What are we doing out here? Of what use is this journey?

It is easy to see the role the atmosphere plays in regulating world climate While all our energy comes from the sun, it is our atmosphere that protects and insulates. The sunlight that shone on us today was very diffuse compared with the light in Colorado or Mexico - making for a cold polar day. A stiff breeze didn't improve conditions much either. Nor did the ice fog we skied through several different times.

Still, the cold of the earth's poles are important components of regulating climate. While we may complain about the temperature, we are glad it is so Perhaps we are here to vouche for cold and snow - to show the value (and beauty) of this place.

We travel covered in face masks, hoods, anoraks... Some days, I look back at Darcy and AJ and think I'm on another planet. Never was this more true than today as the sun, big and orange, low on the horizon with bands of clouds across its face looked like Jupiter. It was so beautiful. An hour later the tangerine wedge of the sun finally disappeared below the horizon leaving a rainbow of reds and pinks disolving into the dark blue arch of the sky above - a sliver of moon now visible

The winner of the unlucky lottery this morning was Darcy. That meant he had to lead the first shift. A bum deal for sure, but he soldierd on - at one point almost falling through some thin ice. With AJ's knee still not quite 100% Darcy and I switched off navigating. In the late afternoon, we found a big flat pan and pushed hard, but at what cost?

We are tired.

Image: Darcy scouting the route ahead.

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by Bing with major support from the University of Plymouth, Terramar, Seventh Generation, Goal0, Atlas, Sierra Designs and Optic Nerve.

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 media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com

For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net