Howard Fairbank Canada to the North Pole: Some Photos from the Last Few Days

Monday, March 1, 2010

Some Photos from the Last Few Days

Friday (26 Feb): Back in Yellowknife, with my new skinhead and my last beer until at least 25th April (Resolute is a dry town..ie alcohol is illegal.) Oh, the haircut, low maintenance, even though it's a bit colder. Head cold has never been a problem, as I have a good selection of head gear layers.

Friday (26 Feb): This is our sleds being loaded onto the Summit Air Twin Otter, bound with us to Resolute. It was a pleasant, albeit noisy, 5 hour flight to Resolute. Here is sunset above the clouds:

Friday (26 Feb): It was a bit of an emotional shock arriving at 10pm at the very desolate Resolute airport at -32 deg C, and knowing I was now at 74 deg North, the furthest North I have ever been. Inside me I felt a funny twinge as I knew there was just one more 9 degree step left, and the start line was only a few days away. After being told to reduce my expectations of Resolute, I was pleasantly surprised by our accommodation, food and general infrastructure. Here is a photo of the only church in Resolute:

Azzi's place, where we are staying is a hive of activity with seven of the eight expeditions staying here. This huge room below is set aside for us all to prepare in indoor comfort, and looks like an arctic gear exhibition, complete with stuffed polar bear!

Saturday (27 Feb): The 2nd night I went for a long walk around sunset and was treated to the views I described in my last post. Here is sunset across the frozen ocean:

Here is that full moon, with some ice rubble:

I can feel my 'sand desert' connection with the ocean 'ice desert', and it excites me. These amazing shapes ... original blocks of ice presented by the sea, covered in snow, and then each uniquely sculptured by the ocean wind.

Sunday (28 Feb): After we finished packing the sleds with their final expedition loads (food,gear, etc) we went out for a five hour march on the ocean ice, even finding some significant pressure ridges. Being my first encounter with sea ice conditions, and with the temperature at -37C and wind chill at one point it turned out to be a great session. I just love the beauty and variety of the ocean terrain, it really made me connect with the adventure ahead. I can see that with the ocean ice and the pressure ridges the days marches won't be boring, but rather a game of route picking decisions, and fairly immediate high stakes/rewards penalty.

On the walk I saw my first water condensation cloud in the distance. It looks like smoke from a fire on the ice. This being a 'steam plume' that literally forms a low level cloud that marks an open water lead below, ie a large break in the ocean ice that exposes sufficient area of water which provides the heat/moisture to create the cloud. The air near the water is very 'warm' at -1.8C, vs the air around the ice which is -35C or whatever. The warm moist air rises off the water and then gets cooled by the 'ice air' and the moisture condenses forming the cloud. So clouds over the ice ahead are bad news!

We also came across two polar bears...arhhh...well note quite, but their fresh paw prints. Two medium sized, not fully grown ones, but clear in the snow. Sorry no photos, because at that moment my camera was too cold from just having shot a lot of photos and so the battery couldn't function!

On the return journey we came across this amazing Inuit woman and her daughter on their snowmobile. She was just returning from a successful seal hunt at one of the offshore open water leads. She is the only female polar bear guide in the Arctic region. Here's a photo of her dragging the seal catch behind.

Here are photos of the two solo, unsupported, expeditioners that have been with us preparing.

Tom Smitheringale of Australia who left Sunday (Feb 28)

Michele Pontrandolfo of Italy who leaves Monday (Mar 1)

Only two people have ever managed this so these guys are to be admired for taking on this huge challenge.

Finally, I have just heard that due to the bad ice conditions the pilot has suggested he take us to our original start point of Ward Hunt Island. So, back to the original plan. I am happier with that, as the point has a lot of history and significance. The two expeditions that went today were to be dropped off there.

All being good, we leave Tuesday (Mar 2) at 0630...hmmm! And I'll do a last post before then.

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The Expedition Goals

1. The Team of Four is to traverse the Arctic Ocean from the traditional, last land point in Canada, Ward Hunt Island, to the Geographic North Pole (90 degrees North) some 762 kilometeres away, as the 'tern' flies!

2. The Team will be self sufficient, save for one flown in, food re-supply, at around 22 days into the roughly 50 day expedition.

3. The team will each haul their own sleds, expecting to take between 48 and 55 days, to cover the tortuous course, dodging natural obstacles, on the ocean ice, to the Pole.

4. The Expedition is planned to start 1 March 2010, from Ward Hunt Island, Nunavut, Canada. Notoriously unpredictable weather conditions may affect this start date.

5. The Expedition finishes at the North Pole, which MUST be reached before 28 April 2010. This is the day when the temporary, ice based, Russian logistics base, 'Barneo', closes and the expedition will be relying on them for airlift back to civilisation. This base closure is due to the fact that, with the onslaught of summer, the ocean ice conditions deteriorate to the point where sustaining a base is no longer possible.

The Expedition Route

The expedition will follow a very traditional North Pole conquest route: From Ward Hunt Island, Nunavut Canada to The Pole, 90 Degrees North.

(The other traditional route was from Russia / Siberia, which was considered slightly longer, but with easier terrain. With the onset of global warming, this route is no longer considered on option, as there is too much water at the start.)

Ward Hunt Island is a small island, off the NW corner of Ellesmere Island, which are both part of the Canadian Arctic Islands (More specifically the Queen Elizabeth Islands part of the broader group.) It's Northern cape is one of the northernmost elements of land in Canada, hence its starting point for the expedition. It is located at: 83°05′55″N and 074°10′00″

In total the expedition will cover just under 7 degrees of latitude, and a 'straight line' distance of some 760 kilometres.

Due to the dynamic nature of the arctic, open ocean leads, wind, and ocean currents will have an impact on the actual route travelled. It is not unknown, for southern drift to carry an ice floe, with an expedition tent and its sleeping inhabitants, back to the latitude they started at the previous day! The wind and the currents are variable, and tidal flows add to the largely unpredictable drift, however we are expecting to have a net southerly and easterly drift over the total trip. Historically, an expedition on this route, could traverse up to 20% more than the straight line distance.

The path will attempt to roughly follow the 74 degree longitude line, while including a westerly offset to counter the expected net easterly drift.

The Expedition Team

Team Leader: Richard Weber

(50, Ottawa, Canada. One of the world's top Polar Explorers. 6 traverses, including the 'probably never t0 be repeated' 1995, 108 day expedition from Canada to NP and back, unsupported.)

Team Member 2: Tessum Weber

(20, Ottawa, Canada, Richard's son, and an experienced cold environment adventurer.)

Team Member 3: David Jones

(45 Geneva, Switzerland, Experienced mountain climber, including Everest summiter.)

Team Member 4: Howard Fairbank

(52, South African, A Wanderer: Solo Sailor, Trans- continental Cycling and Sea Kayaking adventurer.)

The Next Pre-Expedition Training

Our team, Pre-expedition training, will continue through most of February, with the team meeting 11 February in Yellowknife.

11 February to 24th February 2010, we will be based in Yellowknife, with training being once again focused on excurions around Great Slave Lake. These will vary from multi day, sleeping out sessions, to day only trips. Much of the focus will be on testing new equipment, and checking whether adjustments made to some of the equipment we used in December have had the desired result. (One of these pieces of equipment will be the dry suits, which will involve open water training again.)

Much time will also be spent sorting out the food and designing sled packing solutions and daily routines. (There will be a separate blog post on the food, calorie philosophy, and daily rations.) Around all of this, the critical human side will be at work with significant team building, role establishment, and final re-inforcement of the expedition goals and values.

On the 24th of February we plan to fly further north to Resolute, (Resolute Bay), on Cornwallis Island 75N, 95W. This is another traditional stopover point for expeditions attempting to do this same Canada to Noth Pole route. It is also one of the coldest inhabited places in the world, with an average yearly temperature of −16.4 °C (2.5 °F) Resolute's average HIGH for the year is −13.3 °C (8.1 °F) while the average LOW for the year is −19.5 °C (−3.1 °F). At Resolute, we will use the more northerly location and it's colder conditions to further aclimatise, and do final testing of team / personal systems and equipment. No doubt much of this time wil be used subconciously for individual mind focusing and other mental preparation.

On the 1st March, we are then scheduled to fly the last stage to Ward Hunt Island, for the start of the expedition. This is a small plane charter flight and is notorious for being affected by adverse weather conditions.

Canada to the North Pole

Monday, March 1, 2010

Some Photos from the Last Few Days

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The Expedition Goals

The Expedition Route

The Expedition Team

The Next Pre-Expedition Training

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About Howard

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