The ice is getting easier
Published on 04.05.2009 - General Info
Arnaud Tortel and Charles Hedrich are currently 541 km from the Greenland coast and Victoria fjord.
They have been on the move for seven hours a day since last Sunday, covering approximately 12 km a day on average.
It was on Sunday 26th April that they left the big compression ridges and extensive leads of open water behind them and they are now able to use their skis over what is a more even terrain. But a number of minor breakages have so far prevented them from unfurling their traction kites.
On Monday (27th April), they came across bear tracks on two occasions. The first set was from a male, with the others a mother and cub. "We came across some bear tracks, but they weren't fresh  almost certainly from the day before." (Which was, of course, reassuring for them).
For the moment at least they have stopped having to contend with areas of open water. Their frostbite is gradually getting better and their sledges are becoming lighter by the day (now 'only' weighing 120 kilos).
The two men are very much enjoying their food rations (for the record, Arnaud is first and foremost a much sought-after dietician back home in Drôme, as well as in the world of polar explorers), plus they are being boosted by the notes and drawings made by family and friends on the various packs in their belongings...
Morale continues to be excellent.
