There were moments earlier in the expedition when I thought getting this far would be impossible; when the Pole seemed a million miles away. Now it's less than sixty.
Today I crossed the last parallel before the North Geographic Pole - 89 degrees north. Despite more of the same in the weather and ice departments, I was far happier (and drier!) as I hauled my sledge north.
I didn't sleep all that well, as the wind really picked up during the night. I was worried that I'd be blown miles backwards, but got off lightly with less than a mile of negative drift, although there seemed to be far more fresh leads today (see photo).
I was thinking a lot today about my unsuccessful 2001 attempt to reach the Pole with Pen Hadow - an experience I came away from feeling physically and mentally beaten. I wasn't man enough for such a huge challenge. I'd failed.
It took me a long time to realise how much we had actually achieved, despite not getting the glittery bit at the end. I also realised I needed to prepare better and train harder if I was going to finish the job.
I have a primary school report (age 7 or 8) which states: 'Physical Exercise: Ben is not easily motivated in this subject'. Luckily, I seemed to grow out of that phase, although I'm still useless at mental arithmetic. Today is dedicated to the training partners I've had through the years - Stefan Rogers, Dave Farnham, David Butler, Luke & Charlotte Cunliffe (and all the Sunday morning runners!), my brother, Neil Sewell, Gerry Horn, Tony Haile, Richard Hallet, and everyone else I've run, skied, lifted, rowed, cycled, roller-skied, suffered and sweated with.
I received a few of your messages via satellite phone this evening - a special hello and thank you to Tony Balch for bringing the biggest smile to my face.
Dispatches: The last degree - Thursday, 6th May 2004
Day's Statistics
