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North Pole update: Ben fell in!
19:05 p.m. EST Apr 9, 2004
Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! Those might be the words you would have heard had you been with Ben today. He took a solid dip into the icy water and managed to pull himself out and dry off before any permanent damage was sustained. “Instinctively, I threw my arms out - there was some thicker ice to my left and I tried to haul myself out, but the backs of my skis were caught underneath the ice. I felt oddly calm as I tried to work out a solution. Once I was out of the water, the calm feeling vanished. I sprinted for some snow and rolled in it, rubbing it into my wet clothing and brushing it off. I windmilled my arms like a maniac, forcing heat back into my numb fingers before skiing as fast as I could to a decent camp site. Three hours later, with both stoves burning, I was warm and my clothes were nearly dry”.
Wave had some water adventures as well, though he managed to stay afloat; “After about an hour of nice ice I came to a lead with ice too thin to walk on, and water in the center. I got out my dry suit and decided to 'paddle' while lying on my sledge. A risky maneuver because my sledge is easy to capsize, and if that happens it can mean serious trouble. I made it across the 35-foot wide lead, almost tipping several times, but kicked with my legs to stay upright. I reached a floating 'island' of ice and slid off my sledge onto it. As soon as I did, that piece of ice started to move, and sink. I quickly stepped onto another piece of ice and it sank faster. Finally with about 4 or 5 hops to and from ice pieces I made it to firm ice”.
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.
Live image of Wave's sledge and a lead provided by Contact 2.0. Courtesy of Wave Vidmar.
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