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Day 1
July 31
Helsinki, Finland  Throughout the day, we arrived at the Hotel Kämp in Helsinki from all over the globe. Some chose to explore the city during the misty afternoon, while others caught up on sleep. In the evening we gathered for a pre-trip cocktail party and, after a quick introduction to staff and rundown on the following day's travel details, enjoyed a tasty seafood buffet in the hotel's elegant mirror ballroom. Conversation was lively as we met fellow travelers and exchanged hopes and expectations for the polar expedition ahead. Having made new acquaintances, we retired to our very comfortable rooms well fed and excited about our journey north. back to the top Day 2
August 1
Helsinki / Murmansk, Russia Our charter flight to Murmansk, Russia, departed at 1020. Once in Murmansk, we filed through customs and joined buses for a city tour. With the sun shining brightly, we traveled through the downtown area of the city, its streets lined with colorful, post-WWII architecture. A few wooden buildings built in the late '40s and '50s remained, but most of the structures were constructed of cement, brick, and more recently, glass. Stops included the town square and garden, as well as an enormous cement soldier monument erected to the memory of WWII defenders of the transpolar region; an eternal flame burned brightly at the soldier's foot. From this lofty vantage point, we could see most of Murmansk and were treated to the first views of our crimson-colored, oceangoing home—the I/B Yamal.
We boarded the Yamal at 1600, after passing through the dockyard's tight security. The ship looked enormous from the dock; its upper decks and superstructure were painted a vivid red, and the bow boasted elliptical symbols representing the nuclear energy that powers this fantastic vessel. We were met onboard by Cruise Director Nadia Eckhardt, Hotel Manager Katya Petrova, and crew members who offered us Russian bread and showed us to our cabins.
Later, we gathered on deck to watch a pair of tugs tow the Yamal away from the dock. Sailing up the Kola River, we passed several nuclear vessels tied up alongside and in dry dock, cargo and military ships, a WWII-era plane mounted on a tiny islet, and a landscape with diminishing trees. back to the top Day 3
August 2
In the Barents Sea The ship had been steaming north for Franz Josef Land throughout the night. When we woke, the ocean was sparkling under a bright sun, and black-legged kittiwakes jockeyed for position in our wake. Those on deck early with ornithologist Peter Harrison and naturalists Carmen and Conrad Field were treated to views of Arctic seabirds: all three species of jaeger, common terns, Atlantic puffins, and murres. A few white-beaked dolphins and a minke whale were spotted, as well.
After breakfast we packed the lecture hall to learn more about the operations of this voyage. Expedition Leader Mike Messick and explorer Victor Boyarsky introduced the Zegrahm and ship staff. Assistant Expedition Leader Tim Soper then described the ship's helicopter and Zodiac operations. The safety drill that followed was perhaps the most entertaining safety presentation ever offered on a ship. Katya, translating into English the Russian safety officer's instructions, brought a sense of humor to the remote possibility that we might have to, in case of emergency, don life jackets or survival suits.
A fascinating lecture by Victor wound up the morning's activities. He shared trials and tribulations of his 1989 - 90 trans-Antarctic dogsledge and ski expedition. Covering 4,000 miles over seven months, Victor and his five teammates completed the longest traverse in the Antarctic without mechanical assistance. We were introduced to his companions-both human and canine—and by the end of the talk had a greater appreciation for exploration in polar regions.
We signed up as groups—each dubbed a great Arctic name such as Snowy Owls, Belugas, Arctic Foxes, Walrus, and Polar Bears—and then Victor and polar bear biologist Nikita Ovsyanikov guided each group on a tour of the ship. We learned where to find the volleyball gym and lap pool, as well as the proper procedures for loading the MI-8 helicopter and unobtrusively observing navigation on the bridge.
At 1710 Nikita narrated a video documenting his work with polar bears on Wrangel Island. Superb images brought us face-to-face with his subjects of study: the great white bear of the pack ice environment. Nikita described human-bear interactions he'd experienced, preparing us for our own sightings of these amazing bruins.
We enjoyed welcome cocktails in the bar area as we traded travel stories, were greeted by the Yamal's captain, Alexander Lembrik, and celebrated an anniversary-fellow passengers Doris and Lou Vetesse had been married onboard a Zegrahm-chartered icebreaker very close to where we now sailed. We all toasted to their good fortune in finding each other and our good fortune in being able to participate in this exciting expedition. back to the top Day 4
August 3
Barents Sea / Bell Island, Franz Josef Land  A dense fog surrounded the ship as we sailed northward toward Franz Josef Land this morning. Wildlife watchers on the top deck spotted thick-billed and common murres, small flocks of dovekies, a pomarine jaeger, black-legged kittiwakes, Arctic terns, and a harbor seal. At breakfast we were still 90 miles from the archipelago and an unknown distance from the edge of the pack ice. Staff members joined us on the outer decks as we looked for seabirds, cetaceans, seals, or walrus.
The fog lifted, closed in, and then lifted again as the day progressed. Tim gave us a short but very informative lecture on sea ice. We learned how to differentiate between annual and multiyear ice, how ice forms in high-energy and low-energy polar environments-from grease to frazil to nilas—and how ice differs in the Antarctic and Arctic regions. We headed out on deck hoping to test our new ice-classification skills, and within half an hour of Tim's presentation, we entered the pack ice south of Bell Island in Franz Josef Land. Just minutes into the ice, Carmen spotted a polar bear, and we quickly made our way to the bridge or deck to see the first of our voyage's great white bears. Although this bear was rather shy of the icebreaker, the next one we came across was quite curious. This second bear lumbered toward the ship, sat on its haunches several times, lay down with its chin on its forepaw, and eventually strolled off. Many, many pictures were taken of this photogenic bear!
After the Yamal had broken up the floes surrounding the ship, helicopters began shuttling us ashore at Bell Island. We were loaded onto the aircraft by polar explorer Shirley Metz, staff assistant Sue McCarthy, and Tim before being flown to this bell-shaped island (hence the name) bordered by steep-faced glaciers and igneous rock cobbles. Down the beach from our landing site was a historic hut called Eira Lodge, built as a summer residence in 1881 by British yachtsman Benjamin Leigh Smith's expedition, which was searching for the lost American Jeanette expedition. Still standing and mostly intact, the hut has fared amazingly well over the past 123 years despite the Arctic's harsh weather.
Bell Island's flowers, though sparse and low-growing, added tiny splashes of color to the stark landscape. Arctic poppies, purple mountain saxifrage, dwarf buttercups, scurvy grass, and alpine mountain sorrel were some of the flowering plants we discovered. Lichens decorated nearly every rock. Some were crustose, forming flat, circular patterns; others were foliose, looking like brown or black peeling skin. Between the lichen-encrusted rocks were extensive beds of emerald mosses. We joined our lecturers for a walk around the little freshwater lake, admiring the flora and watching parasitic jaegers dive-bomb nesting Arctic terns. Most of us caught a glimpse of our first walrus from shore, too-a lone animal hauled out on a floe or a pair of walrus surfacing in a small opening in the pack.
Our groups filed into the MI-8 helicopter for the short but scenic ride back to the ship. Once everyone had disembarked, we headed for Rubini Rock through the pack ice. Murres, dovekies, and kittiwakes accompanied us as we broke through scattered floes of multiyear ice and eventually sailed into open water once again. We passed historic Cape Flora on Northbrook Island, and at 1935 the ship's horn blasted to commemorate the spot where passengers Doris and Lou were married onboard another icebreaker, the I/B Kapitan Dranitsyn, ten years ago. While the happy couple celebrated on the bridge by sharing champagne with Mike, the captain, and some of our group, the sun poked above the clouds, highlighting beautiful lenticular clouds sculpted by high winds.
At 2230 the Yamal arrived off Rubini Rock, an impressive jumble of columnar basalt hosting a beehive of seabird activity. Fulmars, black guillemots, black-legged kittiwakes, thick-billed murres, and glaucous gulls nested on ledges and in crevices along the cliff face. Hordes of dovekies—or little auks—swirled above Rubini Rock, coming and going from their boulder-field nests. Peter described the scene before us, pointing out that each seabird species had a preferred nesting habitat on this lichen-covered headland.
It had been a most exciting first day in Franz Josef Land and the shifting pack ice. back to the top Day 5
August 4
Cape Heller, Wilczek Land / Cape Norvegia, Jackson Island, Franz Josef Land
 We donned warm clothing and life vests at an early hour this morning to visit Champs Island. However, the weather gods had another plan for us; the scouting party came back with news that the winds off a glacier onshore were too strong for the helicopter pilots' satisfaction. So we shed a few layers and watched as our ship exchanged gear with another icebreaker, the I/B Kapitan Dranitsyn. Her passengers had hoped to visit Champs Island, as well.
With ivory gulls, murres, and kittiwakes soaring around the ship, we made our way northeast to Wilczek Land. After breakfast we stopped off at Cape Heller and flew ashore to visit the historic site from the American Wellman Expedition of 1898 - 99. Two Norwegians overwintered here at the expedition's advance camp, from where Wellman would attempt a dash to the North Pole the following spring. In the end, one of the overwintering Norwegians, Bernt Bentsen, died of illness midwinter, and Wellman only reached a point 100 kilometers to the north in his quest for the Pole. Scattered remains from numerous walrus and polar bears eaten by the expedition parties littered the site.
At the stone hut, Victor shared with us details of the expedition's fate. We then explored the area on our own or joined Peter, geologist-historian Geoff Renner, oceanographer Jim McCarthy, Conrad, and Nikita for a hike along the beach or up to a high ridge overlooking Cape Heller. We observed tough little flowers, mosses, and lichens eking out a living on the windswept, gravel headland. Brook, nodding, and tufted saxifrages, Arctic poppies, Alpine mountain sorrel, and Regel's chickweed grew amid scattered pockets of mosses and lichens. Along the shoreline we watched black-legged kittiwakes scooping up tiny amphipods and marveled at the unique ice sculptures lining the beach. Two walrus swam by, occasionally poking their heads out of the water, and ivory gulls, parasitic jaegers, black guillemots, and common eiders flew overhead.
As we departed for the ship, a snowstorm kicked up, making the Yamal nearly invisible from our landing site. All were safely brought back to the ship, and we continued northwest in the gale toward our final landing site in Franz Josef Land. With lunch winding down, Mike announced walrus ahead of the ship. We quietly watched the animals, hauled out on a relatively small chunk of ice, as the ship drew closer. Eventually the sheer size of our vessel must have spooked them, and all six walrus—three females with a calf each—effortlessly slipped into the sea. We saw more walrus hauled out on ice near rocks in the distance as we continued on toward Jackson Island.
At 1615 we disembarked by helicopter to Cape Norvegia, Jackson Island, where we touched down next to the moss-covered remains of Nansen and Johansen's overwintering hut from the winter of 1895 - 96. Upon leaving their ship, the Fram, and heading for the pole in March of 1895, Norwegians Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen reached farther north than any previous explorers—86°14' N. From this latitude they retreated south until reaching Cape Norvegia, where the two men endured a long winter in a shallow hut dug out of the shoreline. Miraculously, the explorers met up with and were rescued by the British Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition. Nansen's Fram had meanwhile overwintered with 11 men, and in the summer of 1896 broke free of the pack, eventually landing at Danes Island, Spitsbergen.
A pair of walrus frolicked beyond the surf, and above us thousands of tiny dovekies nested among the high rock jumbles. Bright orange lichen-plastered rocks provided a condominium of sorts for the vocal little seabirds. Their guano benefited not only the luxuriant growth of lichen, but also a diverse plant community below the colony. Carmen showed us tiny saxifrage flowers-tufted, nodding, purple mountain, snow, and spiderplant saxifrages—thriving in the gravelly soil, as well as dwarf buttercups, Arctic poppies, and alpine foxtails. Vivid green and red mosses carpeted nearly every wet spot we encountered. While Victor gave us a brief summary of the Norwegian's winter stay at this site 109 years ago, we photographed the shallow pit lined with stones, a plaque commemorating the men's survival, and wildflowers.
After 45 minutes ashore we were whisked back to the ship, where the day's next event was a recap and briefing. A bar had been set up and Russian crew musicians played ragtime in the hall just outside of the lecture room where recap was held. After an introduction by Mike, our lecturers reviewed highlights of the trip thus far. Nikita explained how Nansen and Johansen survived a winter at Cape Norvegia; Geoff explained how columnar basalt was formed and why Rubini Rock's basalt was so unusual; Carmen reviewed the flowering plants we'd seen on islands of Franz Josef Land and described the lifestyle of walrus females with calves; Conrad related how plant communities on Arctic islands develop and the suction power that walrus employ to strip clam bodies from their shells; and Peter wrapped up the recap with the story of a diver friend's underwater encounter with a bull walrus and overview of birds seen to date and those to be looked for as we head for the Pole.
A dinner of salads, fish, and ice cream gave us renewed strength to spend a little time on deck as the Yamal pushed into the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean. The rocking motion we experienced as we turned in for the night was not that of rolling seas, but rather slabs of ice being pushed aside by our powerful ship. back to the top Day 6
August 5
At Sea in Pack Ice of the Arctic Ocean  The ship lurched from side to side as we dined on eggs, sausage, toast, cereal, and coffee. By 0800 we had reached 83 09' N and were roughly 410 miles from the Pole. The temperature outside was just below freezing, but considerably colder with the stiff breeze's wind chill factor. Bundled up in layers, we enjoyed our first morning of constant icebreaking in the Yamal, maintaining a remarkable speed of nearly ten knots despite the thick annual ice.
At 0900 Peter shared his enthusiasm for, and expertise on, the world's seabirds, a group of highly specialized birds that he has spent his life studying. From emperor penguins with their adorable chicks and giant albatross of the sub-Antarctic to the profusion of Northern Hemisphere auk species, Peter took us on an armchair journey of all seven continents. He covered the four main seabird orders, totaling 324 species, that are found from the North Pole to the South Pole, throughout all oceans and seas of our misnamed planet, Earth. Peter inspired us to learn more about these remarkable birds and to hone our identification skills.
Upon leaving the lecture hall we found out that Conrad, Carmen, and several birders had already seen a bearded seal and ten Ross's gulls this morning. Many of us spent the rest of the morning on the ship's upper deck and bridge scanning the ice leads and floes for Ross's gulls; we were rewarded by several great sightings of these rare, pink seabirds.
Before lunch, those of us not questing Ross's gulls joined biology student-naturalist (and Nikita's daughter) Katya Ovsyanikova and Nadia for Russian 101. We learned important Russian phrases, such as puzhalusta (please), spasibo (thank you), dobroye utro (good morning), and ya ne gavaryu po-russki (I don't speak Russian).
Naps and scanning the ice for wildlife occupied the early afternoon. The chief engineer invited passengers in the Walrus group to tour the engine room, which proved very interesting. We were escorted through a maze of passageways to various compartments of the ship's engines and shown a piece of metal the thickness of the ship's hull�handling this dense chunk of metal gave many of us renewed faith that ice would never puncture the Yamal.
Geoff Renner introduced exploration in the Arctic and shared a 50-minute BBC documentary from the Ice Men series, entitled "The Race to the Pole." This fascinating video described, analyzed, and questioned the claims of both Robert Peary and Frederick Cook of having been the first to reach the top of the world.
Out on deck we watched with awe larger and larger chunks of ice being thrust aside as the ship pushed through more multiyear ice. Ross's gulls and a few ivory gulls continued to fly over open leads between the floes, and we saw an occasional bearded or ringed seal hauled out on the ice. As the evening wore on, the weather improved, until at dinnertime the sun was shining brightly in the west and numerous "fogbows"�fluffy, white Arctic versions of the more-familiar rainbows-appeared over the floes. The Yamal zigzagged northward, sometimes following open leads westward for several miles, under the glow of the midnight sun. back to the top Day 7
August 6
At Sea in Pack Ice of the Arctic Ocean The ship shuddered against the onslaught of multiyear ice as we pushed closer to the Pole, and by 0800 we were 155 miles from our destination. After breakfast we joined Jim McCarthy for his lecture on the Arctic marine ecosystem. Jim described Arctic food webs—from diatoms and krill to fish, seals, and polar bears—and illustrated how unexpected findings over the last decade or so have caused an upward revision of estimates of photosynthesis and plankton activity in (literally) and underneath sea ice. The sea-ice community thrives at supercold temperatures in brine pockets within the ice, and the process of draining this brine from sea ice over time gives rise to brine channels that function like light pipes to enhance illumination beneath the ice. Jim emphasized the importance of pack ice as habitat and the potential implications that continuing loss of sea-ice area and thickness may hold for the Arctic community, from plankton to polar bears.
We continued north through six-foot-thick floes, scanning the leads for signs of life-not a bird was to be found. Peter was overheard exclaiming that he could not remember a day of his life until now that he hadn't seen at least one bird. The term "polar desert" came to mind as we fruitlessly looked for wildlife. The only sign of a mammal this day was fresh polar bear tracks at 88�50' N.
In an exciting slide presentation, Victor Boyarsky described the hardships encountered on his 1995 expedition to the North Pole. Sledge mishaps, tangled dog teams, injuries, and storms were not enough deterrent to keep the international group of explorers from crossing the Arctic Ocean. While traveling with dogs, sledges, and skis between Severnaya Zemlya and Ward Hunt Island (via the Pole, of course), Victor and his colleagues introduced polar exploration to a new generation; thousands of students around the world had logged onto the Internet to track the expedition's progress and ask questions of the team. We hoped that one of these students might have been inspired to become the Victor Boyarsky of his or her country.
After lunch we snoozed to a lessening motion of the ship. Thinner first-year ice was replacing the multiyear floes, so the Yamal was icebreaking more smoothly. By 1400 we were only 100 miles south of the Pole, having made excellent progress throughout the day. Mike expected our arrival at the North Pole to be earlier than originally planned, perhaps even by tomorrow morning. Gathering in the bar-hall-library area at 1600, we enjoyed cookies and pastries while chatting about our successful trip north and listening to Ludmila and Konstantin play the violin and piano.
At 1715 Geoff Renner, following up on the previous day's presentation, discussed in more detail the navigation techniques that supposedly took Peary and Cook to the Pole. Neither claim is now considered acceptable. He gave evidence to why Peary most likely did not reach the Pole, credited Cook with being a fine explorer despite his propensity for exaggerating his accomplishments, and hailed Nansen as both a superb scientist and navigator. Geoff then briefly described the successful British Trans-Arctic Expedition of 1968 - 69, in which four men and 40 dogs pulling sleds crossed the Arctic Ocean via the North Pole from Point Barrow, Alaska, to Spitsbergen. A short clip of original film footage from this expedition gave us a sense of what those explorers endured during their traverse. At the end of his lecture, Geoff credited the Russians, scientist Pavel Gordiyenko in particular, with being the first to stand at the North Pole, this feat accomplished upon disembarking from one of the Soviet twin-engine aircraft that landed at 90 N on April 23, 1948.
Rumor around the ship was that Santa would visit us this evening, a guess at who the "surprise visitor" indicated in our daily program would be. However, when all had bundled up and made their way aft to the deck above the helicopter pad, Santa did not appear. Instead we were graced by the presence of Poseidon, or King Neptune, and his court of beastly beings. Poseidon invited our expedition leader up on the platform to answer a series of "important' questions," then tested several passengers to be sure they were strong enough to accomplish the task of reaching the Pole (thankfully, both Rob Rymer and Otto Keck could lift the 45-pound dumbbell without incident). At last, Mike was presented with the key to the Pole and a giant corkscrew for opening wine to celebrate our arrival there.
We were invited to join in a celebratory dance around the deck in the snowstorm with Poseidon and his entourage, and then feasted on an outdoor buffet. Roasted turkey, sausages, shrimp, baked potatoes, and soup filled our stomachs, and hot gl'wein warmed our extremities. Many passengers stayed warm in the frosty air by dancing with each other and Russian crew members until late into the night. back to the top Day 8
August 7
The North Pole  We woke to a motionless ship drifting just miles from the North Pole. By 0700 all of us had made our way to the bridge, where the ship's GPS reading was nearing 90 00'. Cameras were poised over the nautical chart and GPS instrument, waiting for that moment when we had arrived at the absolute top of the earth. Nadia made sure each of us had champagne or orange juice to toast when we reached our ultimate destination, and at 0715 the ship's horn blasted, and we raised glasses to our successful expedition to the North Pole. We had arrived! Many, many photographs were snapped of each other celebrating this tremendous occasion.
The dining room was abuzz with excitement as we shared impressions of our accomplishment over breakfast. While we ate, the captain maneuvered the ship against a stable floe that we could disembark onto. Shirley and Peter took a group photo of us all in our polar gear on the ship's bow, and from there we made our way down the gangway to the frozen ocean. Everyone stood along a rope circle surrounding a commemorative pole while Captain Lembrik welcomed us to this most remote of places on the planet. Peter then put our visit to the Pole into perspective: of the 14,000 or so people ever reaching the North Pole, only 7,000 had arrived by ship, and fewer than 5,000 had ever stood where we were now, on the ice at 90 North. We were perched on a relatively thin skin over an ocean that was 13,410 feet deep here. More than two miles of water lay between us and the crust of the earth at the North Pole!
The sun appeared just as the last stanzas of the American national anthem were being played, and for the next two hours the changing light, fog, and snow created dramatic backdrops for our pictures. An exquisite fogbow arched over our festivities for nearly half an hour. All had fun taking pictures of each other at the 90 N and city directional signs, as well as acting as though we were pulling the ship with a heavy line attached to the Yamal's bow.
Aft of the ship was a sight to behold: the bravest of our group testing their mettle against the elements by plunging into an ice-free ocean "pool" for a very quick swim. This event became a spectator sport. Even an Arctic resident showed up to see what the commotion was about�a ringed seal repeatedly surfaced behind the ship to watch the blubberless humans quickly dip into its icy environment.
We ate our second polar barbecue in 24 hours, on the ice alongside the ship. Salmon, pork chops, shrimp, French fries, salads, breads, and hot, vodka-infused drinks helped warm our insides when our fingers and toes were beginning to go numb from the wind chill.
A glaucous gull was observed flying along the lead created by the icebreaking ship. While enjoying a post-celebration snooze or watching the afternoon movie about airship exploration in the Arctic, we felt the ship begin to move and said farewell to the North Pole. Heading back along the route we'd come, we spotted a pair of Ross's gulls within minutes of beginning our journey south (at 89 55' N). We departed the top of the world hoping for loose pack and calm skies.
At an 1845 recap, our lecture team shared anecdotes and observations. Peter marveled how little life there seemed to be at the Pole and narrated an Arctic temperature scale he'd developed, using Victor as a gauge of how cold it was outside. He also shared with us some figures for the number of people who have visited the North Pole. Prior to our visit only 5,484 people had ever reached the Pole by icebreaker (with some of those repeat visitors), and ours was only the 45th icebreaker ever to reach the top of the world. Geoff, after an in-depth summary of how the circumference of the earth relates to gravity, advised us not to worry about eating too much onboard. We (and the food we eat) weigh less in polar regions than at home according to theories "proven" centuries ago. Conrad explained that today's polar-plunge swimming hole had provided habitat for not just the gawking ringed seal, but also countless planktonic organisms such as copepods, krill, medusae, and comb jellies. Nikita described the subspecies of polar bears and their distribution in the Arctic, encouraging us to be on the lookout for the world's largest variety of ice bear when we get near Wrangel Island. Victor congratulated us on being true polar explorers today, and Jim described the discovery and meeting of the Arctic and U.S. descendants of Peary and Henson, thanks to efforts of his friend S. Allen Counter.
Many stayed up after dinner swapping impressions of our day at the North Pole over cocktails. back to the top Day 9
August 8
At Sea in Pack Ice of the Arctic Ocean  As we crushed ice 140 miles from the Pole, Conrad started off the day's lecture series with an overview of world whaling. From 12th-century Basque whaling to present-day operations, the economics of whaling were at first driven by the demand for whale oil and baleen products and more recently by whale-meat products. Conrad also summarized social issues related to whale harvests around the globe.
We joined Carmen in the lecture hall for a quick introduction to pinnipeds around the world-eared seals (sea lions and fur seals), true seals (elephant, tropical, and ice seals), and walrus. We were given keys to identify the three ice seals we would most likely encounter: the small, dark-furred ringed seals; the two-tone harp seals with masks and saddles of black; and the larger, uniformly brown, bearded seals with their "beards" of white whiskers and "linebacker" body shape. We also learned to differentiate male from female walrus by the presence or absence of warty nodules on their necks. Carmen discussed breeding strategies, preferred habitats, distribution, and diet of high-latitude seals that we hoped to see more of as the Yamal ventured southward.
During the afternoon, some of us relaxed by reading books we'd brought from home or borrowed from shipmates. Chief Engineer Alexander Elcheninov gave the Polar Bear group an engine-room tour. We watched a rerun of The Frozen Skies film; marveled from the bridge or upper decks at the Yamal's icebreaking strength; and began planning entertaining skits, songs, or dances for the upcoming Arctic Talent Show.
Now that we had all stood at the North Pole, it was an appropriate time for Shirley Metz to share with us the story of her overland expedition to the South Pole. On January 17, 1989, Shirley became the first woman to ski from the edge of the Antarctic continent to the South Pole. It was a riveting story of hardship and determination. Her two-month journey covered over 800 miles, sometimes encountering very extreme weather conditions: winds of over 100 mph and temperatures of -60º F. We felt fortunate to share this polar experience with explorers such as Victor and Shirley, who have endured such extreme expeditions to the earth's ends.
This evening Captain Lembrik invited a group of passengers to the first of several private cocktail parties. Vodka was served, with guests seated around the captain's comfortable cabin. We were invited to ask questions of the captain, which he answered with translation provided by Victor, Nikita, or Katya. Most of us asked questions about the ship, her crew, the captain's experiences, or ice navigation. We enjoyed the party's cross-cultural atmosphere and appreciated the captain taking time out of his busy day to socialize with us. back to the top Day 10
August 9
At Sea in Pack Ice of the Arctic Ocean  With fog enveloping the Yamal, we continued south toward Severnaya Zemlya. We'd covered 360 miles since leaving the Pole (perhaps 400 if one counted our zigzag route through the leads) and had made a change in course, now headed southeast, during the night. Those on deck during the morning found more Ross's gulls, a couple fulmars, and a kittiwake. Seals had become a common sight, with both bearded and ringed seals swimming in the leads or hauled out next to open water.
Peter's presentation on the Charadriiformes order of birds was fascinating. The seven families within this order are usually split into three suborders; these at first glance appear dissimilar, but in reality have many similar structural and behavioral traits. Peter concluded with a brief introduction to the 22 species of auks, puffins and their relatives.
Geoff Renner described the geologic transformation of our planet over time, beginning with some basic geologic principles—that our planet may be considered a living organism and that there are only three major types of rock (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic). The "rock cycle" explains how one type may change to another by erosion, heat, or pressure. Plate tectonics describes the architecture of the earth and how its continents move slowly, averaging the rate of our fingernails' growth, across the surface of the planet. Using this process, which can explain over 90 percent of the earth's geology, Geoff concluded by describing the origin of the Arctic Ocean.
Visibility across the ice improved throughout the morning, and just as lunch was beginning, Mike announced that a polar bear had been sighted off the starboard side of the ship. We donned a few layers, grabbed cameras and binoculars, and headed outside in time to see a large bear trotting away from the ship. It jumped from floe to floe, and when the lead was too wide for jumping over, the bear plunged in and swam across. The bear's second plunge was a spectacular one, with water spraying all over. Eventually the ship turned back to its course and left the bear to catch its breath.
Two groups were given engine room tours today. All enjoyed the opportunity to ask questions of Chief Engineer Alexander and observe the inner workings of the ship. It was very exciting to see the two nuclear reactors (through a sealed window, of course), various engines, water distillers, rudder mechanism, and high-tech control room.
While sailing along in fog and heavy ice, we kept eyes peeled for polar bears and seals. A few kittiwakes, Ross's gulls, and seals were seen, but no more polar bears. Our Russian orchestra of two entertained during teatime, until Nikita's second lecture of the trip. This afternoon's lecture focused on the social life of polar bears. Nikita, attempting to dispel the myth that polar bears are solitary creatures, showed film footage of bear congregations on Wrangel Island. We especially enjoyed watching two adult male bears playing together. One particular sequence of video showed a sow with two cubs entering the cabin where Nikita stood filming just a meter away. The female lunged toward Nikita, trying to test his mettle, and Nikita responded by poking her shoulder with a piece of wood. That was enough resistance for her, and she fled the doorway with youngsters in tow. Our group had many questions about polar bear behavior for Nikita, all of which he answered expertly.
The Belugas joined the captain this evening for a pre-dinner cocktail. Dinner was a festive meal, as it was Nadia's birthday. Wishing her a happy birthday, Poseidon representative Alexey Mironov—speaking on behalf of the crew—shared his appreciation for Nadia's professionalism and friendly nature. The Yamal Passenger Choir performed a traditional a capella Russian birthday song, and a giant birthday cake bearing a photo of the Yamal was presented to our celebrated cruise director. Nadia then publicly thanked everyone for the birthday wishes and the gift of her first polar bear sighting of the trip, and led us in a rousing hip-hip-hooray to top off the night. back to the top Day 11
August 10
At Sea in Pack Ice of the Kara Sea Plans for visiting Ushakov Island east of Severnaya Zemlya were dashed after breakfast by heavy winds and dense fog just three miles away from the ice-capped island. We never saw the island, and the enormous distance still to cover on this expedition forced us to continue eastward.
As we made our way back along the ice-choked lane we'd broken earlier, the day's first polar bear was spotted from the bridge. Like the previous day's bear, this one wasn't interested in our ship and quickly made his way across the ice away from us. While watching his retreat, we sighted a second bear behind the ship, but it, too, moved away from us.
Attending Victor Boyarsky's presentation on modern ski adventures to the North Pole allowed our fingers and toes to warm up. Victor is the first to admit that he is addicted to the Arctic, and both his PowerPoint and video presentations illustrated how he feeds this addiction by leading commercial ski trips to the North Pole each April since 1997. Adventurers fly in to a base camp on the pack ice located at 89 N. From there, they ski and haul sledges for seven to nine days to reach 90 N. They celebrate their arrival at the Pole in style. Expedition members are then shuttled back by helicopter to the base camp runway and flown to the mainland. Crashing through the Arctic Ocean's pack ice, we pondered what this most unique polar experience must be like.
Those on deck found a greater diversity of birds than seen in the past week: ivory and Ross's gulls, black-legged kittiwakes, dovekies, and all three jaeger species. A group of top-deck birders even observed pomarine jaegers feeding on a dead Ross's gull atop a small floe. A handful of seals�ringed and bearded�was also spotted.
At 1500 engine room tours continued. Part one of the Blue Planet: Natural History of the World's Oceans played on our cabin TVs, and the Walrus group began gearing up for the voyage's first helicopter sightseeing flights. The Yamal was now crushing through 10/10 pack ice, and seeing our icebreaker in action from above was exhilarating.
Carmen spoke about Arctic plants in the lecture room after the last of the heli-sightseers had returned to the ship. Her beautiful slides portrayed some of the flowers we'd seen in Franz Josef Land-saxifrages, poppies, scurvy grass, buttercups-and plants we'd be looking for as we headed east. Carmen interspersed key ID characteristics for the Arctic tundra's flowering plants with interesting anecdotal tidbits of information about these hardy polar survivors.
The revolving captain's cocktail party continued before dinner, with an interruption just before dinner by Mike announcing a polar bear threesome�a sow and two cubs. The ship had sailed very close to the bears before officers on the bridge saw them, and by the time we made our way to the outer decks the surprised trio was making a quick retreat away from us. The ship slowed down, but we didn't stay with the bears for long, not wanting to stress them too much. A second mother bear (with a single cub) was spotted just 20 minutes later, also heading away from the ship. By the end of the day, we had been seen eight polar bears�not bad for a day in the Arctic! back to the top Day 12
August 11
Voronin Island, Severnaya Zemlya / Kara Sea  A forward-back-forward motion of the ship during the night seemed to indicate a change in the ice conditions. And when Mike woke us just before 0800, our suspicions were confirmed. The Yamal, using all 75,000 horsepower of its engines, was being stopped in its tracks by the fast ice and multiyear floes that had crashed together in a mélange of pressure ridges west of Severnaya Zemlya. A visit to October Revolution Island had been canceled in the wee hours of the morning, with the ship still 55 miles (of dense fast ice) away from our destination.
We were now heading southeast, toward a small, low-lying speck of Arctic tundra called Voronin Island. Waiting for Mike to return from a heli-scouting trip, we marveled at the huge flock of over 100 jaegers-mostly pomarine-following the ship. These scavengers were finding fish and invertebrates in our wake, as well as stealing food from kittiwakes.
Upon his return, Mike announced that, after six days in the Arctic pack, we would soon be able to stand on solid ground. We were shuttled ashore by our heli-limousines, with Mike and lecturers greeting each group. An hour and 15 minutes onshore flew by with so much to see: nesting Arctic terns, families of purple sandpipers and glaucous gulls, pirating pomarine jaegers, yellow-billed and red-throated loons, polar bear tracks, and gorgeous, tiny wildflowers. Four species of saxifrage, Arctic poppies, scurvy grass, sandwort, and a profusion of lichens and mosses dotted the terrain. The undulating landscape boasted clues to its origin-granites and sand-mudstone boulders and outcroppings-as a northern, though very eroded, extension of the Ural Mountains. Some of us followed the shoreline, finding naked sea butterflies with Conrad or watching tern behavior with Peter. Others examined the colorful tundra and fascinating rocks with Geoff, Nikita, and Jim or microbotanized with Carmen.
We crossed numerous stream beds; most were fairly dry, but a few were saturated with sticky, wet mud. Phyllis Pepper and Frank and Alicia Marinelli had firsthand experience with the quicksand-like mud in one of these runoff areas; they became held fast by the muck, but our fearless ornithologist, Peter, was eventually able to extract them. With snow flying, we flew back to the ship in time for lunch.
We relaxed in the early afternoon while the ship's hydrologist carried out ice reconnaissance by helicopter. Equipped with newly updated ice information, the Yamal resumed its journey along the islands of Severnaya Zemlya via leads in the fast ice.
At 1700 Conrad spoke about the Arctic's cetaceans, highlighting those whale species we might encounter if we were very, very lucky. Conrad described various adaptations that allow these polar marine mammals to survive in the cold and ice-choked Arctic. We were urged to keep an eye out for belugas, narwhals, and bowheads as the ship sailed along leads in the ice.
Equipped with Conrad's images of 'ice lead' cetaceans, we donned layers to spend time on deck watching for marine mammals. No polar bears were sighted, but at 1815 Conrad sighted white cetaceans surfacing in a lead ahead of the ship-belugas, and lots of them! As we drew closer it became apparent that this pod was composed of mostly females and calves. The gray young rode alongside their 13-foot mothers in the lead parallel to our icebreaking ship, allowing for fantastic views of these elusive creatures. For most on board, this had been the first, or certainly the best, beluga sighting of our lives.
At recap Peter gave us a digital overview of the morning's landing on Voronin Island. Nikita followed with an entertaining demonstration of how Arctic terns defend their eggs and chicks against predatory seabirds (with Victor as a hungry gull). Victor then discussed early exploration through Vil'kitsky Strait, the sea passage between the Taymyr Peninsula of the Asian continent and the southernmost island of Severnaya Zemlya. Mike wrapped up the recap with a forecast (or best guess) for coming days in the Russian Arctic, reminding us that we would be somewhat at the mercy of the sea ice. back to the top Day 13
August 12
Maud Bay, Taymyr Peninsula / Vil'kitsky Strait / Laptev Sea  After a night of crunching through heavily packed multiyear ice, we woke to the ship making relatively good speed through thinner ice in Vil'kitsky Strait. At 0700 we caught a glimpse of the northernmost piece of continental real estate in the world-Cape Chelyuskin.
Continuing east, we passed a few bearded seals on the ice en route to Maud Bay. There we were flown ashore to explore the vibrant tundra of the Taymyr Peninsula. The wildflowers were amazing. Familiar blooms included yellow Arctic poppies, buttercups and spiderplants; white scurvy grass, chickweed, and saxifrages; and pink mountain saxifrages. New additions to our list of Arctic flora for the trip were vivid-blue Arctic forget-me-nots, glacial geums, and golden saxifrages. We joined our lecturers or wandered about on our own to reach rocky vantage points along the shoreline, where fast ice clung tenaciously. The terrain's mud stuck tenaciously, too, on our boots as we made our way across the wet tundra underlain with permafrost.
Some folks followed Peter and found a small kittiwake colony on a rocky cliff inland from our helicopter staging area. Staff members pointed out pentagonal patterns in the mud and rock jumbles, created by repeated freezing and thawing, as well as lemming winter nests and galleries and sign of reindeer and wolves. Victor met us at the west-facing stone hut built by Roald Amundsen in 1918, where his party aboard the Maud spent a winter. Though now it seemed that snow buntings were its only regular visitors, it was clear that men had spent time here since Amundsen, judging by the batteries and debris scattered near the hut.
Encroaching fog cut our landing short a bit, with all back onboard in time for a hot lunch. The low clouds encompassed the ship as we pulled out of Maud Bay and made our way toward the New Siberian Islands. We compared notes with each other on the morning's landing, downloaded and labeled flower photos, and at 1530 joined Peter for an introduction to the world of puffins-the three species of alcid, whose colorful bills often earn them the nickname "sea parrot." Puffins belong to the 22-member auk family, Northern Hemisphere counterparts of the Southern Ocean's penguins. Although these two unrelated groups look alike, they are fine examples of convergent evolution. We learned that the Atlantic puffin, the most numerous with about 6-10 millions pairs, is the smallest of the three species and is restricted to the Atlantic Ocean. Tufted and horned puffins are found in the North Pacific, which is where the auks are thought to have originally evolved before eventually spreading to all of the northern oceans.
Afternoon wildlife watchers on deck found jaegers, kittiwakes, bearded seals, and a single walrus. At 1700 we mingled while drinking at the open bar outside of the lecture hall. Chatter was lively as we began the evening's recap, with Carmen summarizing the wildflowers we'd seen at Maud Bay and sharing the origin of "tundra"-from the Finnish word tunturia-and its defining characteristics. Taking a lead from Carmen, Conrad quipped about Frank having barely escaped becoming the world's fourth major carbon sink (the previous day on Voronin Island) before giving us a great review of beluga natural history. Geoff related the amazing story of whaler William Scoresby's successful experiment to make fire from ice, creating a convex lens of ice and using the sun's rays through it to light his pipe. Jim explained why ice is blue and shared a friend's efforts to make the perfect (blue) martini. Peter, waxing literary, gave us a smorgasbord of new collective nouns, most of which we'd never heard. Though none of us will likely ever call a group of whales a gam, as suggested by Peter (we'll reserve that for albatross), we fancied his descriptors for a group of goldfinches (a charm), larks (an exaltation), plumbers (a flush), and dentists (a wince). Mike then updated us on the expedition's progress, rather slow due to so much heavy ice, and described how our itinerary would subsequently change. In order to maximize time on Wrangel Island in four days' time, we would forgo a stop at the Lena Delta. Instead, we steamed for the New Siberian Islands, where we hoped to make landfall at a walrus haulout.
The Walrus Group joined the captain and his son for cocktails before dinner. Evening ice watchers found a lone walrus hauled out temporarily on one of the pink-hued floes, and a large iceberg-the first of the voyage. As our day in the ice came to a close, the late-night sun transformed the ice and melt pools into a pastel painting described by at least one of us as an Arctic version of Monet's famous lily pads on a pond. back to the top Day 14
August 13
At Sea in Pack Ice of the Laptev Sea  This day at sea began in fog with only a half mile of visibility; however, by the end of breakfast the sun was shining brightly and making the leads we were following look like shimmering platters of mercury. Murres, kittiwakes, and jaegers accompanied us eastward. Every once in a while, a ringed seal did quick flips in an open pool of water as our crashing ship passed by.
We enjoyed Nikita's narrated film of his family's life on Wrangel Island. His tale began with the arduous helicopter journey to the island at the beginning of the summer. Nikita, his wife, and daughter share a tiny cabin on the tundra, the three of them carrying out research on snowy owls and Arctic foxes. Using first snow machines, then skis, and then four-wheelers, the trio monitor the birds and foxes throughout the Arctic summer. They find time for play, too, as was witnessed by the entertaining footage of Katya playing with their dog, Nanuk.
We were then offered an opportunity to fly over the Yamal as it crushed through ice under the blazing sun. What views we had! Hundreds and hundreds of photographs were taken this morning as the helicopter banked and hovered above the ship.
As we steamed along, a single-and later a flock of-sharp-tailed sandpipers flew alongside, looking very out of place this far out to sea. Ruddy turnstones, three walrus, and a few seals were spotted during the afternoon, as well.
Many of us napped during the afternoon, resting up for a possible midnight landing at Bel'kovskiy Island in the New Siberian Islands. We practiced performances for the upcoming talent show and at 1830 joined Victor for his introduction to the Russian State Arctic and Antarctic Museum. As director of this museum, the largest one of its kind in all of Europe, Victor oversees a 75,000-piece collection of paintings, photos, artifacts, and papers devoted to the natural and human history of the planet's polar regions. This state-run museum in St. Petersburg operates three departments focusing on the Arctic and Antarctic: Antarctica, History of the Northeast Passage, and Nature of the Arctic.
After dinner we looked for our own Arctic nature and watched the sun set closer and closer to the horizon. By 0100 it was a frosted orange hanging low in the sky and casting a pinkish hue over the thin pack ice. back to the top Day 15
August 14
Kotel'nyy Island, New Siberian Islands / Laptev Sea  Ice and fog proved a deterrent to our reaching Bel'kovskiy Island, so there was no wake-up call during the wee hours of the morning. Mike announced during breakfast that we had come within four miles of the island's walrus haulout, but, with no visibility to fly helicopters nor open water to launch Zodiacs for scouting, were unable to ascertain if walrus were even there. So the Yamal headed southeast to Kotel'nyy Island, where we had better luck with ice and the weather. Each of us was given two and a half hours to explore the island's tundra.
The spongy terrain, severely hummocked from annual frost heaving, supported a myriad of Arctic wildflowers. We found luxurious carpets of moss infused with saxifrages, scarlet-colored mountain sorrel, brilliant yellow Senecio daisies, and, in wet spots, marsh marigold. Labyrinths of lemming runways and burrows dotted the landscape, and patient (or lucky) lemming watchers spotted several of the quick little rodents. Birds found ashore included two snowy owls, seen flying at a distance; ringed plovers; sharp-tailed sandpipers; and flurries of snow buntings. Though all were advised to look for mammoth bones, none were found among the mudstone and quartz. While looking for sign of the primitive pachyderm, we did find skeletal remains of other animals: a giant marine isopod, Arctic foxes, an Arctic wolf, reindeer, lemmings, and a sharp-tailed sandpiper. Fellow passenger and avid fly fisherman Kim Lundgren tested the stream below the hut and at its mouth for fish, but found none.
Near the helicopter landing site was an old wooden hut, reinforced with slopes of mud, most likely used in past years by hunters. Glass, metal, and wooden garbage, plus many reindeer bones, were scattered around this decaying residence, which now provided shelter for only lemmings. Nearby, one lemming family had even built a winter nest of grass inside an old wine bottle half-buried in the peat.
With all back onboard and well satiated, we rested, looked for seals and walrus, finished up poetry to submit for the onboard contest, or watched a fascinating film of Victor's trans-Antarctic expedition. At 1700 Jim McCarthy gave us new insight into the science of detecting global climate change. Climate research during the 1990s reconciled the respective roles of solar variability, greenhouse gases, associated aerosols (such as sulfur dioxide), and volcanoes in modulating changes in Earth's temperature over the last 150 years. Climate forcing by greenhouse gases now swamps the once-significant role of natural variability, such as that associated with solar variability. The rate at which human activities add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere will largely determine Earth's climate in the next century. Jim recommended a pair of books that would shed additional light on this topic: History of Global Warming by Spencer Weart (2003) and Ice Ages, Solving the Mystery by Imbrie and Imbrie (1979).
We had a 45-minute break to stretch or grab a drink at the Polar Bar before regrouping for the evening's recap. Carmen reviewed how plant species diversity had changed along the course of our trip, described some of the flowers we'd found at Kotel'nyy Island, and following on Jim's excellent lecture, shared some of her own experiences with climate change in Alaska, where she and Conrad live. Nikita spoke about life as a lemming and how lemmings support a fascinating food chain that includes both snowy owls and Arctic foxes. Victor explained a bit of history relating to the New Siberian Islands, and Geoff introduced us to three Arctic terms: palsa, pingo, and Tango-3 (ice station). Peter gave us a new perspective on owls through history, followed by Mike's comparison of ice extent this year (more ice) to past years (typically less ice).
We wound up the evening sailing slowly through the shallow waters of Sannikova Strait. back to the top Day 16
August 15
At Sea in Pack Ice of the East Siberian Sea The Yamal continued eastward at a speed of about ten knots, traversing Sannikova Strait. Low clouds, with an occasional pocket of sunshine streaming through, hung over the water as we made our way down to the lecture hall for the first of today's of several interesting presentations.
Geoff Renner shared his adventures accompanying Arctic Eskimos on a spring hunt in the 1970s. He showed a great deal of admiration for the dogsledging, hunting, and survival skills of his traveling companions. Questing polar bear hides to be used for cold-weather leggings, Geoff and his comrades sledged over 500 miles across the sea between Greenland and Ellesmere Island. En route, the men encountered walrus, polar bears, and seabirds, but only killed wildlife when necessary for food or clothing material. Explaining how the Inuit Eskimos would solve problems such as getting full sledges up steep inclines or retrieving runaway dogs, Geoff kept us enthralled throughout his story.
Between lectures we went on deck to watch our progress through the strait, finding a few seabirds flitting about, or attended our second Russian lesson with Nadia and Katya. Added to our vocabulary were now words such as ice cream (marojenoye), polar bear (bely medved), walrus (morj), and "How far is it to Wrangel?" (Kak daleko da Vrangelya?)
Nikita presented a wonderful film depicting the ecology of snowy owls, snow geese, lemmings, and Arctic foxes. His footage showed a snowy owl family's struggles and successes during a nesting season on Wrangel Island. Nikita and his wife found these amazing raptors live in harmony with each other while keeping intrusive geese and predatory foxes at bay. We so enjoyed watching these proficient lemming, and occasionally gosling, hunters. Interactions among geese, owls, and foxes were equally interesting, especially the film sequence of a fox attacking, and eventually killing, an adult female goose.
During lunch Mike told us that the ship was traveling only ten knots an hour because the water depth at this point was a mere 14 meters and the ship had a 12-meter draft. The difference of two meters could disappear if the Yamal were to go faster, thus pushing its weight to a greater depth and potentially touching the sea floor.
Some of us joined the chief engineer for an engine room tour. Others caught up on reading, watched the rerun of the previous day's trans-Antarctic expedition film, or took advantage of the smooth sailing in shallow water to watch for wildlife on deck. Over the course of the afternoon a number of birds were seen (Arctic loon, herring gull, thick-billed murres, and a sharp-tailed sandpiper), as well as a pair of ringed seals swimming around a small floe. There were many "seal decoys," as Carmen called them, in this stretch of water: dark, seal-shaped ice forms on top of the floes, which at first glance certainly could be mistaken for seals.
Peter gave a riveting presentation on the wonders of bird migration to round out the day's lecture series. Peter described how migrating birds have fascinated people since the time of Aristotle. We learned of the champion migrant, the Arctic tern, which can fly from the Arctic to the Antarctic each boreal autumn; the bar-headed goose, which flies higher than Mount Everest; and the blue grouse that migrates just a few hundred feet. Recent research and past banding programs have shown that birds have sun and star compasses and can even rely on the earth's magnetic field to find their way. We left Peter's presentation feeling that, without doubt, migration is one of nature's great phenomena.
The last group of partygoers attended this evening's cocktail event in the captain's quarters, and after supper we gathered in the lecture hall for the Yamal Poetry Contest. Fellow passengers had been creating verse over the past several days, and this evening their entries would be read aloud by the authors and staff members. We and a team of three judges—Des Gourley, Karen Hoffman, and birthday celebrant Otto Keck—were entertained by 13 great poems, some serious, some humorous. Most poems touched on the Yamal and its crew, the Zegrahm staff, the food, the wildlife, and (of course) the ice. After the readings, each poem was rated based on the audience "clap-o-meter," and prizes of lithograph polar bear prints were awarded to Sally Davidson (serious category), Don and Marie Belcher / Rob and Marilyn Rymer / Bob Spaulding and Estelle Yamaki (humorous category), and Maida Maxham (special category, for creating a list of clever group names for birds). Fun was had by all, and we retired late from our relaxing day at sea. back to the top Day 17
August 16
At Sea in Pack Ice of the East Siberian Sea  Traveling at 15 knots only 360 miles from Wrangel, we began our last full day at sea with a stimulating lecture by Jim McCarthy. He demonstrated how future climate change arising from increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases will have positive and negative consequences for human and social systems and institutions. The capacity of different nations and people in different socioeconomic strata to adapt to future climate change ranges tremendously. Inadequate capacity to adapt can be realized suddenly, as with the deaths of 15,000 French people during August 2003. Abrupt shifts in climate, with loss of ice in Antarctica and Greenland, could be accompanied by surprisingly large impacts. In the early 1990s, adaptation and mitigation were considered alternative responses to projected climate change. However, climate change impacts are no longer hypothetical-they are evident in natural and human systems on every continent. Jim stressed that responsible policy measures must now include enhanced adaptation, as well as mitigation. For those interested in learning more about how U.S. policy regarding climate change might develop in the future, Jim recommended reading Climate Change: Debating America's Policy Options by David Victor (2004).
After more than a day in relatively open water, the ship now crunched once again through thick floes. Between bouts of wildlife watching on deck or from the bridge, we learned from Nikita about coming attractions at Wrangel Island. He reviewed the island's human historical record, as well as the geologic forces that formed what we see today and influence the diversity of life ashore. We were thrilled to see photos of colorful flowers-such as louseworts, arnica, and dwarf fireweed-and mammals that included reindeer, muskoxen, two species of lemmings, Arctic foxes, polar bears, and walrus. Birdlife thrives on the island during summer months. Ravens are the first to arrive, followed by the snowy owls, numerous seabirds, snow geese, and variety of shorebirds. We couldn't wait to set foot on this remote wildlife sanctuary!
Upon leaving the lecture hall, a few of us made a shopping stop at the Russian crew's "open-air bazaar" in the hallway. All sorts of souvenirs were for sale-cash only-and many of us parted with some dollars to purchase gifts for family and friends back home. Talk of the trip home was cropping up more and more now, with only three days left to our expedition, and after lunch our passports and airline tickets home were returned to us.
At 1500 we were treated to one more look at Wrangel Island, this time through the eyes of budding naturalist Katya Ovsyanikova. With awesome slides taken during her two summers on Wrangel, Katya related the natural history of wildlife she had studied with her parents-most notably snowy owls-and experiences she had while living on the tundra. Admitting that she missed friends and home in Moscow at first, she spoke with great fondness about island life. In addition to being assigned the jobs of chief dog handler (for the family's dog, Nanuk) and snow collector (to melt for fresh water), Katya also spent many hours monitoring owl nests and exploring the tundra. Most of us would have given our eyeteeth to have summered on Wrangel Island as a teenager!
Scanning the growler-covered sea for wildlife, we found a few ringed and bearded seals swimming alongside the ice. A jaeger or gull appeared periodically, but overall little moved outside the ship besides ice.
An 1800 briefing on the following day's plans for Wrangel injected new excitement into our group, with helicopter landings on the tundra and nature walks scheduled for a good part of the day. After Mike had answered all of our questions regarding footwear, timings, lunches, etc., we sat back to enjoy the highlight of the day: the Zegrahm Passenger Talent Show emceed by none other than the talented Nadia. What fun! Skits included a Monty Pythonesque dead parrot discussion; a lively conversation on how to inch/push/pull the Yamal to the North Pole when (almost) no staff members could be found-Victor saved the day; dancing and singing Yamal show(er) girls who took cues for their verses from predesignated audience members; the funny tale of a woman's week of heaven, then hell, at the gym; two fantastic duets-a romantic Russian song and a medley of American show tunes-by Konstantin and Ludmila on the piano and violin; an original Arctic explorer song performed by its author with accompaniment from Konstantin and a backup staff chorus; and a hilarious question-and-answer session on the use and care of an emergency dry suit (answers provided by the very knowledgeable hosts) and various 'important' answers (questions provided by the clairvoyant hosts). We were in stitches by the end of it. Wag Wagner wrapped up the evening's entertainment with an open invitation to all to join him and Darlene for an after-dinner drink and party in the dining room.
Excitement was in the air as, making good speed in open water along mainland Russia's coast, we drew closer to Wrangel. Outside, an orange strip of sky capped with navy blue clouds lined the horizon to the north. Inside, with no ice to ram into, there was smooth sailing for Wag's party; by 2300 the drinks were flowing, and a rowdy conga line of dancers filled the bar-level hallways. Festivities carried on until the wee hours of the morning. back to the top Day 18
August 17
Wrangel Island  Sunshine streamed into our staterooms. Peering out our windows, we could see an array of multiyear ice and discern the mountains of Wrangel Island off the port side of the ship. We grabbed a quick breakfast and then made our way on deck or to the bridge to look for wildlife. Birdlife was fairly scarce, but marine mammals made up for the lack of birds. The day's first polar bear was spotted at 0700, and by 1030 nine more had been seen. We watched a mother and yearling cub mosey along an old floe, several single bears walking on ice, and a number of the bruins swimming. Walrus were also sighted from the ship as we neared the island—herds hauled out on two floes, and several walrus swimming. Later in the day, many of us also saw gray whales surfacing off the island.
Mike and Nadia kept us informed of activities going on during the morning and early afternoon. First, a helicopter delivered supplies to Nikita's Cape Blossom camp; then the Wrangel Island Reserve director shuttled to the ship; finally, our various groups boarded the MI-8 for a day of tundra exploration in Doubtful Bay.
Peter and the birders headed off first, making their way to the coast. Birds found included snow buntings, long-tailed jaegers, glaucous gulls, and snow geese. The birders especially enjoyed seeing a gyrfalcon driving ravens out of its territory and two large herds of reindeer. Muskoxen were seen from a distance, as well. The group stopped in the small village of Ushakovskoye, where their guide, Vasily, lived and were treated to a midday snack of boiled reindeer and tea in his hut. In the village Peter found a mammoth tusk near one of the buildings, and we each took turns holding this most unusual fossil.
Long walkers with Victor departed the landing site next, heading west across the tundra. Occasionally we would stop to rest and grab a dose of energy in the form of a snack or a swallow of water. We spotted reindeer galloping across the slopes as we hiked westward; our panoramic view across the tundra only ended when we began to follow the Evil River canyon uphill. Along this route we came across, and got very close to, a pair of muskoxen resting above the river valley. These prehistoric-looking animals paid us little attention and lazily watched us disappear across the rocks as we made our way to the plateau landing site.
General hikes with Geoff, Jim, Nikita, Conrad, and Katya—joined by island experts Leonid (the Wrangel Island Nature Reserve Director), Igor, and Irina (Nikita's wife and Katya's mother)-took us into fantastic, flower-filled tundra. Some of the tundra vegetation bore the telltale signs of late summer and winter just around the corner: advanced seed development, as well as red and yellow leaves. Our leaders stopped to point out flowers or seed heads, such as pink paintbrush, coltsfoot, and wormwood. We found numerous reindeer antlers, bunches of muskox wool, and beautiful quartz—both rock crystal and milk quartz-as we explored the hillsides. Views of the island's southern shore, and in some cases herds of reindeer, were outstanding from vantage points on the mountain slopes.
Carmen led the short-hike group for a stroll among the streamside wildflowers. We photographed the crimson leaves and seed head of roseroot, blooming pink paintbrush, flowers and the twisted seed heads of white dryas or avens, and a variety of mushrooms. Like all the groups before them, the short hikers watched a sickly reindeer calf up on the hillside. Carmen showed us some invertebrates living under rocks in the nearby stream—fly larvae and flatworms—and many fuzzy caterpillars, plus their old cocoons, were found among the vegetation.
The first landing site took a while to clear, but by 1700 the short and medium hikers had been transferred to the plateau between Evil and Mammoth Rivers. Some of us had a very brief glimpse at a herd of fleeing reindeer as we landed. Flying in with the first helicopter, Carmen had spotted two muskoxen along Evil River (the same ones that Victor's group had found), so she led the initial group of plateau hikers toward where the big mammals had been-and still were. Eventually many of us made our way to an overlook of the Evil River and then down the shale-covered slope to watch the muskoxen. They seemed in no hurry to leave the riverbed, rubbing against and licking rocks, drinking water, and for a brief moment head-butting each other. All agreed that muskoxen must not burn too many calories, as they barely moved for the two hours we watched them. It was quite a thrill to see these fantastic Arctic animals so close in the wild!
Victor led a group from the muskoxen viewing area down to the beachside Paleo-Eskimo archeological site. He pointed out features of this 3,200-year-old site, and from there we made our way to a new helicopter pick-up spot along the beach. En route to this new staging area, we stopped to examine the carcass of a muskox and colorful asters, forget-me-nots, and yellow saxifrages.
By 2015 all were back onboard and exchanging stories of the day's adventures over a barbecue on the back deck. The setting sun painted Wrangel Island purple and transformed the ice floes drifting by into pink jewels. Some of us kept the chilly temperatures from driving us indoors by dancing on deck till nearly midnight. Though tired from our long day, we felt extremely thankful-and lucky-to have experienced this magical place in all its splendor. back to the top Day 19
August 18
Wrangel Island / At sea en route to Pevek  Our last day of exploring the Arctic wilderness had finally arrived. With the Yamal drifting among loose bergy bits, we went ashore by Zodiac after breakfast on the west coast of Wrangel Island. Nikita had secured special permission for us to land at this very sensitive site, one of the most concentrated polar bear denning sites in the world. Upon landing on the gravel beach, we inspected the skull of a female walrus that Carmen had found while scouting the shoreline and then headed off in several directions with our lecturers and local guides.
Peter and the birders hiked to a lagoon and found all sorts of birds there, on the tundra, and offshore: yellow wagtails, long-tailed ducks, snow geese, snow buntings, parasitic jaegers, and more. The long walkers enjoyed a brisk hike with our Russian gazelle, Victor, stopping to look at flowers or reindeer antlers (or catch their breath). General walkers hiked across the soggy uplands, stopping to look at flowers, cottongrass, sphagnum moss, the many reindeer antlers and carcasses, and learn about polar bears. Nikita's sharp eyes spotted two polar bears along a ridge at the far end of the coast where we'd landed, and he kindly showed us which white specks on the flanks of Thomas Mountain were bears. While male bears are known to visit this denning habitat, the bears we saw were most likely females checking out their winter real estate.
Conrad and the short hikers circled a shoreline pond and found all sorts of blooming and spent flowers, plus gigantic reindeer antlers shed by the animals in past years. The ground we all walked on was a fall rutting area for reindeer, and females calved in a valley above the Thomas River, which explained why there were so many reindeer remains. Upon inspection, the tundra here was quite different from that of yesterday; the soil here was wetter and muckier, the hummocks lower, the Arctic willows stouter, the flower diversity lower, and the grass diversity higher.
Those of us choosing to remain on the ship rather than landing were treated to fantastic looks at a group of walrus. Ice pieces drifted by the ship all morning, and one of these provided a platform for over a dozen of the large marine mammals. Eventually, each one slipped noiselessly into the sea, but not before we had nice glimpses of them.
With all back on the ship for lunch, we headed south to drop off Nikita at his Cape Blossom research hut. While sailing slowly along, we found several walrus groups, including a female and calf that remained near the surface for several minutes. A polar bear alert sounded just after Nikita was dropped off by helicopter at his autumn home. A large male had been sighted on a floe ahead, and as we approached, the bear swam from floe to floe, inspecting each one thoroughly.
Several minutes later a mother-cub pair were sighted on a distant piece of ice, then another bear on that same floe, and then another. As the ship moved toward them, we nearly overcame the first bear, which at that point was swimming toward the others. We could see every stroke that swimming bear made and at last, directly below the bow (now teeming with photographers), he crawled up on a large floe. What a look we had at this immense bruin! He took a quick glance at us, too, before continuing toward the other bears. We watched with excitement as this bear eventually swam to the "four-bear floe" and tried approaching the female with a yearling cub. The cub scooted away, with her mother close behind, but when the male got too close, she took off after him with bared teeth. He hightailed it away from this protective mother and angled off toward the far edge of the ice.
Meanwhile, it became clear that the other pair of bears were also a mother and cub (a two-year-old). The dark-furred mother watched a hole in the ice intently while her cub seemed to be chewing on something. This little bear acted curious about the retreating male, and when it strolled over the ice to investigate, its mother tried to intervene. The male bear no longer seemed interested in socializing, though, and dove off the floe for a swim. The dark female and her cub then swam to another floe, where we saw the remains of a previous meal-bits of bloody bone and meat surrounded by lightly stained ice. We figured the cub's fur must have become soiled with blood while eating here earlier. This pair, especially the curious cub, hardly seemed bothered by us. The Yamal had to continue its journey south, so we at last left these wonderful bears to their wanderings. All agreed we had been very, very lucky to have witnessed such a spectacle as this.
At Nadia's post-bear viewing briefing, we learned about the following day's helicopter disembarkation in Pevek, tour and lunch plans for our day in the village, and flight details for the long trip back to Anchorage via Magadan. We then packed or looked for the last of Wrangel's polar bears as the ship headed for the Russian mainland.
The evening's cocktail party was great fun and continued into the final recap. Mike introduced Freddie Gamble, who invited us to become involved in Polar Bears International and their efforts to support Nikita's and his colleagues' research projects. Carmen then took the microphone and reminded us of a few of the amazing things we'd seen and done on this voyage, from five polar bears on one piece of ice to nearly bare-rock ground with color sprouting everywhere, from historic sites in the earth's farthest reaches to, finally, day upon day crushing through the beautiful ice-covered Arctic Ocean. Shirley announced that Zegrahm recently made a $15,000 contribution to Polar Bears International and read a very funny questionnaire given to Zegrahm when they inquired about purchasing a plane to take us to all the amazing places they and we visit. Victor claimed that the true mark of an Arctic explorer was patience and congratulated us on possessing a lion's share of this virtue. He then showed us a special gift from the crew that we would receive later in the evening: a packet of North Pole seawater, each one personalized with our names.
Conrad assured us that in addition to patience, one must face the Arctic with defiance. Indeed our ship has; the islands have for millennia, and the North's flora and fauna manage to defy all odds against their survival. Jim explained how the writing of Frankenstein has been tied to climate change and hypothesized that icebreakers such as the Yamal may not be needed for Arctic travel someday if global warming persists. Good thing we had come now; timing's everything, they say. Geoff "proved" the British mastery of English with his "anthology of pros(e)" story and compared the pack ice being crushed by our ship to plate tectonics, ice versions of which we saw every day as we steamed along. Peter wrapped up the hour by having us imagine how Nikita's life had changed today; this morning he was with his family in a warm ship eating breakfast, and this evening he was alone on the desolate spit of land at Cape Blossom waiting for polar bears to appear. After today's remarkable polar bear encounter, we knew it wouldn't be long before he had company.
Champagne was flowing as we dined with new and old friends, reliving our weeks together in the Arctic and planning for future trips together. The captain bid us farewell and invited us to sail again on his powerful icebreaker. The galley staff then served up a beautifully sculpted cake in the likeness of our ship-quite an artistic masterpiece!
Farewells continued as we gathered one last time in the lecture hall for Peter's You Are the Stars presentation. Accompanied by the beautiful score of Winged Migration, his photos caught the essence of our expedition-gorgeous ice, thrilling helicopter rides, fantastic wildlife, stunning landscapes and seascapes, surprises around every piece of ice, camaraderie, fun, and, most of all, a group of passengers and staff second to none.
In our 18 days aboard the I/B Yamal, we had sailed along a rarely traveled route spanning 4,623 miles of Arctic wilderness. We had traversed the Northeast Passage; a feat accomplished for the first time a mere 125 years ago. We had set foot on the top of the world, from where a person can travel in only one direction-south. And we had watched creatures in their natural environment that few humans ever see outside of a zoo. What a marvelous adventure in the Russian Arctic this has been! back to the top Day 20
August 19
Pevek
We awoke this morning to find the Yamal in position off Pevek. We bid farewell to the Yamal crew and disembarked for the last time by helicopter. Once on shore we boarded buses for our 'much anticipated' tour of Pevek. Our guides informed us that the town was mainly a gold and tin mining area with a population of 5,000. Our arrival was a big deal for the locals in Pevek. They had never received a group of this size. Nadia had made it quite clear that we should not expect much from this tiny Russian outpost, but boy were we surprised at what Pevek had to offer.
The Natural History Museum had very good displays of the ethnography of Chukotka, a Gulag room, and excellent scrimshaw exhibits and carvings on walrus tusk. Conrad was really impressed with the workmanship. The Geology Museum had an interesting display of gold and raw minerals. We had the opportunity to visit a Russian Orthodox church before our lunch stop at Romashka. The lunch was excellent, fried fish, reindeer, salads, and vegetables, plus a shot of vodka to round it off! We all convened at the music school for a cultural show, which was fantastic, of some Chukotka and modern Russian dance and singing routines. Right after the performance Mike broke the news that our charter plane was delayed by a few hours. We took advantage of the time and went to visit the local school. Approximately 900 students attend the school, and some of them were present with their teachers, as they were doing a repaint job on the interior. We gave them the thumbs-up on the new murals they were splashing on the walls.
Back out at the Pevek airport, our charter had arrived, and we boarded for our flight home. After stopping in Magadan to officially clear out of Russia, we proceeded to Anchorage, landing just before 0900. Our North Pole adventure was nearing the end. One last time we bid farewell as we went our separate ways. back to the top
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