We are tired and sore but still moving forward - and a crazy amount east for that matter. The winds have been brutal for nearly two days now. It's weird to have this constant wind now when previously we could count on things changing fairly quickly (I hope that makes sense).

Today was not a total carbon copy of yesterday, but it was definitely close We skied in and around drifts and even hit some bigger flat areas as well With the gusting winds, we skied most of the through a ground blizzard - beautiful to look at, but not so fun to ski in. For starters, spindrift got into everything - hats, mittens, sled bags. Anything with an open zipper was fair game. A fine layer of snow covered all of our gear. Breaks were especially troublesome. Behind ice blocks or out in the open, it didn't matter spindrift seemed to be searching us out. Seeping into our souls? I think so.

I enjoyed being outside today even if it was cold, windy and really hard work. Mostly, I liked the warmth associated with activity. One of the best things, in my opinion, is to be out in the really cold and be really warm. They say there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad base layers. Thanks terramar!

I'm back to thinking about layers today... And oceans - we are on top of an ocean of water and at the bottom of an ocean of air. Today, I spent several hours watching blowing snow wind, bend and eddy. It is interesting to watch how the wind works - the same fluid dynamics I see in a river. As for turbulence, I am simply in awe.

We were treated to some beautiful snow sculptures similar to the sastrugi I've seen in Antarctica but on a smaller scale. Arched diving shapes reminded me of dolphins or salmon jumping up a rapids durring the spawn. Darcy thought of planes or sharks. AJ saw little waves and then, a big wave.

We stopped for a while so AJ could get his algae net out and take a sample. It was one of the few open water spots we of the whole day. The researchers from the University of Plymouth sent a message to collect ice shards with the algae frozen inside. However, we are seeing newer and newer ice and less evidence of algae. One theory we kicked around was that the ice has formed after an algae bloom. Regardless, AJ had his net in, used and put away in 15 minutes - a new record.

I'm not sure if it was the right move or not but I did a short cut across and back track to avoid an open water lead. It was to my right but appeared to potentially cut west toward the horizon. Hard to say, but I could see a safe crossing point 200 meters away so I veered. We skied through blowing ice fog for nearly 30 minutes afterwards an indication, at least partly of good judgement.

Image: Darcy skiing through the spindrift.

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.

For a while, I thought I was at the beach. To my right, an open expanse of water. To my left drifts that could easily be mistaken for sand dunes. Underneath my madshus.com/" target="_blank">skis, a gently sloping swath of snow - the actual beach.

And then my sled caught on an ice chunk, tipped over and I was rudely shoved back into reality: my left hand was freezing to the point of being numb, windchills dipping past 45 below, an icicle hanging off my Optic Nerve goggle nose beak and a huge open water lead blocking my way to the North Pole.

An hour earlier I had commented that we were making good progress and the ice seemed to be improving. It had been a tough morning for sure - we seemed to be endlessly weaving around drifts, but all the leads were small and passable and there were no big pressure ridges. It was very cold and windy; however, visibility was decent - not great but decent. And then...

Skiing in lead I saw the tell tale black line in the distance and later climbed some blocks to have a better look. For as far as I could see to the northwest and souttheast, there was a 50-75 meter 'river' of open water. Insert expletive of your choice here. On either side was another 20 meters of thin newly formed ice.

With yesterday and today's wind, we have been drifting quite a bit. Last night, we moved 3.5 miles - one mile north and the rest east. The east part is worrisome as there is a chance we could get pushed too far and not make the pole. Our drifting is directly related to the wind which is part normal and part unusual. The wind affects ice movement , but it seems to be overpowering the normal drift patterns. My theory: with less sea ice there is now less land fast ice; therefore, the ice we are on is able to move more.

After an hour of skiing, we found a spot to cross but it was just to an ice Island. Insert second expletive here.

Physically, we feel pretty good, but the constant stress of changing conditions have taken their toll. Each of us has gotten frustrated over simple things. While the pole is looming close, we deal with each day as it comes.

We found two opposing penisulas that spanned the length of our tow rope (luckily). Then another swim (for me) while AJ and Darcy rigged the sleds for a catamaran.

'I hate doing that,' said Darcy. 'But it feels good to be on this side now.'

Also, bing is helping students become aware of their environment through an Earth Day Photo Contest. If you know of teachers and students that are interested in photography and want to take part in a great cause, have them enter at www.earthdayphotocontest.com."

On Newsvine http://ericlarsenexplore.newsvine.com this week, contributers are addressing climate change in Business. Please add your thoughts to the ongoing conversation.

Image: Darcy and AJ on the 'beach'.

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.

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.

Every once in a while, AJ will ask my opinion on the safety of a certain section of ice. I have two basic answers. 'Yes, but go out there and see.' Or, 'No, but go out there and see.' Determining the crossibilty of an unstable piece of ice is part science, part art and part witch craft. Actually getting across is all the above plus a lot trail hardened nerve, luck, some grisel and the big mo (momentum).

A cold and windy day on the Arctic Ocean had us adding an extra layer of terramar. Brrrr. We had gotten used to the warmish -20's. Luckily, the wind was from the south southwest and wasn't blowing all that cold in our faces. We had hoped that the low temperature and wind would freeze some of the open and thin ice leads, but it is obvious we are fighting a loosing battle. With summer on its way and 24 hours of sunlight, any water is absorbing heat As an aside, this is one of the feedback loops that is accelerating sea ice melt. We had high hopes for the day after crossing a 30 meter wide lead that was 'safe'.

That sinking feeling... That's one of us on a piece of ice. Going across sections of brash ice, open seams and overlapping thin slabs is tricky business. The ice is generally very rubbery and once fractured is completely impassible. The bigger chunks are nice because they at least float - it might be under water with your weight on it, but its still floating. Of course, that's just one person crossing. We have to get three across and our heavy sleds.

Darcy stepped gingerly out at one section gave the ice a poke with his pole, then took another step at which point things started collapsing underneath. For a split second he hesitated (a very dangerous thing) then lunged forward to safety (relative). However, there was now an open gap of water where he had just crossed. Just to the left, there was a pier of rafted two inch slabs where AJ and I might cross. We positioned the sleds for a 'long line' manuever - where we unhook one side of our tug line from our granite gear harness and attach it to the sleds effectively doubling the length of the rope.

I made it across but barely. I probably shouldn't have crossed but without another visible option my motivation to be on the other side increased substantially. Now AJ's turn.

Later he said it would have made a good cartoon. Darcy with his madshus.com/" target="_blank">skis off had a foot go through. Me standing on ice that was sinking and water rushing over my skis. Both of us imploring to, 'cross... it's safe.'

Unfortunately, the ice was too soft and AJ had to find another spot to cross. Just one of our many daily adventures.

Image: Our cozy home, the Sierra Designs Polar Tunnel tent (that I call 'The Big Kev') for the night in aa windy camp while flying our team bing flag.

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.