Expedition
In April 2009 the team will set off from England to go to Longyearbyen in Spitzbergen. We will stay there a couple of days.
We will then fly 750 miles north by privately chartered aircraft to 'Ice Station Borneo' at 89 degrees north. 'Borneo' is a tiny floating base erected and operated each year by the Russians for the month of April - after which the ice breaks up. From now on we will be floating on drifting sea ice only a few feet thick - below them the ocean is almost three miles deep. This far north, the sun circles the horizon without setting - casting stunning lighting effects on the jagged icy terrain. It is a magical place to be.
Without delay our journey begins. Travel will be on skis towing 40 kg pulks of equipment and supplies. The first day will be short, but thereafter they will progress between 6 and 8 hours a day. Each night we will camp - in surprising comfort- until they reach the North Pole. We will then be collected by helicopter and flown via Borneo back to Longyearbyen for a hot shower.
The weather is regarded as 'generally stable' in April, although temperatures can sometimes drop below -35C. However ice conditions are less predictable. Often the movement of the ocean creates areas of open water or thin ice that need careful negotiation. Other times the ocean currents take us in directions we don't want to go. Frequently our sledges will turn over in rough terrain. Finally there is the remote possibility of meeting a Polar bear!
The journey will test us mentally as well as physically as we are travelling through the most hostile wilderness on Earth, a place where we can say:-
'I am an explorer'
