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Kite sledding and sailing across Bering
14:44 p.m. EST Mar 28, 2004
Remember Dixie and Alain that Ben has mentioned lately with regards to his boots? Well, Dixie is soon up for his own challenge.
Dixie Dansercoer, 42, and Troy Henkels, 37, are scouting the ice conditions on the Bering Strait for an expedition across it next year. Though originally planning to ski across, the men will now rig kites to their buoyant sleds and sail across the water. Their ultimate goal is to make the trip in both directions. Depending on ice conditions, Dixie and Troy will attempt to cross in March of 2005.
The Russian explorer Dmitry Shparo and his two sons crossed from Siberia to Alaska in 1998, mostly drifting hundreds of miles north on sheets of ice. Though the actual distance of the traverse is just under 100 kilometers, Dmitry and his sons traveled over 280 kilometers.
Dixie successfully traversed the Antarctic in 1998 with Alain Hubert. In 2002, Dixie and Alain, both from Belgium, tried to ski across the Arctic Ocean. The expedition started in the unusual and bold point of the New Siberian Islands. After a hard battle fighting rough currents, Alain and Dixie were forced to call it quits after 69 days.
Troy recently climbed on Mount Everest as a finalist in the Toyota Global Extremes challenge TV program. He turned back at 25,000 feet, short of the 29,035-foot summit. If you want to read more about the Global Extreme Everest expedition, just make a search in the Everest section of ExplorersWeb.
Dixie Dansercoer and Troy Henkels (an Alaskan resident who was a finalist in the recent Outdoor Life Network’s Global Extremes Challenge) will attempt a double-back traverse of the Bering Strait. Their goal is to reach Siberia from Alaska on foot and then return to Alaskan shores in the same manner.
Image of Dixie, left, and Troy in Wales, Alaska courtesty of Anchorage Daily News.
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