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Benjamin, are you brushing your teeth? Don't make me come up there!
16:10 p.m. EST Feb 19, 2004
Published 12:06 p.m. EST Feb 16, 2004
If it wasn’t for Ben Saunders’ Mom, we might not have heard from the guy until he left for the Arctic, “Mine (Mom) called me last night to ask why this website hadn't been updated for so long. A few people had complained recently, but there's no motivation quite like a ticking off from mum (only kidding, mum!)”
Ben will be attempting to ski solo and unsupported on an Arctic crossing - from Russia over to Canada, crossing over geographic North Pole. And, he leaves this Saturday, the 21st, “Ergo the current state of mild panic, the skis on the sofa and the enormous bags under my eyes.”
The recent good news is that Ben secured a title sponsor – Serco, “They have been supportive beyond my wildest dreams, and I'm still pinching myself to make sure I'm not imagining it.
He’s launched his new redesigned website as well. Things are really coming together! He and his crew are finishing up Russian visa business, getting the film crew itineraries all squared away, and fighting the ‘War on Weight’ - “In the corner Tony, my expedition manager, has on a pair of old ski goggles as he saws, sands and drills anything extraneous to the success of the expedition. Everything from fuel canisters to toothbrushes has been attacked. War has been declared on metal zip pulls (replaced with cord), tent mosquito nets have been bidden bon voyage and labels have been liberated from underwear.”
It’s almost go time! If Ben succeeds he’ll have completed the first solo and unsupported crossing!
In the year of 2000, Rune Gjeldnes and Torry Larsen set out on an epic journey from Siberia to cross the Arctic ocean. The guys lost their sleds, gear and finally staggered back on land in North Canada - as "dead men walking." The doctor's of a small research station that examined them on arrival said that Rune and Torry were only 48 hours away from death. They had been out for 109 days. Now, the Arctic ocean holds one last challenge for man: Repeat what Rune and Torry did, but go it alone. That is what Ben is going to do.
Image of Ben from Arctic training last year courtesy of TransArctic.org.
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