Excuse time

February:

Catlin Arctic Survey leader Pen Hadow and his two colleagues...are scheduled to begin their scientific adventure on 27 February, after being flown 500 miles northwards from Resolute, the northern-most town in Canada. Their goal: to reach the Geographic North Pole by late May or early June. Along the way they will take approximately 12 million measurements of the thickness of the Arctic ice using a specially designed compact radar kit.

April:

"The overall focus is the science, so reaching the Pole is largely irrelevant to this expedition. What matters most is gathering the maximum amount of data possible over a scientifically interesting route..."

"SPRITE, its pioneering Surface Penetrating Radar for Ice Thickness Establishment, and onboard sledge computer kit have, despite rigorous testing ahead of the expedition, both been disabled by the extreme conditions. A fault, not previously detected, has also prevented use of a SeaCat probe which measures the water column beneath the floating sea ice..."