Pole2Pole Update: Heading South And Fighting Frostbite

Last week I posted a story about the launch of the Pole2Pole expedition which will see Swedish explorer Johan Ernst Nilson travel from the North to the South Pole in 12 months time. When I wrote that introductory article I was only able to link out to PR sites from expedition sponsor Audi, but now I have the full website where we can follow Nilson's progress online.

The year-long journey officially got underway last Tuesday, with Nilson setting off from the North Pole. During this first leg of the journey, he's attempting to kite-ski to Greenland, but according to updates to his blog, things have not been easy thus far. The ice walls that are common in the arctic do not make it easy to use the kites, and dragging the 110 kilo (242 pound) sleds has made for slow going thus far. The Swede has already broken (and repaired!) one of his skis, but is also suffering from frostbite on all ten fingers, although that seems to be a holdover from previous polar expeditions.

Still, Nilson seems determined to forge ahead with his expedition, and upon reaching Greenland he'll transition to dogsleds for a brief run to the northwest coast. From there, he'll sail across the Atlantic to Canada where he'll begin a long bike ride south to Patagonia, eventually reaching Tierra del Fuego. After that, it's back in the sailboat for a jaunt across the Southern Ocean, and then one final leg by kite-ski to the South Pole. When he's done, he'll have traveled more than 28,000km (17,000 miles) in a completely carbon neutral fashion without using any fossil fuels.

Be sure to follow along with Johan's progress on his website and check out the video below for more i

nformation on what he's up to and the polar history that he is paying homage to.

Pole2Pole Expedition: 12 Month Journey From North to South Pole Begins Today!

Swedish explorer Johan Ernst Nilson is about to embark on an epic and ambitious expedition that will see him travel from the North to the South Pole in under 12 months. If that wasn't challenging enough, he'll also be doing it in a carbon neutral manner, making the entire journey without the use of fossil fuels.

The projected is called the Pole2Pole Expedition and it is being sponsored by Audi. The journey officially gets underway today, with Nilson being dropped off at the North Pole, where he'll make the first stage of the journey on skis, heading south to Greenland. Once there, he'll begin the second stage of his journey, which will take him to Thule Airbase, located on the northwest side of the country. He'll make that trip by dogsled. The third stage of the expedition will be an aquatic one, as Nilson will then board a sailboat and cross the Northern Atlantic to Ottawa, Canada. Once there, he'll embark on the longest leg of the trip, during which he'll make his way from Canada to Patagonia on a bicycle. After that, it's back in the sailboat for a quick crossing of the Drake Passage, arriving in Antarctica late in the year, where he'll start the final leg of the journey, kite-sledding to the South Pole.

If all goes as planned, it'll take Nilson less than 12-months to complete the expedition, but it certainly won't be easy. He may be cutting it close on the far end, as we all know that the Antarctic season is quite treacherous after mid-January or so. But that is probably getting well ahead of ourselves, for the moment, he should be concerned with just getting out of the Arctic in one piece.

For their part, Audi is taking an active role in their sponsorship of the expedition. They've helped Nilson design a lightweight, yet durable, sled that he'll be puling behind him in both of the polar regions, and their vehicles are being used by a support team and documentary film crew that are following the explorer on his journey. Nilson will also be stopping at various Audi dealerships along the way to help cover that all important sponsorship.

In order to arrive at the South Pole by April 6, 2012, Nilson is going to have to average roughly 62 miles per day. Obviously that's not out of the question on a bike or kite-skiing, and certainly not in a sailboat. Skiing from the North Pole to Greenland will be the biggest challenge, which he may be finding out at this very moment.

It should be fun to follow along on this expedition. Stay tuned for updates.

North Pole 2011: Barneo Station Ready To Go

While the 2011 North Pole season has been a bust for explorers heading to 90ºN from the Canadian side of the world, there will still be plenty of adventurous souls that will be visiting that fabled destination this year. Most will be making a "Last Degree" journey from the Russian side of the ice, and as ExWeb reports today, the airstrip at the Barneo Station is ready to start receiving visitors.

Barneo is a temporary base that is built each season to facilitate travel to the Pole. It is constructed when a team of Russian paratroopers drop on to the frozen Arctic Ocean, and set up camp. They then go about smoothing out the ice for a runway, which eventually allows the big Illyushin jets to deliver paying clients. The base is roughly situated at 89ºN, which allows for these last degree adventures, and in a few short weeks, it'll be gone completely. But for now, it stands ready for the first travelers to arrive, and begin their journey on skis to the North Pole.

Much like on the Canadian side of the planet, it doesn't sound like the weather conditions have been all that great near Barneo this year either. High winds and deteriorating ice have made it a challenge to establish the base at all. The first Illyushin was scheduled to arrive last Friday, but the runway wasn't complete yet, but everyone is hopeful that the base will open for business in the next few days.

Amongst those waiting for a lift to Barneo are Parker Liautaud, the 16-year old hoping to make the journey to the North Pole to help inspire other young men and women to do something adventurous. Parker is also hoping to raise awareness of global climate change and the effects it is having on the Poles as well. According to his most recent journal entries, he and his guide, Doug Stoup, are in Longyearbyen, which is located on Spitsbergen, where they continue to patiently for the word that Barneo is ready for them. So far, they're still waiting, but as you can imagine, they're eager to get out on the ice and get the journey underway.

Eric and Sarah McNair-Landry aren't headed to the North Pole, but they are off on an arctic adventure of their own. The siblings began their attempt to kite-ski the length of the Northwest Passage a few weeks back, and are making steady progress as the winds allow. While the high winds may have prevented many of the polar explorers from setting off this season, they are very much welcome for Eric and Sarah, who have managed to knock off serious milage on some days thanks to those gusts. This past Saturday alone, the duo covered more than 86.5km (53 miles). They still have a long way to go, but they seem to be enjoying their arctic adventure so far.

Eric and Sarah McNair-Landry To Kite-Ski The Northwest Passage!

I caught this story this morning while catching up on the latest news over at Explorers Web. It seems the brother-sister team of Eric and Sarah McNair-Landry are gearing up for yet another epic arctic expedition, this time planning to kite-ski across the Northwest Passage, a journey that will cover more than 3000km (1864 miles).

According to the expedition blog, which can be found by clicking here, the siblings reached the end of the Trans-Canada Highway on Saturday, and are now preparing for the real journey, which will trace the 1906 Roald Amundsen route through the Passage. That was the first time that it was actually successfully navigated by anyone following centuries of explorers hoping to discover a way through from the Atlantic to the Pacific north of Canada. The journey will actually begin in Tuktoyaktuk, located in Canada’s Northwest Territories. According to ExWeb, from there Eric and Sarah will travel east through Kugluktuk, Cambridge Bay, Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak, and Arctic Bay, before finally reaching the finish line at Pond Inlet on Baffin Island.

The MacNair-Landry team is no stranger to adventure. The duo skied unassisted to the South Pole while still teenagers and have also kite-skied the length of Greenland and explored the Gobi Desert by kite-buggy as well. This is another long distance journey to add to their already impressive resumes, and it should be interesting to watch it unfold. There hasn't been any updates to their blog since Saturday, so I assume that they haven't gotten underway yet, but look for them to hit the tail soon. It's going to be one tough trip for sure.

New 24-hour Distance Record Set By Kite-Skiers

Eric McNair-Landry and Sebastian Copeland recently completed a kite-skiing expedition across Greenland, taking 43-days to complete the journey, which ended on June 22. Along the way, they managed to harness some amazingly strong winds, and set a new record for most distance covered on skis in a single day. 

Back on June 6, following a day of already high powered winds, the pair decided to go after the distance record, which had been held by Norwegian Hugo Rolf Hansen, who once covered 505km (313 miles) in one day. Eric and Sebastian broke out their kites, and decided to see just how far the wind could take them, and by the end of their day, which was extended thanks to the midnight sun, they had covered an astounding 595km (370 miles). 

When they had finished, the two men were exhausted. Copeland reportedly slept for 13 hours, while his tent mate went for another two beyond that. In the end, it was just one small element of their long journey, but still very impressive none-the-less.


Thanks to The Adventure Life for the news on this very cool story. 

Greenland Trailer

Sebastian Copeland | MySpace Video

Crossing Antarctica By Kite Buggy

ExWeb has news of a new expedition planned for the 2011-2012 Antarctic Season, during which time Dutch adventurers Hans Wijnand and Jacob Slooff will attempt to traverse Antarctica through the use of kite buggies.

According to the story, the expedition will be made to celebrate the 100 anniversary of Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott's epic race to the South Pole, which ended with Amundsen victorious, and Scott dying in a tent, 11 miles from his next supply depot. The duo will set out in October of 2011 from Novo Base, and over the course of the next three months, they'll proceed on to the South Pole, and then over to Mt. Vinson, which they'll climb as well. When finished, they'll have covered more than 2000 miles, and scaled a 16,000 foot peak.

The team is still finalizing their buggy design, but hope to have it done soon, and they're working to attract sponsors for the trip as well. They will be working with National Geographic Junior magazine in some capacity, and they'll also be taking biometric readings throughout the journey to test stress levels, caloric consumption, and a host of other items to see how a trip of this kind can effect the body.

Should be another interesting expedition to follow, and I can't wait to see how their buddies work. With good winds, they should make excellent time, but when the wind falters, they'll have tough going. I'm sure by 2011 they'll have all the kinks worked out however.

Kite Boarders Jump Pier Amidst 40 MPH Winds!

I first saw this story yesterday over at The Outpost, the official blog for Outdoorzy, but it took the Wend Blog to track down the video to really sell the story.

In the video below you'll find some amazing, and amazingly insane, footage of two kite boarders catching BIG air, as they jump a pier in the U.K. Wend identifies the two crazy boarders as "three time British Champion Lewis Crathern and Big Air Master Jake Scrace". The duo had been planning the jump for three years, but had to wait for the perfect weather conditions to do so. When they got their chance, they took it.

All I can say is Wow!

The Perils of Kite-Boarding

Earlier this week I posted a photo that made me say "Whoa!". The video below may illicit a similar response, as you watch someone leisurely being pulled around by a kite while on his snowboard. Then, about halfway into the video, the wind grabs that kite, and pulls the snowboard, rider and all, way up into the air. It's hard to judge exactly how high he gets, but it is definitely a scary sight. This does look like crazy fun though! :)

Mad Way South - Kiting Across the Sahara Expedition Finished!

Way back at the end of July I posted about the Mad Way South expedition, which consisted of four men, two New Zealanders and two Aussies, who were setting out to kite across the Sahara Desert. They were departing from Morocco and had their eyes on finishing in Senegal.

Turns out the boys made it. They finished up their journey earlier in the month, although judging from their blog posts, it wasn't an easy go, especially near the end. Their original intention was to go all the way to Dakar, but they elected to finish up at the Senegal River, which marks the border between that country and Mauritania. By the time they reached that point, the winds had shifted to the south, and the were not going to be able to kite to their intended finish line.

Still, the team managed to complete a number of major goals along the way, and set two world's records. Not only did they become the first to cross the Sahara by kite buggy, they also completed the longest kite buggy journey ever, covering 1342 miles in just 26 days. They also happened to raise more than AUD $40,000 for charity while on their adventure as well.

Congrats to the entire crew for a job well done. This wasn't accomplished just by the four men on the buggies, but a great support team that helped out along the way as well. Everyone involved helped to demonstrate that wind power is a viable way to travel and that sustainable adventures can help raise awareness about environmental issues.

Mad Way South - Kiting Across the Sahara!

Here's a cool story that I found over at the Adventure World Magazine website. It's about four guys, two from New Zealand, two from Australia, who are planning on racing across the Sahara Desert using sand buggies pulled along by kites.

The expedition is called Mad Way South, and it is scheduled to get underway on August 3rd from Northern Morocco and continue through Western Sahara, Mauritania, and finally ending in Dakar, Senegal.. The four kiters, Geoff Wilson, Steve Gurney and Craig Hansen, will be crossing more than 1550 miles of open desert, in their attempt to become the first people to make the journey completely by wind power.

Once they get underway next week, you'll be able to follow along online as they update their blog throughout the journey. You'll also learn more about the team, their sponsors, and more.

As of the last update, the entire team had gathered in London, and were preparing to depart for Morocco. They were finalizing the packing of their gear and anticipating being on the sand next Monday, when the journey officially begins.

Kiting Across Mongolia's Gobi Desert

Brother and sister team Eric and Sarah McNair Landry are 30 days into an epic expedition that has them kiting across the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. Dubbed the Pittarak Expedition, the plan is to go from Altay in Western Mongolia, and head east to Saynshand.

I'm a bit late in joining this expedition, but they have been posting updates to their blog for the past month, and now roughly three days from reaching their goal. Eric and Sarah have been using three wheeled buggies and large kites to catch the wind and pull them across the open expanses of the Gobi. Of course, the siblings have honed those skills with a lot of time spent in the Arctic, where they have extensive experience, even at the ages of 22 and 20.

In their most recent blog update, they note that they have covered roughly 40km each of the past few days, and with just three days to go until they wrap up the journey, they still have to cover 130km to reach Saynshand. In that same entry, they report that spirits are low, and they are in desperate need of good winds to help them along, but so far they are being buffeted with headwinds instead. Without wind, they are dragging their buggies, and gear behind them, and making slow progress to say the least.

Lets hope they get the wind they need. Sounds like they are a bit low on supplies and are desperately in need of getting to the finish line. Seems like a cool expedition, and I'm bummed that I haven't been following it more closely. Better late than never though, right? :)

Thanks to ExWeb for the story on this.