For a while I thought I was loosing my vision as everything was going so blurry, but then I realized it was only because my eye lashes were so coated with ice that it was obscuring my eye sight . Not that it mattered much, I didn't really want to see up ahead anyway. Pressure, leads, rubble... Knowledge may be power, but ignorance is polar bliss.

For the past few days, the sun and clear skies have disappeared. Replaced by clouds, icey fogs and a biting wind, conditions have been sommewhat unpleasant as of late. You know it's bad when you have to huddle behind ice blocks for warmth and to block the wind. The wind got to be intense enough that I had to put on my terramar geofleece.

'My fingers usually get the coldest,' said AJ. ' Which can be potentially dangerous because in an emergency situation, I need to be able use my hands. If my fingers are numb that limits my ability to function. Therefore, I'll put on mittens or put my hood up, if its down. It may take a while, but they eventually warm up.'

We stopped at another lead to listen and watch the ice for a few minutes. One pan about six inches thick was ramming into another. The noise it what surprised us the most - a long whine at one spot, the train-like chug, chug, chug at another and a low pulsing in one more spot. It was eerily beautiful.

'That's why we keep drifting south every night,' Darcy observed as he watched the ice moving.

Overall, it was a good day. We had three really difficult hours mid day. Then, we got lucky with some good ice in the afternoon. Another Arctic Ocean day under our belts. It feels good to have made it this far.

In climate news, a new report from the Department of Interior shows: Birds are 'Messengers' on climate Change http://bit.ly/d7f7r5

Image: A small lead.

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing with major support from the University of Plymouth, Terramar, Seventh Generation, Goal0, Atlas, Sierra Designs and Optic Nerve.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com

For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/

For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com

For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing and Terramar with major support from Goal0, MSR, Scream Agency, Sierra Designs, Stanley, Optic Nerve and Clif Bar.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com. For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com. For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net. For lecture inquires, please contact smakmaria@yahoo.com.

A new remote audio post has been added to the blog...

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing and Terramar with major support from Goal0, MSR, Scream Agency, Sierra Designs, Stanley, Optic Nerve and Clif Bar.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com. For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com. For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net. For lecture inquires, please contact smakmaria@yahoo.com.

We are haunted by ice in our dreams now. Last night, AJ dreamt of being trapped by colliding ice pans. I had a very vivid dream of being stuck on Ellesmere Island because of brash ice and open water. Then, I had another reaccuring dream (i have it every time I'm on an expedition) getting to the pole but not remembering it afterward.

Darcy had the unfavorable task of starting out in lead first shift. Cold and a bit groggy he steered us along a narrow winding lead for nearly a quarter of a mile until crossing a slabbed presure ridge into some rolling terrain. Noting the infinite variety of conditions we face, Darcy commented, 'you definitely don't get bored out here,'

A few minutes into AJ's shift, he tweaked his knee in some weird way that created, from his description afterward, very intense pain. He could barely walk. Hundreds of miles frrom even the most remote outpost, in a section of ice where clearly no plane could land, reinforced the tenuous grip we have on safety at any given moment.

'I didn't think much of it at first,' AJ observed. 'But within five minutes I knew it was a serious situation.'

With AJ limping severely, we worried that he could easily aggrevate the injury by continuing to pull a sled. So, after a quick discussion, Darcy and I divided up his gear (and attached his sled to the back of mine) and started skiing. We hoped that an hour or so of rest would allow whatever was out of wack to get back in (wack). And in an hour he was better, a bit shaken, but nearly 100%.

Of course, the dramma couldn't just end there. This is after all, an ocean we're traveling on. We all stood staring at a newly frozen lead running as far as we could see to the east and west. In the middle, a 20 foot swath of open water. There was absolutely no way around and it was still too early to camp and let the lead solidify overnight.

Luckily, we came prepared for this and after a quick discussion on protocol and procedure to make sure we all knew what our roles would be, we catamaraned the sleds together, donned our dry suits and swam the lead pulling our floating sleds across afterwards.

Safely across, we also made a quick stop to collect an alge sample for the university of Plymouth.

Another day on the ice (and in the water). If we don't like it out here, not to worry conditions will change and we'll get something else.

Image: AJ stretching across a small crack.

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing and Terramar with major support from Goal0, MSR, Scream Agency, Sierra Designs, Stanley, Optic Nerve and Clif Bar.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com. For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com. For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net. For lecture inquires, please contact smakmaria@yahoo.com.

A new remote audio post has been added to the blog...

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing and Terramar with major support from Goal0, MSR, Scream Agency, Sierra Designs, Stanley, Optic Nerve and Clif Bar.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com. For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com. For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net. For lecture inquires, please contact smakmaria@yahoo.com.

The sled tips over, we trip, stumble or fall, cold feet, cold hands, cold nose, navigating in low visibility, setting up the Big Kev (our Sierra Designs tent), taking down the Big Kev, melting snow for meals and drinking, waking up... Each day we each face a million tiny struggles in our efforts to get to the pole.

Struggle #1. An openn lead somewhere creates a low hanging fog and decreases visibility considerabley.

Struggle #2. The slider on AJ's inner sleeping bag breaks.

Struggle #3. A large pressure ridge blocks our path. We find a somewhat passable route. (This is also struggle 13, 15, 16-34 and 50-60).

Struggle #4. Thin ice. Need to detour.

Struggle #5. We have to lift all three sleds up and over a five foot wall of ice.

Struggle #6. Rubble ice.

Struggle #7. Thoughts of friends and family (especially Maria) and the distance between us.

Struggle #8. AJ's bad jokes.

Struggle #9. Frozen Clif bars

Struggle #10. Open water prevents us from skiing. We have to camp early.

Most times we face these struggles alone. Still, we are out here as a team - offering an extra hand, a word of encouragement, or the simple acknowledgement of a struggle.

Image: Darcy and AJ picking their way through some 'pressure'.

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing with major support from the University of Plymouth, terramar, Seventh Generation, Goal0, Atlas, Sierra Designs and Optic Nerve.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com

For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/

For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com

For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by bing and Terramar with major support from Goal0, MSR, Scream Agency, Sierra Designs, Stanley, Optic Nerve and Clif Bar.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com. For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com. For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net. For lecture inquires, please contact smakmaria@yahoo.com.