The cracks in the Arctic Ocean are various and winding. Some directly opened their mouths, and the sea water rolled and flowed; Some have just formed a thin layer of ice, full of traps and full of dangers; Some just burst, creaked, and the ice broke into water; Others have long been consolidated, wide and flat, extending for miles, like a straight road, giving you an unexpected surprise. However, all these things are changing, and the consolidated ones may break and the cracked ones will freeze again. Therefore, you should be more careful whenever and wherever you are. Be ready to deal with the unexpected at any time, and never be careless.
On April 25th, an ice crack blocked the way. Fortunately, it was not too wide, only a few meters. The dog pulled the sled and rushed over. Then people stepped on skis and walked over carefully. However, as the sled passed, the ice was crushed, so I went around and thought it might be safer. Unexpectedly, just in the middle, my right foot sank in, and the water poured up and splashed my pants. Fortunately, the ice on the left leg is still strong and has not collapsed, otherwise your feet will be suspended and will inevitably fall into the water. The boots on your feet weigh eight or nine pounds. When the water is poured in, it is more like falling two stones, which will soon sink. Moreover, the water temperature is around MINUS 2℃ and the temperature is around MINUS 3℃. Even if you can climb up, you will immediately freeze into popsicles and soon go into shock. Just at that moment, when I saw something bad, I started to jump out, and then I fled to the other side. Although there was water in my boots, it soon froze. I got those ice cubes out and went on my way again. Later, when I think about it, I'm still a little scared! But, in fact, this is just a small warning.
on April 26th, we met the real test.
After icing, it was cloudless and sunny in Wan Li for three days. Bauer said that it is rare to meet such fine weather continuously in the Arctic Ocean, and he attributed all this to Chairman Mao. He has repeatedly reminded that this is the result of Chairman Mao's blessing. But by the morning of 26th, it was cloudy, and then snowflakes were flying. It was dark and the visibility was extremely low, so you couldn't see anything a few meters away. At this time, my heart sank, and I seemed to have an ominous premonition that something might go wrong. Sure enough, not far away, I met an ice crack, jagged and wide, and the sea was dark and bottomless, obviously just cracked. We walked along it for a long time, trying to find a place to cross it, but all failed. Seeing this situation, Bauer was a little anxious. He pulled me aside to discuss and said, "There are only two options in this situation. One is to stay and wait for the ice seam to freeze again, but it often takes several days. If it is not good, it will crack wider and wider. The food and fuel we carry are very limited. For a long time, we are in danger of not reaching the North Pole; The second is to use ice floes to bridge the bridge and cross it forcibly, but it also takes a lot of risks. In case someone falls into the water or the materials sink into the sea, the consequences are unimaginable. " After that, he stared at me closely, hoping I could express my opinion.
I know this is the key to life and death, but I have no bottom in my heart. Because I really have no experience, I pondered for a moment and then asked, "How sure do you think it is to use ice floes as a bridge?"
Bauer shook his head and said, "It's hard to say, but I think we should try."
To tell the truth, Bauer and his deputy Rick have become our pillars since they went to the ice, because they are not only our friends, but more importantly, they all have the experience of surviving on the Arctic ice. This is especially true for Bauer. This is his third time to lead a team to the North Pole. Thinking of this, I nodded and said, "Then do it!" But I still whisper in my heart, "Dear Bauer, it's up to you this time."
Bauer found an ice floe, which was only a few square meters, jumped on it at once, and used the ski pole as an oar to make the ice floe move like a punt, approaching another smaller ice floe. At this time, Rick jumped up, too. They screwed the screws used to tie the dog into the ice and connected the two pieces of ice floes with ropes to prevent them from drifting away. Slowly, at their mercy, two pieces of ice floes built a pontoon bridge, but it was not wide enough, and there was a distance on both sides. At this time, Liu Shaochuang, Li Shuanke and Zhao Jinping all jumped up, and the ice floe immediately sank. Their feet were all immersed in the water. Liu Shaochuang, who was suffering from Aauto Quicker's disease, jumped to the other side in a few steps and pulled the pontoon bridge with a rope. Bi Fujian jumped over and filmed this thrilling scene with a movie camera.
We also unloaded the dogs. When they saw this battle, they were frightened out of their wits. They refused to go forward, so they had to pull and drag, throw them up and transport them to the other side.
It's the critical moment. So, two small ice floes, with a few people standing on it, will sink upwards. Can you float a sled weighing several hundred kilograms? If the sledge falls into the water, not only will food, tents and guns fall into the water, but what is even more frightening is that the only radio station that can get in touch with the outside world will also sink into the sea. At that time, if you didn't eat, live or live, and the outside world didn't know, you should not do it every day, and the ground was ineffective. That was the only way to die. At this time, everyone is on tenterhooks, but no one wants to express their concerns, because there is no way out, only a desperate attempt. So everyone Qi Xin joined forces to fix the pontoon bridge first, and then slowly pushed the sled up. At this time, the ice floe tilted quickly, and the sled was about to slide down. At this critical moment, several players used their quick wits to jump to the other side of the ice floe. Although their feet were immersed in the water, the ice floe gradually recovered its balance. At this short moment, everyone swarmed and dragged the sledges to the other side quickly. Just about to breathe a sigh of relief, Ricardo, the only young player from Venezuela in South America, jumped in a hurry and fell into the water. Fortunately, he caught a piece of ice floe and didn't sink. Li Shuanke and Liu Shaochuang jumped up in a few steps and dragged him up. He was pale and scared to death.
When Zhang Jun, the last member of the team, came safely, everyone cheered loudly, and finally broke through the gate of hell and a stone fell to the ground.
However, more severe challenges are yet to come.
on the morning of April 29th, our position was 88 57' 45 "north latitude. According to the plan, we will cross the 89 mark today, that is to say, halfway through the journey, and then there will be planes to replenish supplies and reporters to interview. However, the sky is getting darker and darker, the wind is blowing harder and harder, and a light snow is floating, hitting the face like a needle. The ice situation is getting worse and worse, with great ups and downs, mountains of ice piles, vertical and horizontal cracks and severe crushing. After a hard journey, we were close to 89 in the afternoon. While we were happy, Bauer suddenly became nervous. He climbed a high iceberg, looked into the distance for a while, and told me later, "You see that black dark cloud belt, that is, the Watersky, and we have reached the shear zone? That dark cloud is formed by evaporation of seawater. You wait here, and I'll go to the front to explore the road first. " Then he hurried away.
in less than a quarter of an hour, I saw Bauer hurtling from the iceberg and rushing back. Before he got there, he shouted, "No! We have been trapped in the shear zone. The ice is badly broken and moving very fast. The north is east and the south is west, and it may crack at any time. Our situation is very dangerous. We must retreat quickly! " When everyone heard this, their hearts were half cold. Every step we take, we have to devote all our strength, and it is understandable that we finally come to 89 and have to retreat. But Bauer's attitude is very firm, and he shouted loudly, "If we don't scatter later, we will be wiped out!" " It seems that there is no room for discussion, so the team immediately turned back. We were surprised to find that the footprints we just stepped on had already drifted away without a trace, which made us feel the seriousness of the problem and admired Bauer's cleverness. At this time, I only heard the ice around me creaking, and I saw an ice barrier piled up in front of us. In this case, the players hurriedly evacuated. The sled and I had just turned over the ice, and the sea water spouted out at our feet. At that time, I couldn't say why. Surprised? In a hurry? Lucky? Still afraid of death? I just felt that my nose was sour and my tears could no longer be controlled, so I had to go back and face the biting north wind and freeze the tears that poured out.
that night, we camped at 88 57' 45 "north latitude, and the straight-line distance of withdrawal was almost 4 kilometers. At dinner, Bauer warned everyone that there were polar bears in this area, and he saw their footprints in front, asking everyone to be vigilant when sleeping. In addition, because our position is quite close to the shear zone, the ice layer is very unstable and prone to cracks, so we must pay attention to it at night. Once the ice layer cracks, we must get up and run for our lives.
In this way, that night was spent in depression, sadness, pain and anxiety. No one knows whether we can get through this. No one knows whether we can go back alive.
Sure enough, when I woke up the next day, there was a big crack beside the camp. A seal poked its head out of the water and looked far away. This is the only living thing we see on the arctic ice. In that world of ice and snow, there are no birds in the sky, no grass on the ground, and not even a bug. Except for a dozen of us and 2 Eskimo dogs, it is a completely dead world. It is because of the presence of seals in the broken zone that polar bears are attracted. This poses another potential threat to the lives of the players. Although polar bears are afraid of Eskimo dogs, they will stay away when they hear the dog's voice or smell it, but when we are marching, the distance will often be very far. Of course, people who drive sleds don't have to worry, but the players who fall behind will be in danger. If a polar bear escapes from behind the ice pile, I am afraid that it will not escape from its paws anyway, and it will die. Fortunately, we have not encountered such a situation, which is probably the result of "Chairman Mao's blessing".
on April 3th, we walked eastward along the southern edge of the shear zone for a long time, and finally found a passage made of ice floes, and we crossed it at the fastest speed. Looking back, that terrible black cloud belt has been left behind by us. Once again, everyone breathed a deep sigh of relief.