It felt good today, skiing in warm sunlight. One could even say spring is in the air. The temperature soared to – 35 C.

We avoided the worst of the pack-ice today. Several times, we were able to ski across large, flat ice fields. And once, for the first time this trip, we could exploit a narrow lead that went in the desired direction. (Ed: A lead is a crack opening up in the ice, which then freezes over quickly to form a flat, easy `highway´ down which we can speed.)

Hopefully, tomorrow morning's wakeup call will prove more peaceful than this morning's. Close by our camp, two large ice sheets crunched together like tectonic plates, giving birth to a new ridge of pack-ice boulders. The noise was impressive. From inside our sleeping bags, it sounded as if the icy boulders would soon come crashing through the front door of our tent. Nature sometimes puts on spectacular shows: it's worth skiing to the North Pole to see them.

All with the Expedition is well.