| Starting from Canada -
Unsupported |
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The Omega Foundation Arctic Research Expedition |
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British Polar explorer Pen Hadow is struggling his way to the North
Pole, solo and unsupported. Pen started out from Ward Hunt Island on
March 17 and has been doing very well this far.
Pen is no stranger to the Arctic he has led several expeditions
there in the past but is pushing the boundaries now attempting
to make the full 775km solo. The full journey should take him
around 60-70 days to complete.
www.polartravel.co.uk |
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| Starting from Russia -
Unsupported |
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Russian North Pole expedition |
Three Russians polar explorers: Gueorguy Karpienko, Alexander
Larionienko and Viatecheslav Bystrov will set out from Cape Arktichevsky
late in February. Their mind are set on one thing reaching the
North Pole and doing it unsupported.
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| Starting from Russia -
Supported |
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The Messner of Asia going for the Poles |
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84
degrees North of Siberia, one of the most experienced climbers in
the world, Mr. Park and his team, is on a very different challenge -
skiing to the North Pole. South Korean adventurer Park Young Seok
belongs to the small band of men who has all 14 of the worlds
8000ers under his belt.
The team set out from Cape Arktichevsky Russia on March 4 for the
950 km long ski trek to the Pole.
www.parksgrandslam.com
Running behind schedule from the very
beginning there was no longer any chance of reaching the Pole before
the ice camp Borneo closed. Mr. Park is an experienced adventurer
who knows that nothing is ever gained by quitting, right after the
pick up call he started to plan for a return to the Arctic Ocean. |
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Women Solo - Dominick Arduin |
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French explorer Dominick Arduin is attempting to conquer the
geographical North Pole this spring as she sets out on March 5 from
Cap Arktichevsky, Russia. Two years ago Dominick reached the
Magnetic North Pole now it is time for the real challenge.
The journey should take her about two months if she can manage 20km
a day. Dominick will be transporting all required supplies for the
journey with her.
www.arctic-dominick.com
Dominick Arduin has terminated the
expedition in late March. A plate of ice had given way and Dominick
fell into the water. She managed to get up out but was worried about
the frostbite condition on her legs and feet. After consulting an
expert on frostbite she decided to call for an emergency
evacuation. |
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| Starting from Borneo |
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Ben Saunders - North Pole 2003 |
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25 year-old Briton Ben Saunders hit the ice on April 13. Ben is
doing the last degree this year as a preparation for the big one
coming up in 2004 - going solo and unsupported all the way.
www.northpole2003.com
On one ski and wet as a dog Ben Saunders
returned to Borneo after a successful round trip to the Pole. After
taking an involuntary arctic swim he skied flat-out the last 3 miles
and got greeted with "good warming vodka" as he arrived at the Russian
ice camp. Ben now thinks he is ready for the real challenge doing
the three poles in one year starting with North Pole in 2004. |
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North Pole Challenge |
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In April Geoff Somers (guide), David Burckett St. Laurent and Adam
Levy are heading up to the Arctic regions for a polar expedition.
The team will start their journey at the Borneo ice base on 89
degrees North and from there ski to the North Pole. Geoff Somers and
Adam Levy are both experienced polar explorers. David, the newcomer,
has prepared for this trek with specialized polar preparation
courses in Dartmoor and on the high Arctic Norwegian island Svalbard.
www.npchallenge.com
North Pole Challenge team made it to the top
of the world. The three felt weird to arrive at a place on
Earth that many men have made great sacrifices to get to over the
years. Later that night the team raised the Union Jack in
celebration of their achievement. |
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| Polar expeditions -
Unspecified |
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Mike Horn – Arktos Adventure |
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Mike Horn is out on the ice trying to complete his circumnavigating
at the Polar Circle. Mike departed from North Cape in August 2002
heading for the east coast of Greenland. His logistic team is
meeting up at several stages to re-supply with medication, equipment
and food. The scheduled time for the expedition is a huge 18 months.
www.mikehorn.com |
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Arctic Quest 1831 |
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British explorer Dom Mee follows the route of Victorian explorer Sir
John Ross as he searched for the Northwest Passage in 1829. Dom
travels to Pond Inlet at Baffin Island using a 17-foot folding Klepper kayak. He is unsupported and will be out for seventy days
paddling some 600Nm. Dom is filming a documentary as he goes and is
also testing gear for his upcoming 2004 expedition "The Quest", an
attempt to circumnavigate the world non-stop and unsupported via its
two polar regions in a 28 ft yacht.
www.dommee.co.uk
After around a month Dom hit bad pack ice, and decided to abort his
expedition. On Sunday September
14 Dom reached an Inuit Settlement in the high Arctic, tired but not
too disappointed.
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North Pole Solo Dive |
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Australian photographer and diver Marcus Fillinger will attempt an
unassisted solo dive at the North Pole. This has never been done
before, pervious dive at the Pole has always been done in group or
in pairs.
Marcus will be leaving ice base "Borneo" by helicopter around April
15 and from there the journey will be continued by foot, carrying
his diving equipment as well as camera gear in order for him to
record the dive. Marcus will stay out for 8-10 days depending on the
weather and will have contact with a helicopter pointing him towards
open water near the Pole.
www.emulsion.net.au
On April 19 Marcus Fillinger from
Canberra, Australia, became the first person to dive solo and
unassisted at the Geographic North Pole.
Read full story
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North West Passage Expedition |
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Bengt Egil Rotmo and Randulf Valle, two Norwegian explorers are out
to retrace the classic North West Passage. The passage is the ship
route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, north of the
Canadian coast discovered by Roald Amundsen in 1903. Bengt and
Randulf will attempt to rediscover the route, this time by skis
pulling all their supplies on sleds. Starting point for the
expedition is Kugluktuk (Coppermine) form there the two will work
their way to Pond Inlet on the northeastern tip of Baffin Island.
Timeline for the expedition is March to June; distance 2000 – 2500
km.
www.villmarkssida.no |
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Polar Race |
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The Polar race starts from Resolute Bay in Nunavut, Canada. It takes
the contestants some 350 miles across some of the most desolate
terrain in the world to the North Magnetic Pole. The race is open to
both experienced polar adventurers and novices to polar conditions.
The only concession to novices is that they will be allowed
re-supplies en-route. Competitors leave for the starting point in
early April 2003 and the race is expected to last around 30 days.
www.polar-race.com
British Initial Style Explorers team of Chris
McLeod (Chichester), Phil Ashby (Cirencester), and Manley Hopkinson
(Twickenham) received the Wedgwood Blue Ice Trophy as the victors in
the first Polar race ever. Just under 23 days after setting out on
April 9th they reached their goal, considerably lighter for their
efforts after pulling their supplies behind them on skis in
temperatures as low as -40 degrees Centigrade across deep snow and
ice and having had several close encounters with polar bears. |
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North Pole Marathon |
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The North Pole Marathon will begin on April 17, eleven adventure
athletes from six countries will compete in the perhaps most extreme
marathon ever. The finish line will be at the exact Geographic North
Pole.
The opportunity to run a half marathon is also presented apart from
the standard 26,2 miles. On April 14 the contestants will arrive in
Svalbard, Norway before flying out to the Pole..
www.northpolemarathon.com
Martin Tighe UK won the full length North
Pole Marathon with a time of 5.02.10. All top three runners had to
take a break during the race to have some frost nip treated before
they were allowed to continue. |
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Arctic Trek - Snowmobile Expedition |
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The Arctic Trek will continue their snowmobile 8,000-mile expedition
through much of Canada and the high arctic this season. Chris Martz
out of Indianapolis, Indiana and Otto Bakemeier Dallas, Texas are
almost ready to begin the final push to the Geographic North Pole.
If things go as planned then they will depart Ellesmere Island
during the first part of March. But when dealing with the Arctic it
is difficult to predict what will happen and schedules are changed
on short notice.
www.arctictrek2000.com |
