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North Pole wrap up: The sled dogs
13:19 p.m. EST Mar 22, 2004
Bad ice is up for the gang. Reports Wave: "Whew! Another very hard day with little mileage. Today was again filled with lots of pack ice and countless pressure ridges. Only crossed a couple of frozen leads and zigzagged East and West a bit to avoid severe rubble fields. And, as has happened the last several days, ended the day with a couple of relatively flat pans.
Sources scouring satellite images claim I'm almost past the worst of the ice. And Bettina has been reporting large pans ahead (she and Jean-Gabriel are 20+ miles in front of me). I'll certainly be happy to be out of the twisted piles of ice boulders and mounds. It's extremely draining physically and wears a person down mentally."
Ben is happier: "Today was a little better - still lots of rubble, but a few decent flat areas as well. It was warmer (-21) which means the sledge runs better over the ice, although it still gets a lot colder at night. For those of you concerned about my relatively slow progress - it's pretty normal at this stage and my mileages will improve massively as the weather, ice conditions and sledge weight all improve."
No news on Dominick through the weekend.
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 attempts a first solo, unsupported crossing. Danish/French duo Bettina Aller and Jean Gabriel Leynaud ski to the pole with support and French/Finnish woman Dominick Arduin attempts 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 was treated for severe frostbite. Dominick is missing since March 5th.
Live image from the ice Saturday, transmitted over Contact 2.0 by Wave Vidmar.
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