I'd like to regale you with tales of bitter wind chills, logistics nightmares, overcoming overwhelming odds, giants and miracles of physics but that would be a gross exaggeration of today's events - expect for the physics that is - I mean airplanes, they've been around forever but still... totally amazing.

The details are relatively boring: after an early morning wake up call in our Ottawa hotel, we got our bags out of airport storage and checked in... all without incident. First Air allows three additional bags per person so having five bags each didn't even muster an extra comment. Fine by us. It was snowing when we boarded the plane but in no time it was completely clear and we were flying toward Baffin Island feeling relaxed for the first time in several months.

For Ryan there was a little nagging dread. "If we were heading to a mountain right now I would feel 100% confident," Ryan mentioned after taking off from Iqaluit. "But despite all my other experiences [multiple 8,000 meter peaks, the longest unsupported crossing of Antarctica] the North Pole trip is an unknown for me but having all of our gear here is a big boost."

For my part, I spent some of my day reliving my 2010 North Pole travel to Resolute (as part of my Save the Poles expedition). It was a NIGHTMARE. Driving from Colorado to Minnesota. Meeting Darcy in Thunder Bay then driving to Ottawa. Way late night packing. Taking gear to cargo. Getting delayed in Iqaluit and having to find a hotel. Getting to Resolute and not having all of our gear show up.

I like the bad times if only because they help you appreciate the good times.

Throughout our flights, I also made a point of sporadically staring out the window at the icy scene unfolding thousands of feet below. At first glance, it appeared as a blank white expanse as far as the eye could see. Then subtle distinctions. Cracks, pressured ice, frozen rivers, couloirs. Beautiful in it's starkness. The spaces here are so vast that they're almost impossible to comprehend. We flew for hours without seeing a road, house or any other sign of human civilization. I wondered what it was about this place that has repelled people for so long.

Now don't get me wrong. These places are not totally devoid of people. Iqaluit, Arctic Bay, Resolute are all thriving communities but at they are the exception. Canada's Nunavut Territory covers three-quarters of a million square miles but only has roughly 30,000 residents.

After landing in Resolute, we checked into a newly remodeled South Camp Inn and unpacked our gear. We made a short list of the tasks we would need to complete in the morning before heading to our comfortable rooms.

Image: The Arctic Ocean just outside of Iqaluit.