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Swimming to the North Pole in -40C
0-5:03 a.m. EDT Apr 9, 2003
Though high altitude mountaineering might be the most dangerous "sport" around - skiing unsupported to the North Pole is probably the toughest!
While climbers flock in masses at Everest BC, there are currently two lonely expeditions out on the ice heading unsupported for the North Pole. Only 26 people have ever done this trip without assistance compared to 1500 Everest summits. Pen Hadow (UK) is doing very well on a solo attempt from Canada, while no news have come out from the three person Russian team ( Karpienko, Larionienko and Bystrov) that started out from Siberia more than a month ago.
Due to thinning ice today’s polar skiers encounter more open water, and in 2001 the Norwegian adventurer Borge Ousland for the first time brought a dry suit and tried to swim the open leads. In 2002 the ExplorersWeb team, Tom and Tina Sjogren picked up on Borges experience and swam several times almost every day during their 67 day expedition.
Yesterday Pen Hadow put on his dry suit and swam his first lead. The psychological barrier of jumping into 3000 meter deep water at -40 C is tremendous, with killer whales and sharks in the deep and polar bears pacing the edges in search of seals. Pens move to go straight over the open water instead of trying to find a way around, have considerably raised his chances of reaching the pole.
Images to the left from Tom and Tina’s unsupported NP trip in 2002. The leads were crossed by the means of swimming, paddling, jumping and also the use of sleds to build bridges. April 9, 2003
Note: An unsupported expedition to the North Pole requires 60-70 days. Sled weight at starting point is 150 kg per person. Skiing and hauling 8-12 hours daily with a rest day every two weeks.
The ice moves constantly due to wind, tidal and currents, creating open leads and up to 30 feet (10 m) high pressure ridges.
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