Arctic Quest 1831: Ice
Expedition archive. This page keeps a dispatch or expedition page that was published on this domain by the adventurer Dom Mee. dommee.co.uk is now an independent magazine about expeditions and the outdoors and is not affiliated with him. All expeditions.
Well I am underway making good progress north. The Klepper (IDS International) has performed extremely well under the unusually harsh conditions.
I am currently carrying 230kg including IDS and I am making good distance from my starting position. Today however I have encountered severe ice I did manage to pick my way through the first flow, which was around five miles deep after which I continued to make reasonable progress toward Cape Victoria.
Unpredictably I entered a larger moving pack and became trapped for two hours before the freeze opened and thankfully I managed to escape! My troubles were not over then, as I had to find a beach to land my kit and myself in the shifting pack, which was a little tricky! Trust me, this was a very scary moment.
I am so relieved to be on land even though I am currently trapped, and hemmed in by the ice but this could change by the morning.
Finally I am working on a variation to the route, as the Inuit weren’t joking when they told me this is in fact the worst ice that they have experienced for twenty years. I hope to report better news during the next update.