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Are we at the North Pole, yet?

Posted: Thursday, November 08, 2007 11:09 AM
Filed Under:

By Kerry Sanders, NBC News Correspondent - enroute to the North Pole


DAY 6

11 p.m.

Today was supposed to be "NP Day": North Pole Day.

We were churning thru the ice at around 5 knots, and all signs were we’d been at 90-degrees north in a few hours, then bam! The Yamal hit a pressure ridge.

The pressure ridge in the ice is like the Vikings Defensive Line. As much as you push, you can’t get through. The Yamal rammed repeatedly, back and forth, back and forth, but no progress.

VIDEO: Watch time-lapse video of the Yamal struggling through ice near the North Pole
The crews’ nickname for the captain is "father." He takes the helm for a few hours, and thanks to experience, he chooses a path that finally clears the stubborn pressure ridge.

The ice here is the thickest we’ve encountered so far. It’s at least 10 feet thick. The Yamal is down to 3 knots at times so as much as we’d hoped to make the North Pole today, it’s not going to happen. Maybe tomorrow.

Dmitry Solovyov/ NBC News
The bow of the Yamal cuts through summertime ice as it heads north to the North Pole.

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