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No heli for NP skiers, "..reason this time was 'weather' but there may be more to it than that.."
12:22 p.m. EST Mar 1, 2004
It’s Monday, and after a week all the teams are still in Khatanga waiting for the helicopter to fly them to the starting point. Why? Is it about the weather, the money, the permissions? The skiers sound off on what is happening:
Wave Vidmar, March 1st: “Well, Monday morning has come and we are still here in Khatanga with no clear idea of when we will be able to proceed. This morning's excuse was “bad weather,” but we all know it is simply game playing and leverage for control and money disputes that keep us grounded. I knew that getting to the drop-off at Cape Arctichevsky would be challenging, but I had no idea it would be this hard or take this long…We got news shortly before lunch that all of our expeditions are in jeopardy, and Cerpolex conceded that they may not even be in business next year.”
Wave, previously this weekend, “…received a disturbing email from Polus, the group now running Borneo ice station. In the email it stated that Cerpolex (my expedition travel company) will not be serviced at Borneo this year. We've been assured by Cerpolex that we'll have emergency support and pick-up/fly-out from the pole. But as they say in Siberia, nothing is for certain…”
Ben Saunders, March 1st: “I walked the few hundred meters through the morning chill to the Cerpolex base to find out what was (or wasn't) going on. Christian (usually placidity embodied) was wringing his hands and a heated telephone discussion was being conducted in Russian behind him. The reason this time was 'the weather' but it seems there may be more to it than that...”
Saunders, Feb 28th: “So far we've had permit delays, radio operators unwilling to work on the weekends, gunfights over who runs the polar base and official delegations commandeering our helicopter. We have been told 'definitely tomorrow' at least four times. We fly to Sredny on Monday. “100% for sure,” apparently Hmm..”
Bettina and Jean-Gabriel, Feb 28th: “Yes, you guessed right. They are still in Khatanga. The permission for both people and the heli are ok, but Friday night went as predicted. As they were sitting in the dinning room, some men, who just arrived on a plane, walked in, carrying bags with vodka. And then the party began. Toasts were made, every toast was accompanied with a speech…
Bettina, March 1st: “News…no I’m afraid not. They are still in Khatanga...I can’t help thinking that they should all have started out from Canada. That would probably have saved them a lot of waiting time and speculations.
This is not a summer vacation being cancelled!!!”
Dominick Arduin, March 1st: “According to the latest explanation it's now the stormy weather that's hampering the flights. Gale force winds would prevent the helicopters from landing anyway, so they aren't given a permission even to take off.
Despite some minor setbacks spirits are still high. During these expeditions there are always numerous reasons for delays.”
Fear, hopelessness, desperation – as the situation becomes graver you can only wonder what is going through the skiers’ heads. Some of them have put in years of preparation for this, only to have their hopes possibly dashed by what comes down to an motionless, old Russian helicopter.
All the North Pole expeditions this year are from the Russian side. Ben Saunders plans to ski unsupported and solo across the Arctic Ocean. Wave Vidmar will ski unsupported and solo to the North Pole.
Frédéric Chamard-Boudet will try to become the first French solo to the North Pole without resupplies. Dominick Arduin will embark for a solo expedition to the North Pole with one re-supply. Couple Jean-Gabriel and Bettina Aller are going for the Pole on a supported expedition.
Image of Wave up in Khatanga courtesy of NorthPoleSolo.com.
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