At Khabarova, Yugor Strait, thirty-four dogs which had been sent there by previous arrangement were obtained. Some days were spent here in making repairs, shifting coal, etc. A ship loaded with coal was to meet the Fram here, but turned up two days late, having been delayed by ice. The Fram left Khabarova on 5th August, and after careful navigation in a fog, succeeded in passing through the Yugor Strait into the Kara Sea. Cape Chelyuskin, the northernmost point of Asia, was reached on the 10th September. On the 12th September two walruses were shot and secured. On the 18th September the course was shaped northwards, to the west of the New Siberian Islands, and the Fram had a straight run until the 20th September, when it was stopped by ice near latitude 78°. The edge of the ice was now followed towards the north-west, and about 78½° was reached. On the 24th September they found that the ship was being frozen in. An observation taken on the 29th gave latitude 79° 5′. By 8th November they had drifted as far south as 77° 43′; on the 19th November they were north to 78° 27′; and on the 23rd November they reached 79° 11′, which was the highest yet reached. On the 27th November an altitude of Jupiter was taken, and the latitude found to be 78° 36′, from which it was believed that a mistake had been made on the 23rd. By the end of the year they were not much farther north; sometimes the drift was one way and sometimes the other. Several bears made their appearance and were shot; foxes were also seen.
As early as 15th January 1894, Nansen began to speculate about the possibility of leaving the ship and making a sledge-journey over the ice towards the Pole, but he decided to first wait and see the result of the drift. On one point Nansen’s calculations had proved incorrect: he had presupposed a shallow Polar Sea in which all currents would have a strong influence. Instead of this, it was found in latitude 79° that with a line of 1000 fathoms the bottom could not be reached. The greatest depth hitherto found in these regions was 80 fathoms.
It was not until the 1st of February 1894 that the 80th degree of latitude was reached. On the 6th of April a remarkable event took place, which had been looked forward to with lively interest. It was an eclipse of the sun. Hansen, who had charge of the astronomical observations, calculated that the eclipse would begin at 12.56. It really was seen to begin 7½ seconds later than the time calculated. This proved the chronometers to be in excellent order. Four bears made their appearance on 8th April; none had been seen during the three previous months. The 81st degree of latitude was reached about 17th May 1894, and the 82nd not until the 31st October 1894.
On the 5th of November a curious incident happened, and is worth mentioning. One of the young dogs was heard howling fearfully on deck. It was found to have touched an iron bolt with its tongue, and was frozen fast to it. The poor beast was straining to get free, with its tongue stretched out so far that it looked like a thin rope proceeding out of its throat. The bolt was heated by means of the hand, and the puppy then managed to get the tongue free.
On 16th November, Nansen elaborated his plan for the sledge-journey towards the Pole in the spring of 1895. He made his calculations from the 83rd degree of latitude, and he expected that the Fram would reach a higher latitude than this. The distance to the Pole from this latitude is 483 English miles. Nansen thought it reasonable to expect that this distance could be covered in fifty days, which would give about 9½ miles a day. The expedition was to consist of twenty-eight dogs, and two men, with 2100 lb. of provisions and equipments. Nansen calculated that in fifty days the dogs would consume 1400 lb. of pemmican, allowing a pound a day for each dog. Two pounds of provisions daily for each man was allowed. In returning, he intended to make for either the Seven Islands, north of Spitzbergen, or Cape Fligely in Franz-Josef Land, according to circumstances. Setting out on the 1st of March, he expected to reach the Pole at the end of April, and have about 500 lb. of provisions left for the return journey. This would not allow anything for the dogs, so it was intended to kill some to feed the others. Allowing for the gradual reduction of weight on the return journey, Nansen calculated that Cape Fligely should be reached about the 1st of June. From here he would decide whether to return along the north-west coast of Franz-Josef Land by Gillis Land towards North-East Island and Spitzbergen, or south through Austria Sound towards the south coast of Franz-Josef Land, and thence to Novaya Zemlya or Spitzbergen.
Nansen decided that Johansen should be his companion. He was a lieutenant in the Reserve, and was so eager to go in the Fram that, as no other post could be found for him, he accepted that of stoker. He afterwards assisted Hansen in taking scientific observations.
On 20th November, Nansen delivered an address to the whole ship’s company, in which he announced his determination to make the sledge-journey. Preparations were now made in earnest. During the summer Nansen had already begun to make a kayak, the frame of which was of bamboo carefully lashed together. When completed, the framework weighed 16 lb. It was afterwards covered with sail-cloth, when the whole boat weighed 30 lb. It was 12 feet long, 28 inches wide in the middle, and 12 inches deep. Another kayak was made with a depth of 15 inches. These kayaks were chiefly intended for crossing over channels and open spaces in the ice, and coasting along possible land. They were essentially like Eskimo kayaks, full-decked, save for an aperture in the middle for a man to sit in. This aperture was encircled by a wooden ring, after the Eskimo fashion, over which the lower part of the seal-skin jacket could be adjusted so that the junction between boat and jacket was water-tight. Besides this aperture in the middle, there were small trap-doors fore and aft in the deck, for the convenience of stowing provisions. Two sledges were made about the same length as the kayaks.
On 12th December 1894 it was found that the Fram had attained a higher latitude than had ever before been reached by a ship, the observation giving 82° 30′. A great feast was held in its honour.
On the 3rd of January 1895 the Fram received such an alarming pressure from the ice that all preparations had to be made in case the ship would have to be abandoned. By the 6th of January the ice became quiet, and the danger was over. On this day the latitude was found to be 83° 34′, so that the expedition had now reached the most northern latitude; the record of Lockwood had been beaten.
Preparations for the long sledge-journey were now hastened. Bolsters filled with pemmican and dried-liver pie were made to fit the sledges and form a bed on which the kayaks were to rest. These bolsters when filled weighed from 100 to 120 lb. each. Three sledge-sails were made of very light calico, and were about 7 feet 2 inches broad by 4 feet 4 inches long; they were made so that two of them might be laced together and used as one sail for a double sledge.