Murray: Day 19, 11th of May

18 days of walking, 18 days of freeze dried food, 18 days of varied
weather conditions , 18 days of sleeping in a tent, 18 days of numb
extremities, 18 days of navigating, 18 days of back aches, 18 days of
being woken up by splash of condensation in face, 18 days of having to
get up get to your destination, 18 days of not washing,, 18 days of
the most exposed toilet in planet.
By our calculations there's only another 6 or 7 days to go - so close
to pizza and sausages! An absolute beast of a day today- blue sky,
hard ground, and 32.6km covered. Our ski bindings held together with
bungee cord and luggage straps have held up. Niall has just mentioned
that we are now officially in arctic circle - and the temperature
reflects it our monitor only goes down to -25, and it spends over 5
hours a night below that, rising only to -16C even in the middle of
the day on the sunniest of days. We've been informed on the sat phone
that if the wind picks up we could be in for a wind chill of up to
-70! A big howdy-doody to all those of you following us - keep the
texts and questions coming. We hope the line on google earth is as
close to the west coast as we think it is. Our position is N66
52.295, W46 16.315

NIALL: DAY 18, 10th MAY

It wouldn't be an expedition if you could guarantee that you would succeed. Two days ago one of my bindings broke. No bother, we have two spare skis. Yesterday my second binding broke so I adopted the second spare ski. No more room for error. This morning was bitterly cold. I glanced at the thermometer as we clipped into our skis and it read -23.7C and the wind was up too, making it frightfully chilly. Conditions were good though. The wind was behind us and the snow was frozen solid. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. We both looked forward to another 30km day. Muzz casually asked me, "are my bindings the same make as yours, oh no, I spoke to soon, this isnt good mate". Woe of woes, Murray's binding had just broken. After 5mins of playing with paracord in -24C outside our core temperature was dropping fast so we erected the tent as quickly as possible and got in our sleeping bags to warm up. We bought in the offending ski and our bag of spares." We could use this toothbrush…", "we could try this cable tie"," if we make a large wooden badger…". But all to no avail so we got on the phone to Matt Spenceley at Expedition Greenland, "the standard polar procedure is to saw off the three pins at the front of the binding, attach some wire to keep your foot pinned down and use some bungy around your heel to keep your boot as far forward in the binding as possible, got that?" So out came the Leatherman and we got filing. The whole procedure took ages and we were experimenting as we went. And for lack of wire we used paracord, of which we had a healthy variety. Finally, by 2pm, we were done. At last we packed up and hauled out, delighted to be on the move again after an expedition threatening mishap. 30mins later the paracord snapped. Not to worry, I've got some even better paracord in here. Sure enough it was better and lasted nearly 2hrs and then that snapped too. Finally we reached a solution - I uncovered a couple of metal clips that would prevent the paracord from chaffing and we were away. We hauled until 8pm over similar ground to yesterday - patches of fantastic frozen snow interspersed with areas that feel like a quagmire to haul through. Murray's polar elephants bare their tusks when a crust of snow is frozen over a soft layer underneath. It makes for might tough hauling. We were delighted to make 15.1km today and hope to bash out 30km again tomorrow but who knows what might happen hey. When we finished at 8pm it was -21.4C. Tonight will, Im sure, be our coldest yet. Were happy to be on the move and are confident that we can fix any recurring problems rapidly should they continue to blight our journey. It's freezing and late so its time for me to bed down as Ive got to be up early to make breakfast. Tonight's position is 66 47.699'N, 45 33.320'W, elevation 2195m. Goodnight all.

N.B. The support team checked in with Niall and Murray last night and they were in high spirits despite suffering somewhat from the extreme cold that they've been experiencing these past few days. If their paracord fixes to the bindings hold out they expect to finish in 7-8 days time. Don't forget to make a donation to our chosen charity Help for Heroes at www.justgiving.com/epicgreenland

MURRAY: DAY 17, 9th MAY

30km, 30,000m, approximately 60,000 steps - every single one of them more painful than the next. Today, which Niall agrees, was one of the most depressing to date. The weather wasn't too bad, warming to -15C with a bit of a southerly dodging our fur hoods and chewing at our faces. Pulling conditions were tough at times, easy at others. The conclusion to all our hardships after the beating we took yesterday.
We caned it big time, knocking out some big miles, however a mixture of extreme cold and using every muscle to stay upright using the wind must have taken it's toll. When the chips are down I find myself thinking of simply putting up the tent and rustling up a large glass of hot chocolate. But that's not possible because if we don't move we're simply not going to make it to civilisation and therefore pizza. Out here there aren't any taxis and no easy way out. It's a grim truth but thats the one that I love.
We received some messages from the SuperClubs and GoldStar Cafe crew which we're happy to answer.
Q. Have you seen any awesome stars or any northern lights?
A. The answer is unfortunately not because there is only about 1hr of darkness per night in the Arctic at this time of year. And I love sleeping, especially after a hard day's pulling.

Q. What's the coldest temperature?
A. We have a thermometer/wind gage which, as we found out 2 nights ago when we had it in the tent, went down to -21C and then simply said LOW and so we're sure it went further. Then yesterday morning we recorded a temperature of -15C, however it was mixed with a 42mph wind which produces something called wind chill which makes it feel as though it is actually about -36C. Needless to say if you take your gloves off for any longer than a couple of minutes then your hands will get frostbite and become totally unusable and literally freeze in these conditions.
Q. Is it fun or is it dangerous?
A. To be quite honest it's an incredible challenge both physically and mentally, primarily due to the location and the inherent dangers in a place like this. I would say the day to day grind of hauling has no fun attached to it at all but the sense of achievement is massive. It's like anything in life, whether it be exams or learning to play your favourite sport, you get out what you put in. If you try your hardest then I guarantee you'll get something beneficial out.

That's all folks! Time to stop Niall snoring and get some rest. Hope all's groovy.
Our position is 66 45.491'N, 45 13.400'W.
QUESTIONS FOR THE ADVENTURE CLUB KIDS
Why is it only dark for 1hr each night at the moment on the Greenland icecap?
What is the midnight sun and the polar night?
If the temperature is -20C and the wind speed is 35mph what would the wind chill factor be?

NIALL: DAY 16 8th MAY

Well the castle is erected and we’re inside and sated after by far the most arduous day of the expedition to date. For today, mother Greenland threw all she had at us. I awoke at 6 and had a little look at our thermometer which records and stores the temperature on the hour every hour. It read -24.1C for 2am and then for 3am and 4am it just says LOW. We must assume that it went below -25C inside the tent last night. It has not escaped my attention that Murray never uses the tents pee bottle and I simply put this down to his great bladder control. However the past few mornings Muzz has been most aggrieved that upon awaking his sleeping bag has been soaked while mine remains dry. Never using the pee bottle and waking up to a soaking sleeping bag every morning, hmm, I let you decide if there’s a link there.
Muzz averted a near disaster just in the nick of time yesterday. Having just been to the loo he forgot to do up his fly. We got off hauling in -18C with light headwinds when Murray suddenly noticed a sharp pain in his loins. He looked down and through his open fly he saw a large patch of frost on his boxer shorts. Sure enough, his skin had iced up too and it took some warming to regain any life between his legs.
Yesterday evening was tranquillity itself and this morning started in much the same vein. Muzz and I hauled alongside each other for the first time in nearly a week and we made great ground, covering over 7km in our first 2hr shift including a stop for me to change skis after one of my bindings snapped. The winds picked up and during our second shift force 3, touching force 4 and we were singing the praises of these katabatic winds as we cruised to 8km in our next 2hrs. 2hrs later and it was too windy and cold to dig into our bags for our water so we guzzled our rations in seconds and we were off again. The laces on my right boot loosened putting undue strain on my ankle, but to stop and retie would have meant certain frostbite. Force 4 turned to force 5 to force 6 to force 7 and before we knew it we were in complete whiteout. Unable to see anything until you skied over it, flying ahead of the winds in -15C plus considerable windchill with gusts of gale force 8. The conditions went from severe to extreme very quickly. It was far too dangerous to stop after our 4th 2hr shift so we just kept on going, hoping the wind and snow would subside. At this point it was vital we remained very close to each other to continually check on each other’s clothing and general state. We were in a serious snowstorm at –15 C and travelling very fast. We reached 3hrs since our previous break and the winds still had not abated. We now faced the task of erecting the tent in a gale. As soon as we stopped down jackets were donned which immediately eased the chill on our rapidly cooling bodies. We worked together as rapidly as possible and dug the tent in to withstand yet more serious weather and then dove inside for a Twix and a mars bar each. Conditions have been far to serious to faff around fiddling with the GPS checking distances so you can imagine my delight when I saw that we had covered 34.1km and now find ourselves at 66 40.970’N, 44 33.760’,W altitude 2338m. Today got mighty serious, not least for Muzz and his little night time mishaps. Here’s hoping it calms slightly tomorrow. This is Niall, warm, well fed and happy, if a little relieved that today is over. Signing out.

Murray: Day 15, 7th May

First off I'm going to keep this short as its so cold my hands have
gone into spasm and i'm struggling to hold the phone. why so cold you
ask? because we're absolute ninjas and we're camped at the highest
point of our trip so far, 15 km past the summit of 2500m. Getting to
the summit is a great stepping stone on our voyage, both physically
and mentally. Only 280km til we get off this giant icecube - we're
going to push hard to get the miles in to achieve our goal. However
must be noted that most accidents happen on the descent, so don't
worry, we're going to be extra cautious and vigilant. hope you are all
well, and we'll update you when muscle control returns! Our position
is N66 35.657 W43 49.463, elevation 2471m

NIALL: DAY 14, 6th MAY

Many years ago in doubtful history St Patrick drove all of the snakes out of Ireland. Which is dubiously why there are no snakes to be found there today. From the omens of this trip Paddy wasn't content with his work on the emerald isle so he continued westwards to Greenland to ply his trade over here. He's done a good job, that's for sure, because no matter how hard I look I can't find a single snake in this entire country.
Muzz and I are just cooking up supper after a cracking day at the oars. We hauled 30.3km and now find ourselves at 66 30.855N, 43 11.785W and at an altitude of 2471m. Conditions were ideal with cold temperatures giving us a hard surface all over and a friendly easterly wind helping us on our way. We're now 13km from the summit of our crossing so from tomorrow afternoon we will once again be bedfellows with Sir Isaac Newton. Let's hope that Admiral Beaufort stays kind to us and that Dr Richter steers clear of us altogether.
Muzz lived to eat his words about another item of my equipment today. First was my adventurous watch, the Casio F91W, available for under £8 at Argos and worn by all adventurers worth their salt, which has outlasted Murray's expensive Nike sports watch and continues to function perfectly. Then today was my fleece headband, sponsored to me by High Sports of Shrewsbury. Muzz has mocked how silly it makes me look but ate humble pie and shamefacedly asked to borrow it today. When the wind is biting at your ears and you're generating a lot of heat through exercise there's little better for the job than a fleece headband. I have been asked to write my motivations for being here. Why would I want to manhaul across Greenland, or row the Atlantic, or climb a mountain like Half Dome? It's difficult to give a straight answers but I suppose I want to do this for exactly the same reasons that you might want to jump off the top diving board at the swimming pool. Firstly, because it's there, then there's because of the personal challenge of it and because you've seen other people do it and want to give it a try yourself. And then there's the knowledge of how great you'll feel once you've done it, the sense of pride and achievement. We all remember jumping off that top board for the first time and how good it felt. And then there's that feeling that you just kind of have to do it even though it could go really wrong, i.e. you might bellyflop. I also derive a huge amount of inspiration from my friends and family. And in turn I want to inspire them and others to do great things with their lives - to do more than sit at home watching match of the day and eating a microwave meal. I have always taken great inspiration from a poem called 'If' by Rudyard Kipling, the man who wrote the 'Just So' stories and I implore all you guys at SuperClubs Plus and GoldStar Café to read it. This is my minute and I'm filling it. Finally, and in much more an immediate way, I do things like this so that I can have experiences like that which Murray and I had yesterday. It was nearly 8pm and we'd been out for just under 12 hours when the sun broke through the clouds directly in front of us. It hung there, a giant orange glow casting the most mysterious light over this remarkable landscape. Every tiny flake of snow that fluttered to earth in the still air was caught by the sun's rays and shone like a speck of falling gold dust. That vision alone is reason enough for me to be here. Goodnight everyone and sweet dreams.

TO THE ADVENTURE CLUB KIDS:
What did Sir Isaac Newton discover and how does it relate to Niall and Murray heading down from the summit?
What did Admiral Beaufort invent a measure for and what is it called?
What did Dr Richter invent a measure for and is there any chance of Niall and Murray experiencing what it measures in while they're on the icecap?

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Our chosen charity for EPIC Tasman is seeking volunteers

Dear Volunteer-of-the-World,

This appeal for help comes from Dhaka, capital city of Bangladesh.

The Dhaka Project is a humanitarian community service founded by an Emirates Airline cabin assistant, of Portuguese nationality , two and a half years ago. We now have 700 children from nursery school to Class 6 levels under our care and attention.

We believe that every child deserves the opportunity to build a full and rewarding life. At The Dhaka Project, we maximise human potential. We try to bring hope to the children of Dhaka, Bangladesh, by providing sustainable skills and dignity needed to better their lives.

We envision lifetime transformation.

Our mission is to create a safe and nurturing environment so that poor, underprivileged children in Dhaka can be developed to become the best that they can be, and rescued from the miserable depths of abject poverty.

Apart from donations that come from the world over, and especially from the financial generosity of the Emirates Airline Foundation, we also need help from professionally qualified individuals with a range of experience and skills that can change the lives of these marginalised kids.

We need people who have experience and skills in the following areas of specialty:

English Language teaching for elementary learners .

Computer teaching geared towards children IT education.

Extra curricular activities eg. drama, music. sports, dance, any kind of performing art.

Teaching another language besides English like French, Spanish, German etc.

Help in putting in place administrative work processes & procedures for the schools.

Working on improving existing school curriculum.

Counselling programme for families of children under our care as well as child counselling.

Health, dental, eye care support from doctors, dentists, ophthalmologists, paediatricians.

Teaching children about the World and Global culture.

Instilling confidence and a sense of security through child psychology and personality development.

Environmental awareness program to inculcate into the young a love and caring for the environment in which they live in.

However, any other specialty experience and skills not listed above will still be considered in the context of the developmental needs of the children.

For more background information on The Dhaka Project's activities, as well as insights into what our volunteers say, do visit this website :
www.thedhakaproject.org

Volunteers-of-the-World, come and share your experience and your life with the children of The Dhaka Project. They await you with open hearts and excited anticipation.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device