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we're coming home! - Mon 1st May

So it’s here… the final expedition log.

The students have spent the morning tidying up their kit after our last fry up courtesy of Randy the Chef.

This was followed by some choir practice singing ‘Goodbye, Resolute Bay’ to the tune of Amarillo (photo). This was in preparation for our farewell meeting with the school where we presented them with a framed picture of Exmouth and a range of other presents including paperweights, pens and frisbees. We also met with the Mayor and presented her with another picture of Exmouth which we had all signed.

After lunch we did some photos of the whole Polar Quest expedition team which hopefully you should now be able to see on the home page of the website or will do shortly.

Then there was just time for one final trek to the top of Signal Hill with people trekking to the top and then skiing down and some coming down on their backside (and a few unintentionally doing both!).

The spirit in the team has been a little more subdued today (apart from when Matt tried to consume his own body weight in chicken legs at tea) with the team beginning to think about home and the end of this stage of the project. As I was walking back from skiing the girl in the photo shouted and came running down the main street just to give me a hug. That was really nice but also reminded me that it was about time I went home to see my own kids!

In a very rare quiet moment today I took the time to tick off all the activities that we have completed based on our planned programme. Pleasingly 95% of the activities have been completed and some extra ones added in such as the skidoos at Beechy which is very good going considering the unpredictable weather in this part of the world. This would have been higher but unfortunately the students managed to twist our arms into taking them to the shop at the airport – I’m not quite sure how they managed to spend so much time and money in such a small shop but they have obviously been missing their retail therapy! This delay meant that we missed the weather balloon being released but at least they managed to spend some of your hard earned cash. (sorry parents!)

Many thanks to everyone who has helped on this project from ECC staff to the businesses that gave money to support the expedition. The list is too long to mention but to anyone who has helped in any way very many thanks. Out here in Resolute Bay huge support was received from Tony Martin in letting us use his company’s kit and from Aziz ‘Ozzy’ Kheraj, the South Camp Inn owner for whom nothing was too much trouble. Brian and Tracey from Qarmatallik School were also a great support.

Thanks also to the students for making the trip such an enjoyable experience they have been great fun to be around for the last 12 days. I hope that they have learnt something about both the Inuit way of life and how to survive in such harsh conditions. I also hope that they have learnt something about how to work with each other and use this experience to help them in later life.

A special thanks must go to Ady and Liane who have been fantastic support for me and added an extra dimension to the trip. Without their skills and personalities there would have been a lot less laughter not to mention adventure on the expedition – I am very grateful to them for making this trip a superb experience for all of us.

I very much hope the student diaries and expedition logs might inspire you to enter into the spirit of adventure in whatever way that might be, who knows perhaps one day it could be you standing at the North Pole?

Thanks for your support and looking forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday!

Andrew

Previous Logs

Devon Island & the North Pole! - Sun 30th April Due to the luck of the draw our luck was in this morning as Lucy, Tara, Andrew, Mat, Ady and I set off on the quest to Devon Island on the most beautiful morning yet. What an amazing setting, such stunning views as we soared through the sky over-looking the most fascinating landscape on the planet, a real eye opener. The soft sound of Tara and Lucy snoring added to the tranquil atmosphere! An incredible rich group of Spanish business men and women have blown three million dollars on a polar bear watching holiday but there no ordinary campers, they do it in style or should I say luxury!
Hi De Hi Campers - Sat 29th April You will no doubt be pleased to hear that everyone has survived their night out under either canvas or snow depending on where they slept. Two options were on offer; two large four person tents or a superbly crafted 4 person snowhole. We didn’t leave until 10.30pm but since it never gets dark that wasn’t really a problem although it is amazing how much kit we needed - four sledges were required to be hauled out to the gorge which is about 2 miles away.
Camping Under the Stars - Fri 28th April No student diaries tonight I’m afraid – we are taking all the students out for a night under the stars instead. Unfortunately our proficiency at building igloos has not improved enough to build an igloo good enough to sleep in and so we will be sleeping in two tents and a snowhole. One tent will be for the girls and one for the boys – we had thought about sharing but the girls are not surprisingly a bit worried about using a pee bottle in public
More Antics from Resolute Bay - Thurs 27th April Unfortunately tonight’s log may be a little shorter than you are used to. This is partly because we are all absolutely shattered after all the exercise, late nights and early mornings but mainly because our very hard working network manager, Sarah Rogers has a blind date. We wish her all the best and hope it goes well. Seriously though, Sarah has had the massive job of uploading all the material and photos to the website as well as keeping me calm when we have had difficulties getting the pictures and messages through. She has worked hard every evening and the team really appreciates her efforts. The postcard is in the post!
Ski Mountaineers Are Us!!! - Weds 26th April Unfortunately the weather got the better of our plans today. The North Pole was not to be as the flat light gave limited visibility for our plane to land. So being full of beans and some strange red juice that I refer to as loopy juice that by the way has become Andrews latest addiction, we needed something exciting to do.
High Praise for Students - Tues 25th April There is praise and high praise and today Geoff who is an Inuit Ranger and a very quiet, unassuming but highly skillful young man said that our students were really tough on our trip out to Griffith Island. They had made full use of their short time there even though the wind was very strong and blowing a lot of snow around but despite it being very cold and uncomfortable on the sledges no students complained about the conditions.
Komatic riding across the Arctic Ocean - Mon 24th April After another hearty breakfast (everyone is well into fried breakfasts now) the day started really well with a trip to the school to see some lessons and have the opportunity to meet students from Resolute Bay. We visited a range of classes from Kindergarten through to senior school and spent recess there with Matt showing off his piano skills and Harry teaching them guitar.
What a fantastic welcome! - Sun 23rd April It’s a chilly morning with poor visibility but that isn’t going to interfere with our morning cross country ski. Everyone’s flying now, either gliding elegantly across the snow (Harry and Kizzie) or flying face or bum first (Lucy, James, Andrew - Davis that is! and even Ady) or flying through the air Liane!! (See photos)
First Day fun in Resolute - Sat 22nd April After our late arrival in Resolute last night we made the decision to make the most of every single moment up here in the High Arctic. Therefore it was an early rise at 7am for breakfast which consisted of a hearty fry up to provide plenty of calories for the days full program of activities. The wind was whistling past the window which was a sure sign that it would feel pretty cold - indeed our measurements of wind speed and still air temperatures showed it to be -32C.
Arrival in Resolute Fri 21st April Have made it to Resolute Bay after a bit of a horror 6 hour flight on a small plane that felt like it was never going to end - it even stopped for fuel on the way!!! Very tired and weary!
Out & About in Ottawa! Thurs 20th April Have safely arrived in Ottawa and are now settled into Adam's Airport Inn all ready for the flight North tomorrow. Temperature in Ottawa is an abnormally high +23C So the students went out in shirt sleeves tonight for tea - some even had shorts and flip flops on.They will experience a huge temperature change tomorrow as in Resolute it is currently -22C.  No more flipflops I suspect!

Thanks!

Now would seem like an appropriate time to thanks all those that have supported this expedition. Even though only 8 students are going to the North Pole, 10 students have made up the team and the two reserves have played their part in supporting the team with both dignity and enthusiasm – thanks to Katrina and Alistair we will be thinking of you when we get to the Pole. Thanks to the students and teachers at Exmouth Community College for taking part in fundraising events that has helped us achieve more than £26 000 towards the expedition. In particular, to Paul Jeffery who has been a massive help and to Pete, Sue, Angela and Paul who served on the PQ Management Group. Sarah Rogers and her ICT team have also been invaluable in helping to build the PQ website and advice and training on the laptops and cameras we have brought with us, as well as keeping the Ice Log up to date. Thanks also to The Pain trust and Adventure Trust for Girls for their financial assistance which has been crucial. Exmouth Town Council have also been very generous along with, ROK Construction, Faber Maunsell, Citizen Project, Ashfords, Fulfords and Bradleys Estate Agents and the Rotary Clubs of Exmouth who have all made donations which are allowing the students this once in a lifetime experience. Our sincere thanks goes to all those individuals and organisations who got involved.

Once we reach Resolute Bay we will be sending daily e-mails to report on the activities that we have been getting involved in so please keep logging on to this space to find out what we are doing. If you want to get in touch with us please e-mail the team - polar.watch