Incy-wincy Spider … Out came the sunshine, and so on …OK, so there aren't any spiders up here; no cobwebs either. But the foxes are fighting for mates.

After days of blind whiteout conditions and overcast foggy weather, the SUN felt good! It took the bite out of the – 29 C temperature. One could even say the day felt warm, although cheeks, noses and fingers were `thermally challenged´.

Actually, the big problem now is FINGERS. As the spring gradually advances, it seems that the chill-factor takes its greatest toll on those little pinkies. There are 70 fingers on this Expedition; some warmer and more colorful than others.

Flatter ice is still a dream unfulfilled. There remain too many obstacles hampering our daily progress. We really should be covering more distance per day, but it's not through lack of trying. Pack-ice; pressure ridges; piles of ice rubbish everywhere … At one stage, we found ourselves in the lap of the Mother-of-All boulder zones. Only twice could we ski for a while on a relatively flat crust of Arctic ice.

Overall, there was no change in the type of terrain we have faced all week.

This afternoon we crossed the widest and broadest lead yet faced by the Expedition: half-a-kilometer of careful ski-creeping on rubbery ice. We breathed in, tried to feel feathery-light, and trusted our luck. It was like skiing on a trampoline. In today's improved visibility, we were able to scout an economic route across the lead, thus avoiding the use of swimming trunks.

After this tense episode, it felt nice to let out a sigh of relief, and ski on firm ground [Ed: so-to-speak].

As today's satellite-photo shows, there is life up here after all. We saw Arctic fox footprints, just a few days old.

All is well with the Expedition.