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Wave Vidmar solo and unsupported

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March 20th 04 - Oh yeah, I'm the sled dog
Whew! Another very hard day with little mileage. Today was again filled with lots of pack ice and countless pressure ridges. Only crossed a couple of frozen leads and zigzagged East and West a bit to avoid severe rubble fields. And, as has happened the last several days, ended the day with a couple of relatively flat pans.
Sources scouring satellite images claim I'm almost past the worst of the ice. And Bettina has been reporting large pans ahead (she and Jean-Gabriel are 20+ miles in front of me). I'll certainly be happy to be out of the twisted piles of ice boulders and mounds. It's extremely draining physically and wears a person down mentally. Tonight when I crawled into my sleeping bag I fell fast asleep. Normally I'm awake enough to write my dispatch, but not this evening. It's now 2:30am so I'm going to keep this report brief.
I'm hoping for a better Sunday and to make some mileage. It seems the 82nd degree (of latitude) doesn't want to let me go just yet. I have just over 12 nautical miles until the next degree. With sore hips pulling definitely wasn't so fun today. I modified my harness by cutting up part of one of my sleeping pads to add more cushion.
And most of the day I kept thinking of a nice hotel room awaiting my finish. With clean clothes, a hot shower and fresh cooked food. I hope you have been enjoying your Saturday....

March 18th 04 - Two weeks!
Two weeks! I've lasted two weeks out here! I know to some people they think two weeks is nothing, out here it's an entire lifetime. They say if you last two weeks out here you have a very good chance if making. I plan to do just that! Make it to the North Pole. Today was an interesting day. I put my leg into the water, and saw the rescue helicopter fly nearby. The terrain was mixed, a few large pans, some thin-ice leads, and plenty of jumbled pack ice. I did happen to find a nicely frozen lead and cut-off about 2-3 hours worth of sledging through rough pack ice.
Later, coming down a substantial pressure ridge I got to experience something new, and highly dreaded in the Arctic. I was lowering my sledges down a thick, angled slab of ice onto a frozen lead. When I lowered the larger sledge my right foot went through the ice up to the knee!
I quickly got my leg out and ran over and patted snow in it to help absorb the sea water. I got off lucky, no water made it to my foot. Expeditions have been cancelled and toes lost from such 'accidents'. this evening when making camp the rescue helicopter flew within about 1/4 mile from me. They were going to resupply Bettina and Jean-Gabriel, likely after having been searching for Dominique. It's good I saw it tonight rather than several days ago when I was wanting to go home. I still don't have news about her yet.
Made some okay mileage, it's still very cold and the wind continues to blow me North. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

March 17th 04 - Bart Simpson in the Arctic
It happened, I actually had fun today! Maybe it's that I'm getting used to being out here, or I've been out here too long, but I had fun today. The terrain was the most challenging yet, with many high pressure ridges and Miles of jumbled pack ice. But I also found a very nice, freshly frozen lead to follow. It made all the difference in the world - at least to me. I crossed over many leads, some with very thin ice. I've found that I like the tricky sections, there's risk, challenge, and the purity of the adventure. At one lead I used my sledge as a bridge and ran across the top.
Also, the ice takes so many different forms and shapes. Recognizable figures start to appear. Today I saw Bart Simpson, the head of a tyrannosaurus rex, and an elaborate Spanish bull. The other day I saw a hammer, and often see lots of pyramids.
The weather was decent, though a wind continued to blow from the South. This is good for two reasons; it's not in the face searing my flesh, and it's blowing me North, helping my mileage rather than rob it from me.
Towards the end of the day the ice started to flatten out. The pressure ridges decreased in height though there were many more leads and thin ice.
I topped off my day with a tasty beef enchilada dinner and a fresh pair of socks. Not bad for another day in my Arctic office.

Mar 15, 04 - There are no stores up here
Ouch. I've got frostnip on several of my finger tips and it doesn't feel good. Today was another cold and hard day. I slogged through lots of pack ice and over many small pressure ridges.
The wind initially was calmer, but picked up a bit while pulling the sledges. Of course, it was a headwind, biting my flesh and robbing my mileage. After a hard day's work, I have barely a mile to show for my efforts.
I'm also loosing my eyebrows and lashes. Any moisture on the body or clothing is quickly turned to ice. The small amounts of moisture on my lashes and eyebrows are no exception. They dangle icicles which then freeze to other parts of my clothing. Eventually my vision is obscured and if I close my eyes for even a second I run the risk of having them frozen shut - which has happened a few times. Clearing the ice rips out lashes and eyebrow hairs. I like it when the temperature is warmer....
At least the sun was out, which makes it seem warmer (though it was at least -41c). In the morning I discovered another lead had opened up just south of me. This time a bit farther at around 80 yards away. steam was rising from the open warm water.
During the day I tried to maintain a Positive Mental Attitude, this helped. But I know in a day or so a helicopter will fly nearby and home with a warm bed is just a phone call away. I try to out this thought out of my head, and instead tell myself my reward will be a nice hot shower in Spitzbergen, Norway after my trek is over.
Taking down my tent I broke another tent pole - the third one in 11 days. I brought with me special carbon fiber poles because I was concerned with breaking aluminum ones. Of course the aluminum pole works great and the carbon fiber poles have been causing me grief.
I had to repair the poles, as I didn't have any other options. When making camp tonight I spent an hour huddled around my stove, pulling poles apart, re-stringing elastic through good pole sections. Eventually I had a complete working pole and proceeded to setup the rest of my tent and prepare for the night.
And so this was another day of life/surviving in my Arctic office.

Mar 14, 04 - A very cold Sunday.
Last night in the beginning it was relatively warm, but then the wind kicked up and hasn't let up since. Unfortunately it's blowing from the North, which means it's pushing me South. I've lost all the mileage from the last three days.
While most people would be relaxing on a Sunday, my day was far from relaxing. It was extremely cold during the day, likely below -45c, and with the wind it was driven down to around -75c!
I didn't check my goggles from the day before, and when I put them on they were completely iced. I could barely see out of one portion of one side because of the ice on the goggle lens. I battled into the headwind for several hours and then setup camp.
Now night has come and it's even colder. Welcome to the Arctic.
Today I saw my first 'sundog', where the sun casts bright spots on each side of it, almost like the beginnings of a rainbow but without all the colors. It was a very nice sight,.
This morning I got out of the tent and tended to my sledges. Two hours later when I went back out I noticed open water near my tent, it wasn't there two hours earlier. A lead opened up just to the South of me, only 25 yards away! And fortunately I was on the North-side of the break. It didn't make any noise that I noticed, it just split the huge pan of ice I was on.
Because of the cold, the stove didn't dry anything out, I'll try in the morning. Now, burrowed in my sleeping bag I hope I don't shiver all night long. The wind is rustling my tent as if it's trying to keep me from sleeping well.
The worst thing I hate is the frost that falls off the roof of the tent and onto my face and eyes. When this happens it sends chills throughout my body.


Mar 13, 04 - Beards happen
Somebody heard me; today is much warmer than yesterday. Thanks! Made a few miles of progress, though I skied a bit more than what I have to show for my effort. That's just the way it goes in the Arctic. During the day visibility was low, as it was snowing lightly and a descent wind was blowing the 'snow' horizontal. Snow in the Arctic doesn't really look like snow, it's just frozen bits of white stuff.

The terrain was descent, though very difficult to distinguish sky from ice. The large lead that yesterday was impassable was frozen enough to allow a gingerly crossing. Saw another set of old polar bear tracks. As long as they are old.... I'd rather not encounter a bear.
My mishaps for today are that I learned I have frostnip in the tip of one finger, and I had fuel leaking in my small sledge.
The frostnip I got from having a small hole in one of the fingers of my liner gloves which I constantly wear. I fixed the glove last night but now have to watch out for the finger. It's painful, but I should be alright. The fuel leak was a greater concern. When I discovered it, I immediately took everything out of the small sledge and tried to absorb the fuel with some snow. I figured out why the storage can was leaking and shouldn't be a problem again.
I've got plenty of extra fuel, and the leak didn't impact my daily rations. I was more concerned with fuel contaminating my food or harming other items in my sledge.
After I made camp and dealt with the fuel-leak issue, I ran the stove extra-long tonight to dry out some clothes. It actually got warm inside my tent! As soon as the stove was turned off it got cold again, quickly.
And now I'm back to shivering in my sleeping bag and waiting to call into a TV station and speak 'live from the ice'. This will be the first of many live interviews during my trek. The picture is of me, happy to be warm (at that moment), and my beard and moustache starting to show.

Mar 11, 04 - One week on the ice
A hard and not so fruitful day. I pulled long and hard, but the slight headwind I was skiing into is also blowing my piece of ice south. So, instead of making 5 or 6 miles I netted 3. That's the way it goes sometimes.
At first the weather was somewhat descent, but within an hour or so the light got flat. Soon after that it was thick, kind of like fog but not quite. Visibility dropped to about 200 feet and it was hard to distinguish the sky from the ice. I had a few minor problems; both of thermos' won't close or stay closed tight, spilling liquid onto me, my tent, and other items. I lost my potholder. So not too serious and I can work around these and the other minor problems I'm faced with.
No good news about Dominique. They are debating stopping to search for her. This weighs heavily on me, and from now on I must try to put it out of my mind - but it's hard. I continue to reach for the pole. With luck and perseverance I should make it. During the day I fill my head with pleasant thoughts, like sleeping in my own bed, taking a shower, or just going to the store for a food I desire.
The odd thing is I often have songs playing in my head. Typically older songs from the last 20-30 years. I guess a bit of sensory depravation will do that (at least to me).
The other thing you experience when out here in the Arctic is that your senses become heightened. you can hear a pin drop, and opening a box of matches I can smell the chemicals used to make them, the cardboard box, everything.
Well, time to sleep for me. Last night was really cold, well below -45c - I don't know how far below yet until my ARGOS reports come back. I hope to sleep better tonight.

Mar 9, 04 - Wishing Dom and Fred well during this storm
A storm is raging outside my tent. Early this morning I got a text message from my 'basecamp' managers Tom & Tina Sjogren of explorersweb.com, telling me of a storm headed my way for the next 24hrs. The clouds I saw yesterday told me the same thing.
It's blowing 30kts, with gusts of 50-65kts. I was going to continue on in-spite of the weather, but my tent is difficult to put up when it's calm, which could be dangerous or deadly in a storm. Visibility is very limited (about 40 feet), and yesterday I saw a huge expanse of open water just to the East. So, being cautious I decided to call it a rest day, though it's hard to rest when it's so noisy. Also, the ice is shuddering beneath me, like being in an mild earthquake lasting many hours, an unsettling feeling.
The good news is that I'm being blown North and East in this piece of ice I'm camped on. In fact, I've probably made more mileage today resting in my tent than I did yesterday - and with much less effort.
I'm on older ice, which is supposed to be safer, but you can never tell where the ice is going to break up. Being out here you have to be ready to move at all times.
I can hear the ice grinding and moaning and try not to think much about it. I'm in good spirits, healthy, warm (and damp) snuggled in my sleeping bag and vapor barrier.
Night is upon me, which means darkness and more cold. The ice forming inside my tent is violently shaken off by the winds, and lands uncomfortably on my face. The winds have intensified and no longer is it just gusting 50-65+ - I hope my tent holds-up, I don't fall into the frigid ocean, or be crushed by colliding ice.
No matter how uncomfortable I might be, I'm gravely concerned for Frederick and Dominique. From what I understood this morning, Frederick was camped on a small piece of thin ice. In a storm a small piece of ice is generally eaten by other larger pieces of ice. It's likely he's fighting for his very survival.

Frederick is a really great guy, and embraced me with openness and kindness from the very first moment we met in the hotel lobby in Moscow. He's physically the strongest and largest of us explorers. A member of the French Navy and father of three children, he too is a novice to the polar region, just as I am. I hope he is well.
Dominique is an interesting lady. Of French nationality but living in Finland for about 15 years, she is famous there for her expeditions and efforts. The smallest of us explorers, she barely reaches five feet tall, yet has attempted several solo expeditions to the pole. Visit her website at: www.dominiquearduin.com
If you are a praying person, please pray for Dominique and Frederick.

Mar 7, 04 - Frosty and good
Another day of progress towards the pole. I didn't make as much mileage today, it's hard with heavy sledges and dozens of minor pressure ridges.
My body is still getting used to the intense physical exercise and for me this is normal. Each day my body gets in better physical shape to match the workout I'm doing as my sledges decrease in weight from food and fuel consumption.
Each day has its ups and downs. In the mornings I dread getting out of the warm and damp sleeping bag. Once out I want to get moving as the exercise keeps me warm. At the end of a long day I look forward to resting, but it takes effort to put up the tent, and prepare food and hot water.
Again I dread crawling into the chilly and soon to be damp, and frosty sleeping bag. Though eventually the sleeping bag warms up, moisture that comes from breathing freezes around the mouth. Even the warmth of the head freezes. It's not an easy life to live outside in
-40 to -55f temperatures for days on end.
I'm still not eating enough calories each day, but as my body adjusts my appetite gets better. I know I've lost weight and this was to be expected.
The icy 'terrain' is constantly changing. Each day's ice looks different than the day before. Skiing across thin ice is the easiest, and looks very interesting. The ice forces salt crystals up which then form ice crystals in unique patterns. If they were green it would look like fields of grass.
I prepare my dispatches the following morning, so if you read my current position with the next day's date you'll understand. I did pass 82 degrees of lattitude, which means another 8 to go before I reach the pole.
Current position at Mar 8, 04 - 6am; N 82 02.187' E 095 58.776

Mar 5, 04 - On the ice at last!
I'm writing to you from inside my sleeping bag, somewhere near Cape Arctichevsky. After nearly a year of planning, training, and preparation I'm finally on the ice!
In the morning we got up early, had a quick cup of tea, and packed our sledges and gear onto the truck. A half-hour truck ride from the weather station where we spent the night, across the sea, brought us to the once secret military base of Sredny. We divided into two groups and boarded the helicopters.
We then flew for nearly two hours to the first drop-off point. Ben Saunders, Bettina Aller and Jean-Gabriel, and myself got dropped off. We didn't get dropped right at the cape because of a large expanse of open water. They flew us over the open section and thin ice onto solid, good ice. Dominique Arduin, and Frederick opted to start from land and flew back with the helicopters to the actual Cape. There seems to be some friendly competition between the two French people.
At around 2pm, everyone said their goodbyes and well-wishes and the helicopters flew back towards the Cape. Bettina, Jean-Gabriel, Ben, and I each said our own goodbyes, hugged, and started on our own respective journeys to reach the pole.
Bettina and Jean-Gabriel made good time through the different ice conditions as Ben and I struggled with our heavy sledges through the varied ice terrain.

In my first day on the ice, I encountered a wide variety of ice conditions; flat, smooth, jumbled blocks, pressure ridges, frozen leads, and open leads. I must have seen 20 different types of ice formations. I skied until dark, around 6:30pm, and chose a place to make camp for the night.
Setting up the tent was challenging, as is nearly every aspect of surviving alone out on the cold, frozen Arctic ocean. I made hot water and prepared dinner, a tasty chicken and noodle meal and drank hot water.
After dinner I flossed and brushed my teeth, even out here in -37c (or lower) temperatures. I got my sleeping gear into the tent and crawled into my chilly bag for a cold, not so restful night. I wasn't too worried about polar bears, it was just very cold!

SOURCE : VIDMAR'S WEBSITE

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