North Pole Speed Record

Hurry Up and Wait

Posted on 25^th March, 2008 By Ben Saunders ~ 13 comments

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Well, I’m still in Eureka, which is probably good news for my mum as I’ll be tucked up under a duvet tonight rather than shivering in my tent, but rather disappointing for the rest of you logging on for a first installment of derring-do on the Arctic Ocean…

This also means I have very little to report. The weather here has been perfect (still, clear, -42) which makes it all the more frustrating that I'm stuck twiddling my thumbs and not (yet) out doing what I came here to do.

There have been some bonuses, however: I've made decent inroads into a sleep defecit that's been mounting over the past few weeks, and I've been sharing meals here with scientists and technicians from Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada and the Canadian Polar Continental Shelf Project, which has given me an insight into a completely different side of the Arctic (and a sneak peek at some satellite images of the ice I'll be scrambling over in the next few days).

There's a plane from Resolute Bay scheduled to drop me tomorrow, but it all hinges on the weather, and I won't know for sure until I sit in on the pre-breakfast pilots' weather briefing here. It's nail-biting stuff for sure, but if I peer over this screen and look out of the window, I can see a stunning Arctic sunset, glowing rich orange over blue ice, and the talk over dinner this evening was of a pack of wolves that were spotted nearby today. There are worse places to wait for a taxi.

Comments

1. 

   By Alison Lowndes on 25^th March, 2008

   Absolutely !
   You’re in the finest company, Ben & when you leave the wolves & scientists you’ll have all of us if you need some written companionship. Watched Bear Grylls paramotor flight above Everest last night .. total nutter but it must have felt amazing.

2. 

   By Paul Bower on 25^th March, 2008

   Ben
   what a man we wish you all the best and look forward to seeing you again, you are welcome here whenever you like. I will be watch with interest, the snow is still on the ground here.

   Paul & Jane
   The Downe Arms Hotel

3. 

   By Wil on 25^th March, 2008

   How exciting to follow your journey. It’s brilliant what you’re doing. You must know how many people you’re affecting with this incredible endeavor. Just wow Ben, not every man can say of his life that he’s embodied hope… Godspeed, I’ll certainly be watching!

4. 

   By Oliver Corbett on 25^th March, 2008

   Best of luck with the weather tomorrow.  We are supporting you all the way to 90N.  Oliver

5. 

   By Eric Vaughn on 25^th March, 2008

   I am glad I caught up with your adventure before you set off, but I hope you can get going soon. All the best and I am looking forward to following you.

6. 

   By Paul Curwen on 25^th March, 2008

   Good luck Ben!

   I’ll be following your Journal everyday from work, here just a wee bit south in Toronto, Ontario!!!

   All the best! Paul

7. 

   By Alison Lowndes on 25^th March, 2008

   ... a nice normalising question for you, Ben .. what bandwidth do you get up there with a clear view and over a dozen satellites. I’m actually getting a completely pants 1602Kbps here in North Yorkshire. Offline, however, you should be able to see a triple flyby of the ISS, the Jules Verne & the Shuttle Endeavour .. around about .. now!

8. 

   By Simon Jones on 25^th March, 2008

   Birkenhead at 2am. That would be a worse place to wait for a taxi.

9. 

   By Simon Jones on 26^th March, 2008

   Hey Ben, I just blogged about you again. I know you’ll not have time to check my blog (obviously!) but hopefully a few more people will be finding you and keeping up with you and sending you their good wishes.

10. 

    By Nick Hancock on 26^th March, 2008

    Ben,

    Good luck mate. I’ll be watching and reading with interest. Must have been a manic dash to get there after so much uncertainty. I suspect you’re secretly glad of a little calm before the impending storm in order to switch modes from fund raising to pulling.

    To quote an influence of yours and mine:

    ‘Into the mist’

    Nick

11. 

    By RObb on 26^th March, 2008

    good luck dude, I look forward to following along from the warmth of home!

12. 

    By Brewery lofts on 18^th April, 2008

    what bandwidth do you get up there with a clear view and over a dozen satellites. I’m actually getting a completely pants 1602Kbps here in North Yorkshire. Offline, however, you should be able to see a triple flyby of the ISS, the Jules Verne & the Shuttle Endeavour .. around about .. now!

13. 

    By For sale manitoba on 07^th May, 2008

    I’ve been following your journal for awhile now, best of luck, hopefully you can get back on track soon.