Sleddin' the Ice Cap

Today was my first time "Thule Trippin" as we call it here. We made our way to the polar ice cap for a little sledding, although no sled was actually required, just the seat of your pants. I was a little concerned that our trip wouldn't be that great since the weather for where we went showed sustained winds at 33 knots and the wind chill was 1, but once we there the surrounding terrain sheltered us from the wind and it was actually a very pleasent day. After a short hike from the vehicles through terrain that is very much like the alpine tundra you find high in the Rockies, we made it here to the edge of the ice cap.
You can see the wall of ice just beyond where we sledded. That wall represents the physical edge of the cap and is an amazing collection of colors. This shot was the best I could do to show you how steep it was.

And there I go, no sled required, just take a seat and push yourself over the edge and let gravity do the rest.

Some of us hiked on another 15 - 20 minutes over several ridges to make it to the acutal ice cap, and this is what it looks like, a wind swept emptiness that goes for as far as you can see. To be honest the people that make the globes got this one right, it really is as they show it...vast and white.

And to prove that I am in fact here at the top of the world, here is a picture of me on the cap. It is pretty much just ice of ever increasing thickness as you make your way towards the pole, miles thick even, from what I understand. Sledding here was a gamble, you could do it but the solid ice beneath your sled didn't provide the kind of landing you may be afforded by a pillow of snow.

Lastly a couple of pictures from the wall of ice at the edge of the cap. You can see the wind here whipping snow over the cornice above. It is tough to describe what the ice looked and felt like...it was very smooth and very clear in places, as you can maybe see it is stratified, just like you would see in a canyon, only instead of sediment and rock it is various layers of ice, all of which tell a story of a time long ago (but not that long...I personally don't believe the earth to be the millions of years old the scientist would lead you to believe).

I have to close this post by giving a few shout outs:

1. Our Creator - It is really awesome up here, well done!

2. The North Face - Your Men's, Freedom Insulated Pant (Size: Large, Color: Black) worked awesome couldn't have made it without you

3. WL Gore and Associates - Your invention of Windstopper Fabric and GoreTex, pure genious; really made the difference today in the wind and snow, I stayed both warm and dry

4. Santa - I don't know how you've made it up here all these years, but my hat is off to you and your wife

5. Dan, Stephanie, and Caroline - The sledding was very much like that 1998 New Year's Eve trip up Independance Pass and La Plata Peak...I was well prepared because of that adventure, and believe it or not, I was colder then than I was today