Couple Aller-Leynaud on the big traverse

 

From their website :

2006.06.09 / In Resolute Bay
I received a mail 02:40 am Danish time saying that they were two hours from Resolute Bay. The pick up went just fine. So hopefully now, they a asleep, after a full meal.
Check in later for more news

2006.06.08, Day 98 / On their way to Resolute Bay
Position: Same as yesterday
Earlier today Paul Landry's team met with Bettina and Jean-Gabriel and the plane from Resolute Bay was ready to fly out and get them out.
So if the weather holds both in Resolute Bay and were Bettina and JG are, they will now be on their way to Resolute Bay in Canada. From there they fly to Ottowa where they will meet with Bettinas children and mother.
Hpoe to see them back in Copenhagen sometime next week.

2006.06.07, Day 97 / They couldn't concur nature
The situation has not improved and it has been worse than has been reported because they didn’t want to worry their families.
The fact that they have been walking/crawling/swimming in areas with a lot of open water and a lot of pack ice has not been held a secret, but the fact that they found themselves on an small ice island the other day when the ice and ocean around them started packing has been held a secret until now. The small island was rocking and is was pure luck that gave them the chance to get close enough to a lager ice block and hop onto that before the little island wash crushed between lager ice blocks.

The other day they were crawling over huge blocks of pack ice, when JG’s sledge fell down between to blocks. On the bottom there was open water. The sledge was so heavy it threatened to pull Jean-Gabriel down to, but luckily Bettina was nearby and could rush to his rescue immediately.
Those two events among others have forced them to make the difficult decision of being evacuated. There is nothing wrong with their health, but they fear for their life. They have used a couple of days looking for a runway and yesterday they found one. So today they have been preparing the runway, moving small ice blocks, nursing it on their knees. They are waiting for an answer from Paul Landrys expedition if they want to come out to. They are 16 kilometres behind Bettina and Jean Gabriel, so if they want to get out they will have to walk to Bettina and JG.
Tomorrow Bettina and JG will continue tiding up the runway, clearing it for ice blocks, for the ice that has been their home for 97 days and that has denied them to get to Canada. The Global warming won this round. It couldn’t be concurred.
Their trip has been extremely hard sometimes inhuman, but for now they are safe. Waiting for the weather to clear up in Resolute Bay, at Bettina and JG and in between.

2006.06.06, Day 96 / They are doing fine
I haven’t got any great news and I can’t report about any great progress. But I can assure you that they are okay and still fighting.
They are surrounded by open water. The pilots that flew sledges out to Paul Landrys expedition, reported that 40 % of the area beck to Canada is open water. The global warming is showing its ugly face. The rest of the area is filled with pack-ice and soft snow during to the high temperatures.
I’ll be back with more news when I hear some. I’ll be back even though there isn’t any news

2006.06.01 Day 91 / They had company
Position N86.342 W62.324
Total distance during the last 2 days: 22 km / Rest distance to Canada: 378 km

Yesterday they crossed 14 leads and went swimming 5 times. Today it was 21 leads, but only twice they had to get into the water. There is a hole in Bettina’s dry suit and though they have looked for it, they can’t find it, so every time they swim Bettina ends up being wet.
Their air mattresses are not working well. They can only hold the air for an hour, so they blow it up just before they go to bed and then they have 1 hour to fall asleep. But its not a soft bed to wake up in.
Today they meet a seal. It was just sitting there with no open water in sight. But when Bettina chased it to have a closer look, it suddenly disappeared into a little hole in the ice.

2006.05.30, day 89 / No progress
Position: N86,474 W59,492
Todays distance: - 2 km / Yesterdays distance 13 km / Rest distance to Canada: 400 km

What can I say? Well its not going very well.
Yesterday was pretty good. There was still a heavy storm from west, but the ice was pretty good. So they made 13 km and considered it a good day.
But then they woke up to another day in hell. And though I have written it before.. this has definitely been the worst day yet. They have passed 40 leads, 12 of them were crossed by swimming. They kept the orange swimming suits on to save time and to be on the safe side, since they were in constant danger of slipping into the water that had the consistence of slush ice. Slush ice that drags them down if they fall in. So they are tied together with a robe so they can pull each other up in case one falls in.
When they camped after 13 hours of walking and crawling they found out that they had drifted backward, so much that they were 2 km behind the place, they had started out from.

If this continues, there is no way they are going to make it to Canada, but since there is no way of getting out in an area like this, unless it is an emergency, they just have to continue the struggle.
But they still have the optimism, the optimism that tells them every night that tomorrow will be a good day.

2006.05.28, day 87 / Daily routines
Position: N86,654 W61,686
Todays distance: 3 km backwards and 3 km forwards / Yesterdays distance 17 km / Rest distance to Canada: 411km

After making 17 km yesterday in fair weather conditions they woke up to another snowstorm this morning. They had been drifting backwards while sleeping, so they spend the next 6 hours fighting their ways through the snow and ended up back where they fell asleep yesterday.
They camped early today because it was impossible to see anything. JG was twice in danger of going through the ice, but luckily he felt the ice beneath his feet change so he pulled back just in time.

So there is actually no news in their progress or the conditions they live under. So let me tell a little about their everyday routine, which also doesn’t change. I might have written something about this earlier, but there might be new readers.

When they wake up in the morning, they start brushing ice off the tents inner side and the sleeping bags. Then the sleeping bags go out and the burner comes in. They have to melt water for breakfast and the 4 litres of water they drink during the day. Then they eat and start packing everything down in the sledges. JG takes down the Polar bear alarm after they have dressed up with 4 pairs of socks each, one of them made of plastic to prevent moisture from going in.. When everything is packed and they are ready to go 2 ½ hours have passed.
Then they start the walking. They walk for 2 hours and 20 minutes. Then they take a 10 minutes break to have a hot cup of water together with some chocolate, nuts or salami. Then they walk again for another 2 hours and 20 minutes and take a 10 minutes break. This continues for 12 hours, when they finally stop to make camp.

They start by setting up the tent and JG puts up the Polar bear alarm. Meanwhile Bettina starts melting water for dinner and other things and then she starts making the calls home. They take the socks off and hang them up under the tent roof to dry. The smell from the socks makes it wonderfully homey ((-: Hope the food smells better. It tastes better anyway.
After dinner they brush their teeth and then its time to get the sleeping backs inside the tent. To prevent condenses in the sleeping bags, they have to make the tent as cold inside as on the outside. It should be very healthy to sleep in a cool temperature. Then they put on the night socks, the gloves and the night hat under which JG puts the alarm clock to make sure he will hear it next morning.
All this have taken around 3 hours which gives them 6 – 6½ hours before they have to get up again.

2006.05.26, day 85 / A gift of love
Position: N86,842 W62,537
Todays distance: 15 km / Yesterdays distance 14 km / Rest distance to Canada: 428km
First of all. The positions from the 24th were wrong. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I did, but the positions today are right.
The weather is still bad and they are walking in total white-out all day long. Today they started rationing the food. They will spare 1/3 everyday which will assure that there is food for another 30 days. But also it was the day when Bettina gave JG a special gift.
Since they left the North Pole, Bettina has been hiding some of her food everyday. That made it possible to give JG a bag full of food today to the food rationing easier for him. He has lost every gram there is to be lost, so he was extremely happy for the love gift from Bettina. That gift might be the gift that makes it possible for him to keep going.

2006.05.24.Day 83 / Still an extremely difficult area
Position: N87,885 W60,801
Todays distance: 9 km / Yesterdays distance 15 km / Rest distance to Canada: 457km

It is still total white out and for two days they have been walking in an area, where the pack ice is lying big as houses and cars. There is water underneath and it makes it extremely difficult to move. The expedition with Paul Landry is stocked and have been for 6 days. They have built a runway for the chopper, but because of the weather it has been impossible for it to land. Due to this situation they are starving, both the humans and the dogs. So tonight or tomorrow they will get a drop with food from an airplane and then they “just” have to wait for the weather for clear up.
So the situation on the Polar sea is very difficult due to the weather situation.

2006.05.22, Day 81 / Somewehre over the rainbow
Position: N87,306 W60,357
Todays distance: 16 km / Yesterdays distance 15 km / Rest distance to Canada: 481km

Yesterday they were facing living hell on earth again. They were walking in an area with huge ice blocks drifting around in slush-ice. It was extremely hard and they just didn’t know how to get out of the area. Suddenly they saw a rainbow in the sky. They decided to follow the rainbow, not to get the pot of gold, but in the hope that it would lead somewhere out of this terrible area.
And it did. They actually came out after 4 hours.
Today the ice has been improving hour by hour. It is still white-out but the wind is not so heavy anymore.
They only have food left for 22 days and the chances of reaching Canada in 22 days are not very good, so from tomorrow they start rationing the food, which is not good for any of them, but especially Jean-Gabriel is very thin.

2206.05.20, Day 79 No new conditions
Position: N87,555 W57,705
Todays distance: 17 km / Rest distance to Canada: 512 km
There is no report of changes in the weather conditions. They are still facing white-out and rain and worst of all, a lot of leads. Today’s leads were 19, only the big ones counts. Everyday is the same as the one before, the thoughts are a rerun of yesterdays and the work of pulling and pushing the sledges are as straining as the day before.
The wind is hard coming from west and it makes the sledges go to one side. The pack ice is as big as cars and houses, and they have to camp in the middle of it, since there is no other place to go.

2006.05.19, Day 78
Position: N87,709 W57,0833
Todays distance: 18 km / Yesterdays distance 20km / Rest distance to Canada: 529 km
Unfortunately I didn’t get the phone today when Bettina called, so this is what she told on the answering machine.
There is no way they can go straight south, as the sea is very open. Yesterday they had to cross 27 leads and today 24. They are jumping from floe to floe.
Bettina fell today and avoided falling into the water, but she hit her back. But she did not tell whether she was in pain or not, so lets hope everything is ok

2006.05.16, Day 75 / Hard to keep up the spirit
Position: N88,176 W54,209
Todays distance 13 km / Remaining distance: 581 km
Bettina and Jean-Gabriel have been walking for 12 hours today and have just made 13 km. This is due to heavy pack ice. It is so much that Paul Landrys expedition are considering to have the dogs flown out. It is too difficult to get the dogs through the pack ice.
This afternoon it was raining. Not an everyday experience, actually not seen before on that latitude.
They are really stressed, they want a cooler weather, a nicer ice and some sun.
More news will follow Friday due to a course. Not on N88 degrees, but in Denmark.

2006.05.13, Day 72 / Under influence of the full moon
Position: N88,585 W54,501
The weather was really bad again yesterday May 12th. It was snowing, but the ice was just beautiful, so in spite of the bad weather, they made 20 km and they were happy when they hit the sleeping bags.

Today on the other hand, the weather was beautiful, but you could not say the same for the ice. The
fullmoon has a great influence on the Polar Sea, just like in our part of the world. The sea gets all busy and it ends up with pack ice in building-high ice blocks that has to be conquered. There is no open water beneath but if you fall on these ice blocks you are sure to hurt yourself.
But they have been crossing open water, 17 leads as the matter of fact. How they keep track on the numbers, I don’t know. Draw a line in the snow for each?
The weather is getting warmer and tonight they were sitting in their underwear in the tent. The underwear is the kind with long legs and arms! One of Bettinas boots is broken and they have to fix it. Earlier they had every intention of cutting down on the daily walking time when they took of from the North Pole, but it doesn’t seem like they have time to do it, as they only have 31 days of food left. I just hope their bodies can take the pressure.
They are hoping that tomorrow will be a day of clear weather as they have camped “in the middle of hell” surrounded by big ice blocks and in order to get safely out of the area, they need clear weather.

2006.05.11. Day 70 A good and a bad day
Position: N88,906 V50.723
Yesterday was a really good day. The weather was good, the sun was shining and the ice was just bloody perfect. The mood was high, but it was only until they woke up this morning to face yet another day of total white-out. The ice all broken up and there was pack ice everywhere, and that made it yet another extremely difficult day for Bettina and Jean-Gabriel. They “only” made 17 km which means that they have 657 km in front of them.
They had to camp early because of the difficult conditions.

2006.05.09, Day 68 / The ice is better and so is the progress
Position:N89,318 W50,205 Today they finally made a good progress. The day started with total white-out but after a couple of hours it cleared up and the ice was good, so they made 17 km today.
Lets hope it continues. They still have 698 km to do. And they are tired and exhausted.
Bettina and Jean-Gabriel says hi to all of you.