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Arctic wrap-up: Three hours sleep in four days and they made the NP!
09:44 am CDT Apr 27, 2009
(ThePoles.com) “The last four days were an absolute blur for Tyler and I,” said an exhausted and elated John at the North Pole. They arrived the same day as the other full-trip team, Lonnie, Stuart and Max; and only the day before Barneo sent out their pick up helicopter.
Max Chaya and Stuart Smith accomplished the Three Poles (North and South Pole and Everest). John reached his second pole after the South Pole in January 2008. John and Tyler became the first Americans to ski unassisted to the North Pole. Max became the first Lebanese to ski to the NP.
Unsupported, Unassisted (90°N)
John Huston and Tyler Fish (USA); Ward Hunt Start
The last four days were a very tough push. John reported on Day 53 that they felt good and were both fragile and experiencing up and down emotions through the travel day, but were optimistic that they would make it to the Pole.
He said their speed was determined by travel conditions and open water. They swam two leads, and said they were comfortable in their systems and did well.
“It is hard, but we try not to think of it.” Instead they set themselves up with good routines and steady progress.
Then the report from the North Pole: “The last four days were and absolute blur for Tyler and I” said an exhausted John on the voice dispatch. “We slept a total of three hours and pushed our bodies and bodies to the limit.”
“We are exhausted. We are so tired we don’t know how tired we are.”
“We have a fantastic feeling of satisfaction and of freedom from our powerful routines that propelled us to the North Pole and challenging circumstances.“
The guys had no rest days.
The Barneo helicopter was ready to pick them up the next day to take them to Barneo from where they will fly to Spitsbergen and Oslo to meet their families.
Day 55: April 25, 2009
Location: N90° 0.0'
Time Traveled: 16 hrs 15 minutes
Start: 1:15am (2/25)
End: 5:30pm (2/25) Central Time
gentle NW winds, misty sky, sun shining through clouds
0 nautical miles to the North Pole
Unsupported, Assisted (90°N)
Lonnie Dupre, guide, (USA), Max Chaya (Lebanon) and Stuart Smith (USA); Cape Discovery Start
The night before they reached the NP, the team slept 7 nm from their destination, said their home team. “They are extremely tired, but they will only sleep for a short time before making the final miles to the Pole.”
“They crossed three leads today - two of which they were able to negotiate over the ice, and one that they needed to float across on their sleds. Though was a white-out when they called, the wind was calm and the drift was hopefully dying down.”
On 25 April at 9:22 AM Chicago time (CST) Lonnie, Stuart and Max reached the North Pole, reported Lonnie in voice dispatch. He gives a brief summery of the expedition. Listen to him on their website.
Lonnie said they still had to wait 15 hours for the helicopter from Barneo for a pick up to the Ice Station. From there they will fly with the Antonov to Longyearbyen in Spitsbergen where they will meet other PolarExplorers’ teams for a celebratory dinner.
Non-land start: Unsupported, Assisted (90°N)
Keith Heger (USA) and Sebastian Copeland (France/USA); last 400 miles
Sebastian said they didn’t have much sun for about a week. “While it does not affect temperature out here, the sun still helps psychologically; more importantly it defining the terrain for route finding and simplifies navigation as it rotates in the sky at the rate of 15 degrees every hour. I spent the day navigating using the wind instead for guidance, which hit us from the west with 10 to 15 knot gusts.”
“We have been told categorically that our flight off the ice will be no later than the 26th in the AM as Barneo closes then.”
The last position update the team gave was at N89°07.881 and W36°36.458 on 25 April. Then Sebastian wrote, “Tomorrow we will push long and hard for an anticipated 18 hours, to get us as close to the pole as possible. The helicopter will then lift us and drop us within striking distance.” If only they had two extra days, they wished.
North Pole (90°N) to Greenland
Arnaud Tortel (guide) and Charles Hedrich (France)
They guys camped near an open lead and saw a seal as well as fox tracks. They were on the look out for polar bears.
Position: 87°52N, 20°18W
Barneo Ice Station
Friday April 24, 2009
Coordinates: 88°17.066' N; 3°34.27' E
Distance from the Pole - 190 km, t -20°Ñ, north-wester, 5-7 m/sec.
Fine and sunny weather.
Two planes form Moscow arrived with Dmitry Shparo (Matvey’s father) and other important Russian people.
The staff started breaking up the camp. Read more on the website about the last days’ activities.
Links to Arctic 2009 expeditions
Unsupported, Unassisted Geographic North Pole
John Huston and Tyler Fish (USA) - Victorinox North Pole '09 Expedition
Unsupported, Assisted Geographic North Pole
Lonnie Dupre (USA), Max Chaya (Lebanon) and Stuart Smith (USA) – Peary-Henson Centennial North Pole Expedition 2009
Max Chaya’s blog
Pen Hadow, Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley (UK) – Catlin Arctic Survey Expedition
Unsupported/Unassisted Magnetic North Pole (1996 position)
Michele Pontrandolfo (Italy)
Non-land start, Unsupported, Assisted Geographic North Pole
Keith Heger (USA) and Sebastian Copeland (France/USA) – Peary-Henson Centennial North Pole Expedition 2009; last 400 miles
North Pole (90°N) to Greenland
Charles Hedrich’s website
Arnaud Tortel (guide) and Charles Hedrich (France); Blog in French
Barneo Ice Station
Last Degree North Pole
Stefan Nestler (Germany) with guide Thomas Ulrich (Switserland) and team
Eric Philips (Australia, guide) and Michael Archer (New Zealand)
Kevin Dempsey (Ireland) with guide, Jason De Carteret (UK) and team
Lance Ranger with guide, Jason De Carteret (UK) and team
Northwest Passage / Polar Explorers
Northwest Passage / Polar Explorers dogsled expedition
Borge Ousland and team
Doug Stoup and team
Christina Franco (Italy/UK)
Meagan McGrath (Canada)
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