Each night Bill takes a picture of Dongsheng making the Chinese hand symbol for the number of days we've been on the trail. It's not as mysterious as it sounds. Today is simply a four and a one.

Yesterday after Bill snapped the big four zero, Dongsheng scrolled through his images until he found the picture from day four.

'I looked clean and shiny and full of energy,' Dongsheng amazed. 'If you put day four next to 40 there is a big difference.'

To us now, that seems like such a long time ago. Put simply, this trip is just hard work and we have reached this point after considerable effort. In our wake lies fatigue, small victories, daily lessons, scenic mountains, and the most incredible snow in the world. It impossible for us not to change.

Bill says, 'My beard is longer. I'm more tired and more keen to get home.'

We had a nice conversation in the tent the other day about the lessons this expedition is teaching us. Patience, being more appreciative of friends and family, living simply, toilets, chairs, self sufficiency...

For the most part, we are still the same people as before. But the lessons of Antarctica are subtle and it's hard to know exactly which piece of this life we will carry with us.

For now, we are focusing on pragmatic goals. We hope to reach 89 degrees in three days. It has been a tough day on the trail. After some initial sastrugi, the terrain flattened out which was welcome relief after several very hard days of climbing. The expanse of the plateau is impressive.

The surface of the snow is covered with spiked hoar frost crystals that form in contour lines along the drifts. Beautiful and delicate, they add yet another dimension to this place. They are also a sign of cold dry energy draining conditions ahead. If our tiredness today is any indication, this last stretch to the pole will be anything but easy.

We also wanted to introduce our other two team members. Yim Gnome (pictured) finally got out of the sled to lend a hand. He's a world traveling guy who's been on a few adventures of his own. You can even find him on Facebook. The other team member is Woe, Dongsheng's stuffed penguin. Besides Bill's beard it's the only wildlife we've seen.

As far as finding those anwers... Maybe tomorrow. We're beat.

Image: Yim Gnome breaking trail.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com

For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/

For information about Bill Hanlon's foundation, please visit www.basichealthfoundation.org

For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com

For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net