North Pole 2011: Barneo Ice Camp Is Open

Last night the first planes began arriving at the Barneo Ice Camp, the temporary base that is constructed on the ice each spring to allow explorers to travel to the North Pole from the Russian side of the ice. To build the base, a team of paratroopers is dropped out of the sky, and they begin constructing the camp, including building a land strip for the passenger planes to start arriving. The base is maintained for about 3-4 weeks, and then abandoned again for the year, and since it is built on a frozen ocean, the location of the camp is often in flux.

So what's it like to arrive at this base? Check out the video below, which was shot from the first aircraft to arrive at Barneo yesterday, carrying the first teams of skiers, including the Walking with the Wounded team and Prince Harry.