Day 8

April 24, 2008 by admin.

April 23:
Current position is 89° 53’028” North; 039° 01’ 651” West
The team got a helicopter lift today around 11:30 AM and were dropped off around 1:30 PM at 89° 47’ 25” North.  Conditions were remarkably improved from where they had been- ice much more solid, much less open water- a great relief to everyone!  They covered 6 nautical miles in 5.5 hours which felt like huge progress compared with their recent days of travel.
John Thompson returned safely to Longyearbyen and was seen at the medical clinic.  No specific treatment is needed other than keeping his hands warm which he plans to do.  His spirits are overall very good and he’s talking about trying again next year.

If the day goes well and there isn’t too much drift overnight, it is possible for the team to make it to the North Pole tomorrow!

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