Fortunately, we regained weight much faster than we had anticipated and our only injury is a small frostnip on one of Toms toes. 

Tom has spent February in New York and Stockholm walking around in sandals. We keep our fingers crossed that the nip will heal in time. We are probably the first expedition actually going to the Arctic with a frostbite".

There will be the regular obstacles of a polar journey: Polar bears, thin ice, rubble, difficult navigation, crucial cold:

"The short time between the expeditions has been interesting. We have felt a bit disconnected; a 'not-here' type of feeling. Our minds are still in the Polar areas. It has been difficult to focus on e-mails, office work, "home" stuff. We worry of course, sleep restlessly, can not focus on the tasks of a regular life. It’s odd. Normally, we would celebrate, party and just hang around enjoying our success. Instead, we are restless and a bit tired.

 The good part is that we had temperatures down to below 40 at Antarctica towards the end. That makes it easier for us to accept the cold temps of the Arctic, expected especially in the beginning of the trip. 

We expect -40 to -50 C/F and with a low sun and dusky light for the first three weeks.

The ten days training in Iqualit should familiarize us with Arctic ice navigation and the gear will be pretty familiar to us from Antarctica.

Another quest is the one of reaching the North Pole at all in an unsupported expedition:

carrying sleds of 300 lb. over ice pinnacles is very hard work. Tina is half the size of the polar guys normally up to the task and they in addition fail eight out of ten times in their first attempts.  

Last year for comparison, out of around ten expeditions only one made it to the pole, and it was air supported.  Everybody say the North is so much tougher. Most people terminate within the first ten days, almost always due to frostbite.