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ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS 2007
Siberia-Greenland traverse 2007
Arctic Arc: Hubert and Dansercoer’s traverse from Siberia to Greenland - 4300 km
EXPEDITION ONGOING
In 2002, Belgians Alain Hubert and Dixie attempted to travel 2350 km from New Siberian Islands to Ellesmere Island, Canada using only power kites for support. Heavy ice conditions caused them to first restate their mission; the new goal was to reach the Pole and get airlifted back. After a few more days the expedition was abandoned - Alain and Dixie were picked up at 80.27N 134.41E on May 1. Now they are back for an even longer traverse, resupplied. The Siberia to Greenland 4300-km trip started in February and is expected to wrap up in June 2007.
Alain and Dixie were airlifted over an open lead off Cape Arktichewski, and started 70 km away from the coast.
Hubert's website: www.antarctica.org
North Pole Unsupported 2007
Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen – take two - 775 km
EXPEDITION ABORTED
After a 2005 attempt to ski across the Arctic Ocean was aborted due to problems with the logistic's outfitter Cerpolex, in 2007 Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen attempted to ski to the North Pole. The pair intended to reach the Pole from Ward Hunt Island in Canada unsupported, be resupplied at the Pole and then head towards the Tara, a scientific ship currently iced on the Arctic Ocean, about 75 km beyond. The plan called for Liv and Ann to reach Tara by May, then leave the ice with the Tara’s resupply/replacement crew aircraft (Check for Tara expedition below.)
Bancroft and Arnesen were evacuated on March 12, five days after departure. Liv's frosbitten toes, the team’s damaged gear, and bitter cold were the reasons given for aborting the attempt.
Bancroft-Arnesen Expedition’s website: www.bancroftarnesenexplore.com
North Pole Supported 2007
Rosie Stancer’s NP trip - 775 km
EXPEDITION ONGOING
Starting in March, Britain’s Rosie Stancer is going alone for the North Pole from Canada. In sailing, mountaineering and polar travel; a solo expedition implies “no assistance; no physical contact with other people throughout entire expedition.” As Rosie will have the assistance of resupplies, the expedition is not considered solo.
Expedition’s website: www.rosiestancermarsnorthpolesolo.co.uk
Richard Weber back to the Pole – guiding British SP skier and Dubai Everest summiteer - 775 km
EXPEDITION ONGOING
Last year, Canadian Richard Weber (Canadian Arctic Holidays) and British Conrad Dickinson made it to the Pole in 53 days - using snowshoes instead of skis. This year, starting on March 3, Richard Weber will lead UK Iain Morpeth and Adrian Hayes from Dubai (!) to ski and snowshoe to the Geographic North Pole from Canada.
Richard has previously already trekked to the North Pole five times, while Iain has skied to the South Pole and Adrian has climbed Mount Everest.
Richard’s Canadian Arctic Holidays: www.canadianarcticholidays.ca
Adrian Hayes' website: www.adrianhayes.com
Canada-Greenland traverses 2007
Kobalenko and Cochran to follow Cook’s 1909 route to Greenland – 700 km
Starting in March, 2007 Canadian Jerry Kobalenko and American Bob Cochran will ski 700 km from Canada to Greenland, following Frederick Cook's 1909 route from his winter den on Devon Island to the abandoned hunting site of Annoatok in northwest Greenland. The 40- to 50-day expedition will follow along the edge of the North Water Polynya.
Jerry Kobalenko is facing his 15th sledding expedition – actually this will be his 30th self-propelled arctic journey -- including kayaking, canoeing, and backpacking. Bob Cochram, from LA, who has done a couple of arctic kayak trips and one 400k sledding expedition previously.
Siberia Expeditions 2007
Ousland & Ulrich for Russian territories
Both Norwegian Borge Ousland and Swiss Thomas Ulrich will lead “Last Degree” expeditions to the North Pole, then join forces for a trip through Russia’s Arctic regions. The exact itinerary will be confirmed as soon as the two receive confirmation from authorities.
Ousland’s website: www.ousland.no/english
Ulrich’s website: www.thomasulrich.com
Hampel father and son Siberia Expedition: Dog-sledging to Koltelny
EXPEDITION ONGOING
Gerhard and Chris Hampel will do a dogsled expedition to the Koltelny Islands, retracing the footprints of 19th century explorers who searched for the phantom “Sannikovland” at the new Siberian Archipelago.
Expedition website : www.siberia-expedition.com
Northern Spirit Lake Baikal Expedition - 700 km
EXPEDITION ONGOING
Conrad Dickinson will lead a team aiming for the first complete crossing of Siberia’s Lake Baikal. Lying deep in the heart of Siberia, the team will attempt to travel the full 700-km length of the banana shaped lake, starting in the Slyudyanka in the south, and finishing at the Nizhneangarskon the lake’s northern end. The team will use kites where possible, but also expects to paddle across open water sections and to exchange skis for crampons or ice-skates where necessary.
Dickinson crossed Greenland in 2003 (28 days), reached the South Pole unsupported in 2004/5 (then kited back) and skied to the North Pole last year — also unsupported — together with Richard Weber. This time Conrad will be accompanied by his wife Hilary, also a veteran of Greenland and South Pole expeditions. The team will also include Alistair Goothrie and Anthony Baird.
Expedition website : www.northernspiritsiberia.com
Greenland Expeditions 2007
Pittarak Expedition: Sarah & Eric McNair-Landry kite-skiing across Greenland's Icecap - 2300 km
Eric McNair-Landry (22), Sarah McNair-Landry (20) and Pier-Marc Girard (20) will do a South to North traverse of the Greenland Icecap. The team will leave from the southern tip of Greenland and kite-ski northwards to the village of Qaanaaq, on the island's NW coast.They expect the trip to last on month.
Sarah and Eric are the kids of polar guides Matty McNair and Paul Landry. In 2005, Matty became the first American to ski unsupported to the South Pole, her kids the youngest to do so. At the South Pole, they got a resupply, turned around and kite the 1100 km back - totaling 2200 km as the crow fly.
Roger Chao's Greenland E/W crossing- 450 km
Australian Roger Chao will lead two other people on a sea-to-sea traverse of Greenland. The team will set off from Nagtivit, on the island's eastern coast, where the icecap reaches the sea and head west for 450 km. At the point where the team nears the west coast the ice cap does not extend to the edge of the land, so the team will walk off the ice for 45 km to the sea.
Baffin Island Expeditions 2007
Global Warming 101 Expedition: Steger, Viesturs and Branson to check weather with Inuits – 1931 km
EXPEDITION ONGOING
Two years after becoming the first American climber to summit all 14 of the 8000ers, Ed Viesturs is joining Will Steger, another American and the fourth person ever to reach both poles, for an upcoming Baffin Island expedition. They will also be joined by Richard Branson and his son, Sam.
Steger, John Stetson, Elizabeth Andre and Abby Fenton have joined four Inuit hunters and their dog teams on a 1931 km (1200 mile), four-month-long dogsled expedition across the Canadian Arctic’s Baffin Island. The expedition departed Iqualuit on February 24, and will stop at several Inuit villages. Branson, his son Sam and Viesturs will join the team on the last leg of the journey, expected to last from late April to the end of the expedition in May 2007.
In 1995 Steger completed the first dog-and canoe sledging, 2500-mile traverse of the Arctic Ocean from Russia to Ellesmere Island in Canada via the North Pole.
Expedition’s website: www.globalwarming101.com
Baffin Island Expeditions 2007
Park Young-Seok's Korean Bering Strait expedition – 88 km
EXPEDITION ABORTED
Park Young-Seok, Korean 14x8000ers summiteer and skier of both Poles, set off on March 5 from Uelen, Chukotka, Russia on a Bering Strait crossing. The team’s goal was to arrive in Wales, a seaside village in Alaska 88 kilometers from the point of departure, on March 19. Oh Hee-Joon and Lee Hyung-Mo were also part of the team.
The team was evacuated on March 9 due to strong drifting ice. A US helicopter picked up the team 27 kilometers away from Alaska’s Seward Peninsula.
Svalbard expeditions 2007
Frozen Five: Students to ski across Spitsbergen – 1000 km
A group of young geoscience students will attempt to cross Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard Archipelago, from south to north. The trip is expected to last two months and will cover approximately 1000 km. The expedition will kick off on March 29 in Longyearbyen, the only town on Svalbard. It is planned to finish around June 14.
Members are Czech (NZ resident) Kim Senger, German Hella Garny, French Lucas Girard, Swede Mats Björkman, and German-born, Norway-resident Ulli Neumann.
Expedition’s website: www.frozenfive.org
Arctos III: Across Oscar II Land
Czechs Jan Stovicek, Bohumil Petru, Dana Veverkova, Radka Zounkova, Libor Kriz, and Jan Kral will cross Spitsbergen's Oscar II land on a six week-long trip this spring. They will set off from the southern end of Oscar II Land, heading across the glacier to Ny Lesund, then to Newtontoppen – the highest peak of Svalbard Archipelago - and afterwards south to Longyearbyen.
Expedition’s website (Czech): www.outdoor-club.cz/arctos3
Kite Boarding/Skiing Spitsbergen crossing - 900 km
British Charlie Hunter, Irish David O’Brien, Australian Cynan Rhodes and Kiwi Daniel Cardon will set off April, 2007 on a Kiteboard/Ski crossing of Spitsbergn island. The team will travel to the most northerly point of the island and then head south covering 900km across a polar ice cap, using the prevailing easterly winds.
Expedition’s website: www.beardodging.co.uk
Arctic Races 2007
Polar Challenge – 593 km
Polar Challenge is a 320-nautical mile (593km) team race from Polaris Mine in the Arctic to the 1996 location of the Magnetic North Pole. The race takes place between April and May each year, taking teams approximately four weeks to complete (including the training time). Competitors will race in teams of three, though many first applied for the event as individuals and formed teams when they met during training.
Event’s website: www.polar-challenge.com
Polar Race – 563 km
Inspired and organized by Jock Wishart and David Hempleman-Adams in 1996, the competition covers about 350 miles (563 km) between Resolute Bay and the Magnetic North Pole (1996 location).
Event’s website: www.polarrace.com
Current Arctic sailing trips
Tara Expedition – 5186 km
EXPEDITION ONGOING
The 116-foot Tara started a two year voyage in September. Currently stuck in the ice past the North Pole, as soon as the ice breaks up, Tara will proceed through Fram Strait and along the northeast side of Greenland, by then completing a 2800 nautical mile trip.
Tara's crew of scientist, coordinated by Jean-Claude Gascard of the University Pierre et Marie Curie in France, is studying the Arctic environment.
Expedition’s website: www.taraexpeditions.org
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