The Ice Team are evidently relieved that the most extreme conditions of the expedition are, all being well, behind them.  Speaking to them when they call into London HQ, it’s evident in their voices that, although still extremely cold, temperatures are a slightly more manageable -30-something degrees; approximately 10 degrees warmer than in their first few weeks on the ice.

“A cup of hot tea, poured from a thermos into a cup, is taking about 2 minutes to go cold now and would freeze in about 10”, says Expedition Leader Pen Hadow who remembers feeling angry a few days into the expedition because he felt that, between expeditions, his memory had tricked him over the cold. 

“Although I’ve been here before, I wasn’t able to hold the memory of just how uncomfortable, in an almost surreal sense, it really is”, he says.  “When you’re warm, at home, you can tell yourself how awful it’s going to be, but when you get here, the shock of it hits you all over again and you really can’t believe you’ve allowed yourself to go through it again”.

In 24 hour daylight, the team are getting to feel the sun on their faces.

“At evening tea break time the sun is in the right position for us to feel the tiniest bit of warmth,” says Hadow, “which is marvellous, even though it only lasts a short while”.

But he adds that were you to throw a cup of boiling water into the air, the contents would still freeze before hitting the ground.

“It’s very pretty in fact”, he remarks.  “Like children’s glitter”.

Head of Operations, Chip Cunliffe, confirms that the team have ‘sounded warmer’ in recent days when they call in.

“By now their bodies have adapted to the environment as well”, he says.  “It’s a terrible shock to the system to suddenly find yourself in those temperatures”.