Taking the 'polar plunge' at the North Pole
Posted: Thursday, November 08, 2007 7:05 PM
Filed Under:
On Assignment
By Kerry Sanders, NBC News Correspondent - finally at the North Pole
DAY 7*
7:35 a.m.
Yipee. Cheers. Champagne toasts. We’ve made it. We’re at the North Pole. The GPS says it all.
It’s snowing as some of the crew and passengers gather on the bow to celebrate the moment.
One couple from England adds excitement to our moment on top of the world. He proposes to her. She accepts. Kisses. More celebration.
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| Marketa Jirouskova |
| GPS navigator shows that the ship has finally reached the North Pole. |
It takes a few hours to set the gangplank and get to the ice, but we’re here. I’m among the first human footsteps ever on this snow-covered ice. I’m truly in awe.
I wondered if gravity would feel different here? It doesn’t.
I wondered if the air would smell different here? It does: clear with a unique freshness.
I wondered if the sun would hurt my eyes reflecting on the snow? Yes, it hurts. For the first minutes it’s OK, but then you need sunglasses.
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| NBC News |
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The NBC News team finally reaches the North Pole. From left to right, Kerry Sanders, Nery Ynclan and Dmitry Solvoyov.
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Time for a swim After some back and forth with the ship and the ice, it seems like the time is finally ripe for the "polar plunge."
It’s 2:36 p.m., the air temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit, but the water temperature is 29 degrees.
Anywhere else, the water would be ice at 29 degrees, but here, the salt water is not frozen, but soon I will be.
The challenge by the crew to take the polar plunge is at its core silly, but alas, why not be foolish just for a moment.
And that’s what it turns out to be: a moment.
I surprise myself and am able to actually get in a stroke or two before heading right back to the ladder and climbing out. A Russian crew member meets me with a shot of vodka. I don’t taste it, and it doesn’t warm me up.
My body tingles and every inch of skin feels as if it were pulled tight.
As I walk away, my feet hurt, perhaps because my blood has stopped flowing all the way to my toes.
I’ve learned so much in the North Pole about our environment, the ice and the changes taking place. It’ll stick with me the next time I choose to drive to the grocery store when I can ride my bike instead for just milk and bread.
And I wonder if in 50 years' time, folks who venture up this way will have ice to stand on and 29 degree water to swim…er….plunge into.
*Editor’s note – Kerry Sanders set off on his trip to the North Pole on June 26, 2007 – so hence the references to summer weather. Kerry’s stories from the North Pole aired this week on the Today Show and NBC’s Nightly News with Brian Williams as part of NBC’s Green Week.
Read some of Kery's other blogs from the North Pole: "Setting sail for the North Pole," "Headed to the North Pole - but it's hot," "Polar bear off the starboard," "Russian Neptune gives God of Sea an offering," "Making friends at the North Pole," and "Are we at the North Pole, yet?"
