North Pole update: Snow and Brimstone
Apr 29, 2004 13: 22 EST
Ben's 'Enfer du Nord' “I'm experiencing my own 'enfer du nord' (Hell of the North) at the moment. I've been skiing into a bitterly cold headwind for several days now, I've been drifting back between one and two miles daily for over a week, and today the ice took a turn for the worse; I find myself literally on my hands and knees, battling through horrendous pack ice - mostly old, smashed up areas covered in deep, soft snow. Things were so bad this morning that it took me almost all of the first two hours just to claw back last night's backward drift. Today is day 56. Eight weeks on the ice!”
Bettina and JG get rest penalty of 200m “A fine day with fairly good ice, but unfortunate also a bit of backwards drift. A rest on 10 minutes showed minus 200 meters on their GPS. So they felt they should have gone further than 25 km. today, but the nature wanted it differently.”
The Greenland training expedition reports on more bad weather. “Today has been a complete white out all day, driving wet snow and no horizon. Each man does a leg breaking trail - hard work. The lads have been great today. We pulled for six hours. At times tough, yet great sometimes. I was in travel mode - you just drift off and think."
Five expeditions set out for a North Pole expedition this year, all from the Russian side. Wave Vidmar to be the first American to ski solo and unsupported to the North Pole. Frédéric Chamard-Boudet to do the same for France. British Ben Saunders was to attempt a first solo, unsupported crossing. Danish/French duo Bettina Aller and Jean Gabriel Leynaud to ski to the pole with support and French/Finnish woman Dominick Arduin to attempt the first solo, female North Pole trek with support.
A big open water lead just off the starting point posed the first immediate problem for this years expeditions. Two solo skiers, French/Finnish woman Dominick and Frenchman Frederic decided to ski/paddle across the huge, 55 km semi open water area, in an attempt for a clean North Pole expedition (which must start from land). The other teams opted for an air drop onto thick ice.
Frederic Chamard-Boudet, fell in the water and was rescued. He is treated for severe frostbite. Dominick is missing since March 5th. Her tracks were found disappearing in an open water section, which she had planned to paddle over. No traces of Dominick, her kayak, sleds or other gear have been found.
Ben Saunders expedition status has changed to supported - he has opted for air resupplies. Wave Vidmar was airlifted off the ice and heads for home.
In December 2004, the Outdoor Education Team of West Nottinghamshire College will head an expedition to the South Pole. At the moment the team is in Greenland, taking part in an acclimatization ski-trek across the Greenland Icecap.
Image of Bettina on the ice courtesy of nopenguins.com.
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| OneWorld expedition: It's over Jun 3, 2005 | | Vancouver to Moscow - 1 year anniversary! Jun 2, 2005 | | Arctic wrap-up: The Single ski Weight Watchers Greenland program Jun 1, 2005 | | Arctic wrap-up: Rain and world record May 31, 2005 | | ExplorersWeb Week in Review May 30, 2005 | | 12 year old doing well on Greenland ice cap crossing May 27, 2005 | | Vagabond update - Polar bears, 200 candles and ice melting in Inglefieldbukta May 26, 2005 | | Arctic wrap-up: Polar hygiene, and Napoleon on ice May 26, 2005 | | Contact GEO hits Greenland May 25, 2005 | | Iridium: "Invalid battery - matches found, 0" May 24, 2005 |
| | Arctic wrap-up: Adventure family kites 162 km, reaches halfway point May 23, 2005 |
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