On Thin Ice: An Epic Final Quest into the Melting Arctic

In March 2014, Eric Larsen and Ryan Waters set out to traverse nearly 500 miles of the melting Arctic Ocean, unsupported, from northern Ellesmere Island to the North Pole. Traveling across the retreating sea ice on skis and snowshoes, and even swimming through semi-frozen Arctic slush, Larsen and Waters each pulled over 320 pounds of gear behind them on sleds through temperatures that plummeted to nearly 70 degrees below zero. At times, they covered little over a mile a day. They were stalked by polar bears and ran out of food. Their Last North Expedition was, in Larsen’s words, “easily one of the most difficult expeditions in the world.”

More than just a heart-stopping adventure narrative, however, On Thin Ice offers an intimate and haunting look at the rapidly changing face of the Arctic due to global climate change.