The guys have now reached their cruising speed necessary to succeed in making the journey in the calculated time, namely 23 km/day. However, they didn't reach it by skiing... but by foot!

Indeed, they tried one day, a little bit out of curiosity, a little bit for fun, to pull the sleds (which are getting lighter everyday... but slowly!) without their skis and, to their great surprise, they made progress much faster that way.

Although it is harder on the joints, walking allows them to have a better grip on the snow. 

This is a typical shift because the landscape and the snow's texture have also changed significantly in the last week.

They have left the mountains and are now walking on a very flat territory. This makes it much more complicated to orientate themselves. They use their compasses because there are few or no landmarks to guide them - except for the occasional Arctic fox in the distance crossing the ice pack.

So they try to keep their bearings, lost in this landscape that they described to us in three words: white, cold, flat.

That says it all!

Their routine has become very mechanical and regulated. Getting up at 6am and alternating between 1h15 of walking and 15 minutes of break.

They do this 6 times a day, which is 7.5 hours of walking and 1.5 hours of breaks in total, for a total of 9 hours. This helps them get through the day. It's like at work: the prospect of an upcoming break motivates us!

Also, they've had great weather, except for one day of a blizzard with gusts of 70 km/h and intense snowfall. During this blizzard, the team had no choice but to stay locked up in the tent.

Nothing to do; the storm had to pass.

The team should be in Resolute, their first resupply station, within a week, smiles and all. 

Make sure to follow along on our social media accounts, @Naakbars to stay up to date with any breaking news and photos from expedition AKOR. Be sure to read more about the team on our previous Blog Posts.

Visit expeditionakor.com to read more about the teams’ journey, or follow them on Instagram @expeditionakor.