Ryan Dispatch: The ups and downs of Polar Expeditions...can be the most difficult part of the journey. There is figurative and literal truth to that.

We are always up and down mentally here since it is a hard place just to live in for a short term period of time. Throw in injury, news from home, the many inconveniences that are always happening and it is a wonder how we stay sane up here. Maybe there is the problem right there.

Now throw in the literal ups and downs of trying to ski across ice in a whiteout over the peaks and valleys of the countless wind features, which you can't see until you already into the side of one or over. This has a tendency to shift your mood into that downward spiral, which I encountered this morning. At the same time both Eric and me were both down, and that is a hard place to get out of as a team. I decided I could write a catchy tune called crying in your goggles.

We kept our wits about us and kept on skiing after soup break into an ever clearer day that ended with sun and no wind, and of course back up a bit mentally. Well we are tired, imagine that so off to bed now. Cheers.

Distance traveled: 10.8 nautical miles

Image: Ryan jumping over a small crack.