A day when "nothing came easy..."

The team called in today to report that they made good progress given the number of pressure ridges they had. From the get-go they were in areas of high pressure, where mounds of snow and ice blocked their path, seemingly one after the next. This is not uncommon, and though at times it can be frustrating there is always an end to the pressure somewhere.

In this photo the team has just chopped a path through a pressure ridge.
One guide is taking out the last few bumps with his ice axe while a team member
is signaling to the awaiting dog team that they can now approach.
He shows the exact angle that they should approach with his hands overhead.

Despite all the cutting and hacking away at the ice to make a path for the sleds the team had a good day. The weather was brilliant with warm temperatures for the second day in a row and full sun. There is a very slight wind coming from the NE. Still no open water - which is a great thing! When the team phoned in their position was N89.16.9, E 136. Wendy's audio report from today gets cut off, and though she phoned in a "part 2" it was very choppy and hard to hear. The first part of her update is below. The second part mainly has to do with how smokey the tent is from Rick's cooking, even though the end result wasn't so bad :) Check back again tomorrow for another update from the team!