The Expedition this morning rubbed the sleep out of its collective eyes and, tired but determined, once again made northward tracks. A cutting wind blew. Our sunglasses froze over, causing some team members to utter unprintable expletives. Despite our all-too-obvious morning inertia, we managed to get the Expedition's engine ticking over nicely.

After several legs of skiing, Captain Haddock decided to entertain the Expedition with some gymnastic acrobatics. His chosen apparatus was the `sledge sling´, a demanding instrument at the best of times. He began his program with a reverse-volt-extended, and finished with a back-side-twist-and-tuck. The judges were mostly impressed. The only aspect reducing Henkku's points was the `Frosby-Flip´ back-slam landing. No damage to Captain Haddock, but the judges' stomach muscles will need some time to recover.

During one of our breaks, the Expedition's pet mascot, Jermi, was set free from his sledge-leash. Jermi `The Pine Marten´ Tertsunen immediately scampered off to explore the nearby terrain. After a while, Jermi was just a tiny black-and-orange speck on the horizon. The speck climbed on top of an ice boulder and took in the magnificent view. At the end of the break, Jermi rejoined the congregation. He was all smiles. From Jermi's lungs then burst forth a bombastic cry: `Comrades! Lend me your ears! Over the horizon, there's a =#%& great lead just waiting to be crossed! Put on your swimming trunks!´

[Ed: The original Finnish-language diary text is ambiguous, which begs the question: Is this an April-Fools joke?]

Nevertheless, the lead really did exist, but it proved rather easier to negotiate than Jermi had anticipated: we ski-danced over the rhythmically undulating rubber ice of the lead without mishap.

Under the intrepid leadership of Captain Haddock, the Expedition has again taken wise and unanimous decisions. Today, we have set a new daily distance record. But we must now accelerate our progress still further if we are to conquer the Geographic North Pole by May 1st.

Tomorrow, the adventure continues…
And all remains well with the Expedition.