N75.23.087 W96.56.247 – Check Point One!

The day started with flat light, which made navigation very hard.  Around lunch time we saw the other group who were slightly ahead. Around 7 miles out we could see the Polaris Mine, and some old containers. We are skiing around 1.5 miles/hour, so the mine was like a mirage, always in the distance, but never getting any closer! We arrived at the check point one just before 6pm, We were 55 minutes after the Internationals.

The Polar Slug philosophy is to enjoy the Polar Race experience, and win, if we can (but not at all costs). We generally get up around 6.00am, and try to be on the road before 9.00am. We stop every 2 – 2.5hrs for a quick drink of hot water & a bit of the day bag. The stops are a double edge relief, you need the fuel, but you always get rather cold, especially the hands! We normally ski until 5.30pm, stop, put up the tent, dry out our gear, have supper, with lights out juat after 9.00pm – quite civilised.

The Internationals, get up at 5.00am – ski until 10.00pm, and turn in around 1.00 / 2.00am! I know which race strategy I prefer. Especially as we are now completing around 14 miles/day which is a great target!

We had a great welcome coming into the check point with bunting, and hopefully lots of pictures! It felt really good to have achieved, this first hurdle.

We get Sunday as a day of rest tomorrow, which is most welcome. The race then starts again on Monday. The next leg is the longest at over 100 miles … We have now skied 60 miles and completed 20% of the race!

YouTube Video of the Support Team setting up Checkpoint 1

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