Headed North
13. February 2009Greetings Folks
After arriving at the Geographic South Pole on 3rd January NZT it seemed logical, though some friends have described it slightly differently, to head for the Geographic North Pole. So the plan is in place folks.
On 30th March I will meet up with some fellow expeditioners in Spitsbergen, Norway, where we will join an expedition run by Russian Polar experts, Vicaar International. Similiar deal to Antarctica with chilly temperatures and hauling pulks across icy stuff but this one is much shorter. From Spitsbergen we will be airlifted into Vicaar’s base camp at around 89 degrees latitude. We will then haul the last degree (110 km) to the Geographic North Pole.
The big differences in the North are that we will be on sea ice of varying thicknesses instead of 3000 feet of ice on land with Antarctica. The going in the North will be much tougher with ice rubble and pressure ridges presenting a more difficult terrain than the wind formed sastrugi in the South. Travelling on iceflows will also present additional challenges if they are moving away from the Pole. I understand they had to keep moving groups forward by helicopter last year as the iceflows were moving away from the Pole faster than the groups could haul towards it.
After missing out on a Polar Bear sighting during the Polar Challenge early last year I really look forward to being back in the home of these magnificent animals. Hopefully we will have some encounters.
The next hot press release should be from Spitsbergen before heading onto the ice.
Regards to All
Ross
Posted on: Friday, February 13, 2009 at 15:54 