us to once again test our special water-tight suit.

Even more impressive and fun is that Hege proved to be tougher than all the boys put together. She stripped off all her clothes and took a plunge in the icy water! Today she was the only one who took a swim on the North Pole – not a single one of the boys dared follow her brave example.

It seems that ice bathing at the North Pole is about to become a traditional entry on our programme. Several brave souls on this year’s expeditions have proved that it is possible; but that will be quite a challenge for future expeditions to follow. You get an incredible kick and energy surge from an ice bath! We set up our tent and lit the stove to raise the temperature, making it possible to change clothes in reasonably warm surroundings. That is an absolute must when the air temperature outside is –15˚C. It was a great finale!

By the time we were done, the helicopter had arrived at the North Pole; once again we hurries northward. Our skilled Russian pilot flew us safely back to Ice Station Barneo. The Russians are now in the process of dismantling the base – taking down the tents, packing down all their tools and equipment.

In fact, the very flights from Barneo leave tomorrow. Our group is booked to go on the first aeroplane, at 09.30, which means we shall arrive in Longyearbyean nice and early. When the last of the tents, equipment and vehicles are loaded on board the very last aeroplane, which leaves later during the day, the ice at Barneo will be left just as pristine as they found it. After those two aeroplanes have headed south, the logistics for expeditions is gone.

The Russians need to re-establish Ice Station Barneo every single year. There is no base this far north until next spring, and there will be no more expedition by way of Barneo until the beginning of April 2009.

So this is it, folks. These three expeditions have been wonderful adventures.

I must confess that I am deeply impressed by what the Russians have achieved up here. They have done a great job, making every effort to ensure a safe and good experience for everybody. And they have done so despite rather difficult conditions – the reason is that Barneo has drifted down to 87 degrees latitude. There has been an enormous southward ice drift since the base was established, up to 20 km per day. Ice Station Barneo’s original position this year was N89˚30’; our GPS now shows it to be at N87˚58’. That much movement is most unusual.

As a result, operating the base has been more expensive, because it requires more fuel to fly the expeditions up near the North Pole. The helicopter pilots have been flying very long legs, but they have fulfilled their commitments. There has not been a single delay – and that is an impressive feat! We have been in the best of hands, and have even been offered to stay in their nice and warm, large tents when we have been at Barneo.

Right now, however, we are camped in our own tents. The others are being packed, the base disappearing before our eyes. We did, however, enjoy a final meal in the nice and warm canteen tent – several generous portions of Russian soup.

So this is it. And all is well!

We are now camped at the North Pole, which we reached at 21.15 Norwegian time. Our journey on the ice started as planned 10 km from our destination, and after five
hours we reached the Pole.

Conditions have actually been more challenging than for the “last degree” expedition; there has been considerably more pack ice and we have encountered many more leads. Fortunately, we were always able to find a way across – the leads were sufficiently frozen that we were never in any danger.

We also encountered lots of pack ice. Since it has been a lovely day and partially cloudy, the ice has taken on beautiful bluish hues. In other words, we have had the opportunity to experience some of the best that the North Pole has to offer. We’re lucky, as we are only here for two days. Many of the blocks of ice stood on edge, glowing in hues of blue. Five-foot blocks lie strewn like dice across the terrain.

It’s been a great day!

We have erected my largest tent, and we are all sharing this five-man tent. At this very moment we are savouring some excellent Cognac, celebrating our safe arrival at the North Pole,

Our plan is to spend most of tomorrow here, and fly back to Ice Station Barneo at six or seven in the evening. We shall spend the last day at the Russian base, before returning by air to Longyearbyen on 27 April.

All is well with every member of our expedition. Temperatures are –12˚C, and there is a gentle wind. In other words, the weather conditions are excellent.

We’re back on the ice again! Everything went according to schedule yesterday; the logistics have been flawless for these three expedition.

This is my list trip to the North Pole this year. On the 29th of April the Russians are closing down Ice Station Barneo, a base that has to be re-established every year. Four adventurers have grabbed this last opportunity to visit the top of the world: Hege, Jan Tore, Erik, and David from England. That’s a group of five if you include me.

In about an hour we are flying from Barneo, heading north, and landing roughly 10 km from the Pole. From there we shall ski the final stretch and spend the night at the North Pole.

It was wonderful to return to Longyearbyen for a shower and some good dining. Yesterday we had a great dinner at Huset, a renowned restaurant up here, and spent many hours talking about our adventures on “the last degree”, while enjoying good wine. Afterwards, it felt great to get a good night’s sleep in a normal bed.

Today I flew northward with a new group, first landing at the Russian base. We shall send you a new report this evening. Most likely it will be very late, because our ambition is to reach the North Pole this evening.

Yesterday we were informed that the helicopter would arrive to pick us up during the night – and it arrived just as expected. Half an hour past midnight Norwegian time it landed near our base and flew our expedition group to Ice Station Barneo.

We spent the night there, getting a good night’s sleep in nice, warm tents. Now we are waiting for our flight to Spitsbergen. The aeroplane is due to land here at 3pm, and we shall depart one hour later. We have already reserved a table in one of the better restaurants in Longyearbyen, and shall be celebrating the expedition soon.

Everything is right on schedule.

I must admit that we have had a most active and entertaining day. We did, however, get off to a late start, not leaving camp until 1pm. The camp, which we had shared with the Russians, had long since drifted far from the North Pole.

Our first chosen task was to find an open lead of seawater – and we didn’t have to walk far. The wind and currents had broken the ice on a lead that we encountered, leaving sever or eight metres of open water. We were lucky, because now we all got a chance to test the special watertight suit. Everyone took a swim. It was quite an experience.

Then we set up our tents and turned our stove on max. It was time for an ice bath! We all ran from the tent, jumped into the sea, which was incredibly invigorating. Granted, it wasn’t the longest swim we’ve had, but it was great fun. And it’s the first time I’ve done this up here.

A little later, after we stopped shaking, we had a shooting competition, using Lars’ 9 mm Glock pistol. Believe it or not, we even had targets in our luggage. Peter won just one point ahead of me. Fortunately, I saved my honour by winning the beach volleyball tournament.

As I mentioned, we’ve had a very active day, and a highly fun and entertaining one. A few minutes ago we were informed that we are being picked up here at around midnight Norwegian time, and being flown to Ice Station Barneo, where we shall spend the night. It will be good to reach that position. The aeroplane to Longyearbyen is scheduled to take off at 4pm tomorrow.

While we’re waiting for our flight, we’re 27 km from the North Pole. Today we only walked 2 km. Until we are airborne, the drifting ice is providing our transport. It’s sunny here, clear weather, –16˚C and rather windy.

(11.36) We’re relaxing in our tents; we shall keep our campsite where it is, perhaps exploring the area a bit. Tomorrow we may choose to head to a different spot. We are drifting very fast – 9 km just last night! The wind has increased since we arrived yesterday. And that was quite a day, great fun, a great finish where we used the very last of our reserves on that final stretch. Great!

(21.40) All is well and… We are drifting like crazy … and are now 14 km form the North Pole. There is a fairly strong wind … camped near a … magnificent light. All is well up here at the top of the world.

During the night, the ice drift carried us one kilometre south and two kilometres west. When we woke up, our camp was slightly more than 24 km from our goal. Also today we took our turns in the lead – that is, everyone except me. I brought up the rear, relaxed and enjoyed my “holiday”. Everyone on this team is so well versed that I didn’t have a single worry.

The weather has been excellent, mostly sunny, just a thin veil of clouds that never did manage to hinder the sun. And the snow has been silky smooth! We have, of course, encountered pack ice and frozen leads, just like on the other days. Optimistic as we were, we expected to reach the North Pole after a “normal day” – nine hours of effort out on the ice.

Then suddenly – just as we were 2 km from the Pole – we saw another group slightly east of us. It was Matvey Shparo’s team, and both teams wanted to reach the goal first. Suddenly it was a race for the North Pole!

We expended the very last of our energy on that final stretch. Poor bloke who wanted to test the weigh of my pulk! He had to pull 180 in that last spring. Lars took the lead and gave us our victory, reaching the North Pole 20 metres before the first Russian. Not only that, but we had our entire group across the finish line before the Matvey managed to gather his.

It was quite a dramatic and exciting finale!

I can’t resist mentioning that we “gave” the Russians a whole day’s head start. In other words, we only used five and a half days on “the last degree”. This is definitely the faster group that I have brought to the North Pole. Granted, conditions have been excellent this year; but the decisive factor was having an incredibly strong group. They worked really well as a team and gave this everything they had.

Now we’re just savouring the moment here on the North Pole, relaxing and eating cake. We’re pleased with life and everything is perfect.

We may well be home a few days early. Right now we’re booked on the aeroplane that departs on Wednesday, 23 April. In all likelihood we shall also reach Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen that same day.

We’re all well – and we are very satisfied. This was a great way to reach our goal – a slim margin but a great victory, right before the noses of the Russian team. There ain’t nothin’ like a bit of friendly competition!

We have had another great day, having progressed 21 km. Today we had a double challenge: lots more pack ice and weather conditions that made navigating much more difficult. There has been a “whiteout” almost all day, which makes it quite a task to keep the direction we want. So we are very pleased with the distance; 21 km up here under these conditions is excellent! It just goes to show how strong the team is.

The pack ice is more beautiful than problematic, and it never fails to fascinate me. Sometimes the ice is pushed up into walls or small mountains, at other times it seems like a giant hand has strewn ice blocks out across the landscape. So it’s quite an adventure to ski through it all.

We encountered a fair number of newly frozen leads today, but fortunately no really wide leads. And for the most part the ice has been solid enough to truly close the leads. We haven’t had any problems getting across in a safe manner.

The expedition has been out on the ice for nine hours today – and that’s a long time. Naturally we are exhausted after such a long day, but now we only have 23.8 km to go to the North Pole! There is a chance that we just might reach our goal tomorrow. And that would be quite a feat in such a short time.

We are skiing on excellent snow. There is a thin layer of fresh snow on top of the icier snow below, and this provides excellent glide. I’ve had problems with my eyes the last couple of days. They’ve been really sore and hypersensitive to light, almost on the verge of snow-blind. Yesterday I taped my sunglasses, leaving only a narrow horizontal strip open for each eye. This is the same principle the Inuit’s use, and it really works. Today I feel much better.

Once again we have been taking turns leading the expedition, with everyone putting in a couple of hours in the lead. And it’s gone very well. It’s always more exciting to lead, to choose the route and keep your bearings, to make ski tracks where there are none before.

We are constantly drifting, and the ice drift varies with the wind. It’s easy to calculate – the direction of the ice drift veers 30 degrees to the right of the wind direction. So if the wind is blowing from our left, from the west, then we’ll drift in an east-southeasterly direction. And if… No! Scratch that, I’m sorry, it’s complete the opposite – we would drift in a southwesterly direction. And with an eastern wind, we would drift somewhat north. This all has to do with the rotation of the earth and Coriolis’ Force.

We landed at 160˚W – now we are at 144 degrees latitude. Our current position is N89˚47’14”, W144˚. We are quickly closing on our goal and are very excited as to what tomorrow may bring.

Today we had the great pleasure of experiencing one of the finest days up here. It’s been –22˚C, wind still, the sun shining from a cloudless sky, and billions of snow crystals glittering in our surroundings.

We put another 24 km behind us without encountering any problems. The only incident was when a tent pole broke this morning – and we quickly repaired that.

We’ve kept a good, even pace. I’ve brought up the rear, while each of the other expedition members have taken a turn leading the pack. That has given everyone an opportunity to learn about navigation – about degrees latitude and how we can use the 24-hour clock to our advantage up here. It’s gone very well.

All in all, we’ve had a great day.

And we’re hoping that continues. We’re making fine progress, no doubt about that. The ice thickness was the same as yesterday: 170 cm.

We have had a really excellent day today. After progressing another 20 kilometres, we’ve set up camp at N89˚22’55”, W150˚ – and we’re doing great relative to our schedule.

Today we encountered more pack ice and some really wide leads. Fortunately we were able to navigate around these. The widest lead was perhaps 200 metres or so. We found a good crossing point – unfortunately Merete almost went through the ice. Fortunately she’s light, and we were able to manoeuvre her safely across.

There was also some additional drama today, or rather yesterday, when Reidun was ill and was vomiting. Most likely she carried a virus with her from Longyearbyen or Ice Station Barneo. However, today she has been in tip top shape, no sign of difficulties – in fact we’re the ones who are having trouble keeping up with her. Reidun must be the fittest grandmother in all of Norway!

We have really enjoyed the sun, and mild weather with the thermometer hovering around –20˚C. There has been a gentle southern wind. With a warm sun, comfortable temperatures and a mild wind, it’s hard to imagine that things could be better up here so close to the North Pole.

The ice is still young, none of it more than a year old. Today we measured the thickness to 175 cm.

Everyone is doing fine, having a good time, and enjoying each other’s company and the expedition.

We’re once again sheltered in our tents, after skiing for eight and a half hours. It’s been a good day, despite the rather obnoxious 7–10 metre per second wind from the west. Toward the end of the day it got colder, but also nicer. If we are lucky the wind will turn and blow from a more southerly direction by morning. As it is, we are drifting 500–600 metres toward the southwest every hour. Today we walked almost 20 km, but due to the ice drift, our net gain is limited to 13.5 km. Nevertheless we are very satisfied with our progress; it’s great to be hitting that kind of pace this early on an expedition. The position of our camp is N89˚11’24”, W156˚. The ice drift has carried us almost four degrees latitude to the west since yesterday.

Our expedition team has also seen a bit of action today. Twice we experienced the pack ice being scrunched together as we passed it or crossed it. It’s amazing to witness these immense forces of nature up close! We also crossed two or three open leads where we had to crawl across, using our pulks as a bridge. Other times we could safely ski across.

One thing that is highly unusual about this year’s expedition is that we are not seeing any ice that is older than a year – no ice that survived the melt last summer. Usually one sees thicker pack ice that has refrozen after being partially melted, but there is nothing like that in our surroundings. Each day we measure the ice, and today it was 170 cm. That, of course, is plenty thick enough, but conditions up here are very different than they were on my first expeditions 15–20 years ago.

Enormous forces can press the pack ice together into small mountains.

We are on the move! Yesterday we enjoyed our stay at Ice Station Barneo, got a good look around the base, and spent the night in nice, warm tents.

At 11.30 this morning we flew by helicopter together with a Russian group, which is headed for the same destination. Our pilot actually flew us right across the North Pole, landing at W160˚, which is clear on the other side. The reason for that is the strong ice drift, which would otherwise carry us in the wrong direction. We don’t need that extra challenge. The pilot kindly offered to give us a better point of departure.

After walking 8 km today, we are now camped at N89˚04’, W160˚. It feels great to relax after we have begun to get a good rhythm out on the ice. That takes a while.

It has been a fairly mild day, about 12–15 degrees below, but with a chilling wind – fortunately not enough to cause real problems. It’s been cloudy with a wondrous play of colours in the icy landscape. We crossed a few small leads on thin ice, but didn’t experience any undesirable drama. Everyone is doing perfectly fine.

We have seen a lot of pack ice, which takes on its own beautiful bluish hues. We’ve walked in awe past the magnificent blocks of ice that are everywhere. The ice here is young, only a year old. Our measurements show that it is 150 cm thick.

Yesterday afternoon we returned safely to Longyearbyen, where we celebrated with good conversation and a relaxing dinner at a restaurant. Everyone expressed that they were content with their first expedition to the North Pole.

In Longyearbyen I greeted a new adventure-bound group of people. Together we checked that all the equipment was in order. At 15.30 our aeroplane had lift-off; for a while we were uncertain whether we could leave on schedule, due to heavy winds. But as soon as the pilots decided it was safe, we sped off down the runway. Two and a half hours later we landed on the ice at Barneo.

We’re very pleased to be in position, because the weather forecast calls for gradually stronger southeasterly winds.

Tomorrow we hope to fly by helicopter to 89˚N. Our chosen mission is to ski “The Last Degree” to the North Pole.

All is well, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.

The expedition member have safely arrived at Ice Station Barneo, the northernmost Arctic base in the world. But everyone is itching to move further north in a hurry! Stanislav in the foreground, Lars Nøring in a red jacket to the left.

Yesterday our pilot picked us up at 13.00 Norwegian time and flew us back to Ice Station Barneo. The second night on the North Pole was easier for the expedition members than the first. People had a bit of problems the first night, which is to be expected; everything is new and different, and the cold keeps you awake. Even though your sleeping bag is warm enough, it feels strange to breathe in extremely cold air. The second night was easier for everyone.

Yesterday morning we stayed in our camp, waiting for our aeroplane. After arriving safely at Barneo, we enjoyed a good hot meal. We were also treated to a stay in nice, warm Russian tents, and didn’t have to unpack our own.

Now we’re waiting for our flight; it’s in the air and it won’t be long. We expect to be leaving here around 12.30, and reaching Longyearbyen at 15.00.

Everything is right on schedule, and all of us are in fine shape.

We’re in our tents again now, after spending a day exploring our exotic surroundings. The expedition members have seen lots of pack ice and beautiful, strange ice formations – this really is like stepping into a different world! Some who are here for the first time have commented that it is as if we are surrounded by the landscape of another planet.

It has been a fine, sunny day, but a bit windier than yesterday, and much of the time we have walked about with the wind at our backs. Since we haven’t been required to aim for any particular destination, we have headed and explored where we pleased. You might say that the wind has made some decisions for us; it’s quite cold, the thermometer shows –32˚C, and when you add the wind factor you can really feel it. During each pause we have felt the cold start gnawing into our bones, but have quickly regained our warmth as we started walking again. That was fine when wind was out our backs, but as soon as we turned around, which of course we eventually had to, we suffered that biting wind in our faces!

Now we’re pleased to back, sheltered in our tents. Our gas stoves are lit, and as we look forward to a nice warm dinner we’re chatting and relaxing. According to our plan, we’re being picked up at around 12 noon tomorrow. We’ll fly back to Ice Station Barneo, where we shall spend one night. On Sunday the 13th of April we expect to be homeward bound on a larger aeroplane.

All is well. It has been great to explore the North Pole at a relaxed pace, to have time to savour it all. Everyone seems pleased with the itinerary and what they’re experiencing – especially the opportunity to have two full days and nights up here. It’s a great adventure!

Right near our camp is an extended line of pack ice, twisted up into the air by the great force of currents beneath the ice. When we climbed up on top, we could see a vast panorama, many kilometres in each direction. It really is exotic and magnificent up here, and I am glad they have the opportunity to experience that.

Our campsite is well placed, we are all doing fine, and everything is right on schedule.

Right now we’re actually on the North Pole! It has been a great day with magnificent weather – 27 degrees below Centigrade, little wind and good ice conditions. We have skied across a few leads and passed through areas of pack ice, but fortunately these challenges have not presented any problems.

Everything has gone according to plan. At 10am this morning our aeroplane left for Ice Station Barneo, where we enjoyed warm coffee and a bite to eat. After a few hours a smaller aircraft flew us to our position, nine kilometres from the North Pole. We followed 112˚East in a more or less straight line in to the world’s most northerly point, which we reached after six or seven hours.

It’s been a great day with varied Arctic experiences – pack ice and open water and, of course, the magnificent landscape that always awaits visitors to the North Pole. Now we are camped right at the pole and can finally relax in our tents. We’ve had a late dinner, it’s almost midnight, but we really wanted to reach the world’s most northerly point today.

Our plan tomorrow is to explore at a relaxed pace, and take more pictures. The weather forecast is good.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to send you photographs, because I have forgotten the little chord that connects the photo storage disk to the satellite phone. That’s regrettable, but you will just have to settle for reading the blog for now.

All our expedition members are in fine shape and good spirits – this has been a rewarding day. We shall tonight and one more night at the North Pole, before flying back to Ice Station Barneo on the 12th of April, with a flight home the following day.

I will send you a new report tomorrow.

We arrived in Punta Arenas early today. All is well, and after a good night’s sleep we intend to continue our journey to the Northern Hemisphere. First, however, we need to dry and organise all our equipment.

I speak for all of us when I say we’re looking forward to seeing family and friends.

There is time to explore the hills that gives the base its name – and even to build igloos.

Here is the blue ice for which Patiot Hills is known. One of our tents near the base.

The weather has lengthened our stay in Patriot Hills. It’s sunny, all right, but also gale winds – in other words, unacceptable conditions for the pilots to land and take off. The forecast gives little hope of an imminent change of fortune, so I suspect we may well have to practice our patience for a couple of more days.

Some of us are building an igloo. We take walks and go skiing and play cards. In the evening, lectures have been organised in the large dinging tent. We’re warm and dry, and suffering no duress – but we really would like to be on our way home.

We’ve received a message that John has arrived safely back in Ireland. All is well.

There was no takeoff today, due to high winds out on the runway. However, the weather forecast is better for Friday afternoon; at least those who are responsible for air service to Patriot Hill are optimistic. So we have time to relax …

All the climbers have returned to base.

We’ve been given access to one of the large, semi-permanent tents, which is furnished with tables and chairs. The temperature here is comfortable and we have space to move around – here we can relax, chat and play cards, and cook food for ourselves when we’re hungry. Right now it’s full house, filled with about 40 people who are all waiting to depart with the Ilyushin 76.

The photo below was taken after we disembarked from the aeroplane that first brought us to Patriot Hills, from Punta Arenas. In other words, it’s not standing out there ready on the runway.

It is lively here in the tent, and there is a good mood in the camp. Amongst our company is a group of Englishmen who have also been out skiing the Antarctic. And so naturally a lot of good stories are exchanged, from far and wide. It’s fascinating. All is well and we’re having a good time here in the “waiting hall”.