The Arctic - Pole to Pole - page 32

Lea ds ap pear ed an d gre w bi gger befor e our eyes .
It was awesome and terrifying to realise the power of the currents and
the wind that could so blithely trundle around these huge blocks of
ice. It made me feel like we were perched precariously, bobbing on an
unimaginably large ocean, and of course this is exactly the case.
Until I die, I'll be dreaming about the monstrous pressure ridges
that, before our eyes, rise majestically out of the water to tower above
us. It's like being in the middle of an earthquake, somehow. As we
move south, there seem to be fewer ridges. We can travel for three
hours without seeing one. But I've been told to expect masses of them
just before we hit Canada, when the ice bulks up against the mainland.
A number of times in the past days, we've had to swim across wide
leads. There is nothing else to do but hit the icy water and swim as fast
as you can and get out again, and then dry everything off as quickly as
possible, because the water freezes instantly. If the water gets on your
skin and freezes, frostbite results, which, of course, can lead to the loss
of the affected body part.
I received a text from Brooke this morning. 'If u can wait and not
be tired by waiting, Dillon and I will be there soon, we miss u very