How cold is it? - Current Resolute Weather

Komatiq 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.

This was followed up with a more detailed tour of Resolute taking in the Medical Centre and Co-op (James managed to buy two cans of Coke for the bargain price of $10 (approximately 2.50 British Pounds!!!) He will always be able to claim he has brought the world's most expensive can of coke. We also visited the Royal Canadian Mounted Police station. Matt broke the ice (excuse the pun) by asking the Mountie 'so you are the guys that dress in red and ride horses!' On the tour we visited the cells and decided to lock the students in there to give me Ady and Liane a break. (Don't worry parents we gave them a drink after a couple of hours)
Some time after locking the students up we decided that with the help of the school we could go out for a Komatiq ride across the Arctic Ocean to visit the ancient Thule site and an aircraft that crashed in the 1950s. Going out in this way is a very serious business because in essence you are sitting still in a wind tunnel at -30C. For this reason the school kindly loaned us some heavy weight coats and pants - Kizzie and James looked like Michelin men with all the stuff on whereas after all her fry ups Liane looked like a Michelin man even without the warm gear. (She has become addicted to fat since being away)
The Thule site is over 4000 years old and is the remains of a shelter made out of Bullhead Whale Bones. This area also marks the point where the Inuit first landed and lived at Resolute when relocated here in the 1950s.

The students coped really well in the Komatiqs which were specially designed to hold people by having sides and an aerodynamic front to deflect the wind. This was supplemented by mattresses, caribou skins, insulated mats and 4 season sleeping bags so the students were nice and warm. As the students did so well on this trial run we are now planning to take the students out tomorrow for 2-3 hours to Griffith island where there is the possibility of seeing seals and polar bears. Our huge thanks to Geoff, Stevie and James for taking us out. They are hugely impressive young men who are fantastically skilled at knowing the land and how to survive in these very harsh conditions. James and Stevie are Rangers and so have trained the Canadian Armed Forces amongst other armies - we feel very safe in their hands. They will also be carrying rifles in case of a close polar bear attack - reassuringly Geoff has been the top marksman in Nunavut for two years running - very impressive! Stevie is also very skilled and has won the one foot high kick in the Innuuit games by jumping up and kicking his foot up to touch an object 9 foot two inches high - just think about that for a minute! Our journey onto the ice was concluded in the school with hot chocolate all round.

This evening the students have been both to the Gym and have also challenged the local youngsters to a game of basketball. The newly formed Exmouth Globetrotters practiced hard all afternoon - well we threw a ball around in the Hotel living room for five minutes. Unfortunately all this practice didn't pay off particularly as at the last moment the locals decided to play volleyball instead! Bring on football or should I say soccer?

Andrew

Previous Logs

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