The ice

Antarctica’s ice shield is thick down to 3000 meters; the Arctic "sea ice" is 5 meters/17 ft at the most. 

This is the old ice, which has survived two or more summer seasons. At the end of the winter, most of the ice covering the basin is around 2 meters/6 ft, down to an inch.

At Antarctica, "sastrugi" - the waves of frozen snow - are the main disturbance of terrain. In the Arctic, there will be a virtual Everest icefall to be crossed for mile after mile.

T&T will learn the difference between "fast ice"; solid pack ice and "pack ice"; floating ice formed by frozen seawater.

"Hummocks" will be a place where ice floes have piled atop one another, "Ice floe" being a flat chunk of pack ice. "Frazil" will be needle shaped ice crystal which form a slush in the sea. There will be black ice, thin and dangerous and light ice, thick, old and safe. 

Pressure ridges will tower up to 5 meters where the ice is jammed.

"Tide cracks" will separate sea ice from the shore, depending on the rise and fall of tides; "Polynya" will instead be an area of open water surrounded by pack ice.

Antarctica is the quietest place on earth. In the Arctic the ice brakes in violent shrieks with the high tides and thin sea ice a k a "Nilas" moves up and down with wave action as you walk on it. The ice will be so violent at times that the couple will be forced to shout to hear each other, and sleep at night will be difficult.