It has been awhile since I posted anything about Johan Ernst Nilson's Pole2Pole Expedition. That's the ambitious adventure undertaken by the Swedish explorer during which he hopes to go from the North Pole to the South Pole, in a completely carbon neutral fashion, in just one year's time.
When last we checked in, Nilson has been dropped off at the North Pole, and had begun his journey south on skis. It was very tough going however, as the conditions in the Arctic were less than ideal this season, with large open leads of water, incredibly tumultuous weather, and thin pack-ice all around. Still, Nilson has been sticking to his course and working hard, and his efforts are about to get a lot easier.
In a blog post from earlier today, Nilson announced that he is in sight of land at long last. That means that he is approaching northern Greenland, where he expects to enter the next stage of his journey, which will be conducted on a dogsled. He still remains a few days away from actually touching solid ground, but when he does, he'll transition to this new mode of transportation, which will carry him to Thule Airbase, where he'll board a ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
After that, Nilson will climb aboard a bike and begin a very long cycling journey from Ottawa, Canada to Tierra Del Fuego, where he'll once again sail across the Drake Passage, and head to the South Pole via skies. That's a long way off at this point, but he is about to hit a major milestone in what has already been a difficult journey.