Our wakeup this morning was more pleasant than usual. It took a while before we realized why: the temperature had risen overnight to a balmy – 30 C. The next problem: what on earth to wear today. Up to this point we have been wearing only cold-weather gear.

After digging into our kitbags, we found our bikinis, and got underway.

During the day, the temperature rose still further, to – 27 C. It's been a sweaty day. The good thing about skiing in warmer weather is that our skis and sledges slide better over the snow; there is less friction.

Added to this, the icescape became smoother, which made our progress still easier. The first leg of the day was a new distance record. We also witnessed the birth of several new leads (cracks opening up in the pack ice, revealing open water which quickly freezes over). The moving ice makes a lot of noise; the leads often open at a rate of 10 cm per minute.

For the evening ski leg, we tried out a change of tactics: from Double Carry back to Single Carry. (The sledges are now lighter after 11 days of food and fuel consumption.) Unfortunately, this change does not yet provide us with advantages, because the terrain is often still too rough for pulling full sledges. We estimate that, at present, the daily distance traveled would be similar with either tactic, but as the sledges get lighter and the terrain hopefully smoother, Single Carry should eventually win out.

All is well with the Expedition.