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.

While the wind abated substantially today, it was still brisk. Once again, we spent our short 10 minutes breaks huddled behind snow drifts and ice chunks. However, we did not have to face life or death battles with the spindrift. For most of the day, we struggled through drift after drift after drift. Serpentine. Up, down, around, over, our course was anything but straight.

83 miles to the pole. We are dangerously close, but still far enough away for a million different things to happen. Most of them bad. Physically, we feel good despite the strain of 43 hard days on the trail. Mentally, right now is all about managing expectations.

'I was doing all sorts of calculations in my head while I skied,' Darcy said. 'Trying to determine our potential mileage and when we'll arrive at the pole.'

I've heard of rock climbers, who during long difficult routes, achieve a zen-like state of calm even though their lives are in great danger. While the imminent threat of death isn't quite as high here (some might argue otherwise), we face our greatest challenge from the lengthy duration and increasing difficulty of our jouney. It is natural to have hope for better conditions and strive for the end. Home, friends, family, warmth and chairs are so close we can almost touch them... But we can't yet.

For me, this is the part of a long expedition where everything and everyone else just fades away. Finishing is a result of a plan we enacted six weeks ago. It will happen when we get there. No sooner or later. Now, each day is what it is. I am here so I like it all that more because I am here. To expect anything else but what I get is unrealistic

The ice worsened in the afternoon into a fractured expanse for as far as we could see. This was newer pressure and thick (four feet) blue blocks were heaved in random directions. Darcy's lead shift was through the worst of it. At one point, we were strung out over 400 meters - each of us locked deep in our own battles of sled, ice and gravity.

With Earth Day approaching, many people often ask what they can do to help protect our environment and reduce their own impact. 'Begin with one step,' I always answer. On Savethepoles.com you'll find a whole range of options from buying carbon offsets to getting a home energy audit to simply changing a light bulb. We can also make environmentally friendly purchases. For paper and cleaning products, check out Seventh Generation.

Once again in case you missed it the first time, 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."

Image: Eric on the iridium satellite phone coordinating our North Pole pick up with the Russian ice base, Borneo.

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 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.