Howard Fairbank Canada to the North Pole: 30 Miles to go, but the Arctic still challenges and teases us...

Monday, April 12, 2010

30 Miles to go, but the Arctic still challenges and teases us...

It's 8am EST, on Day 41, and we are at 89 29.1N and 75 0.0W, the closest I have ever been to The Pole. In fact if there was a 'pole; at The Pole I would be almost bee able to see it from here!

Yesterday we had a huge 14 hour march day (including breaks), and made 17 miles north mileage. It was a miserable, tough day, with poor visibility, a bitterly cold, 25-30 knot, SW wind, two difficult to cross thin ice, leads, and one requiring drysuits. Tessum as the 'guinea pig' once again fell through the thin ice on skis. I cautiously leopard crawled across the short 60 metres in my drysuit, without breaking the ice. It was bitterly cold with the wind chill, and one of the guys had serious face frostbite, which miraculously didn't turn out into more serious facial damage. I struggled with the cold and recovering body heat after the march breaks. Finally with me leading the last 90 min march, which was supposed to end at midnight, at 23h30 I was presented with a wide, total open water lead crossing our path to the Pole. A serious obstacle, with no apparent solution other than a 200m swim ahead.

Got to bed at 3 am, up 7am, and now having breakfast, before setting out to deal with the lead crossing, which could dash our record hopes!

I am feeling ABSOLUTELY exhausted, and leading the march last night took all I had in me, and I had to dig REAL deep! A sleep and breakfast restores a lot, but we all just want it to end now! This is the difficult mind management time, I have been here before, but it's not nice or easy....I guess nothing of value comes easy!

Today we will do another 14 hours, and at the end of the day (24 hours daylight!) we should be in the 'teens' of miles to go!

Let’s see what the Arctic allows us to do today....

13 comments:

AnonymousApril 12, 2010 at 9:30 PM
Easier said than done for a armchair critic like me!

BUT NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO LACK RESOLVE OLD BOY!
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Alison RussellApril 12, 2010 at 9:44 PM
I've only just discovered your blog, Howard - what a great read! Keep it up - you're nearly there.
Alison Russell (Mother of Amelia of North Pole Challenge)
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AnonymousApril 12, 2010 at 10:34 PM
H - this is when you are the strongest...
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The EmbletonsApril 13, 2010 at 3:02 AM
You can do it!keep going! We will be thinking of you and your team mates. Have faith and remember Your faith is what you beleive not what you know.
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AliApril 13, 2010 at 5:01 AM
GO, GO, GO !!! Amazing progress, such incredible distances you are covering.. Nearly there ... stay strong, and most important, stay safe.. XX

And Happy Birthday for the 15th !
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AnonymousApril 13, 2010 at 7:39 AM
Hi Howard,
Hang on in there. So close now. One moment at a time. All the very best wishes to you & the team, Angie, UK
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John DowdApril 13, 2010 at 8:51 AM
Hi Howard Amazing progress just days to go, just keep going and be safe. say hi to your team mates and good luck. John D.
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AnonymousApril 13, 2010 at 9:38 AM
Awesome and good luck!
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AnonymousApril 13, 2010 at 9:40 AM
Sending all my posive energy in your final stage!
You guys are awesome and what you've done, quite remarkable. Irmie - Cape Town
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Sarah and AdamApril 13, 2010 at 9:53 AM
Absolutely amazing progress - so very nearly there - keep focused, strong and safe - thinking of you and the team, and can't wait to read you've made it!
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AnonymousApril 13, 2010 at 5:06 PM
One step at a time Howard. We are cheering you on from San Diego. You have given me some restless nights and I will be happy when we get the news that you have arrived at The Pole. Hoping that you don't have any major challenges that prevent you from celebrating on the 15th with a bottle of wine and another chicken (or whatever you can get your hands on).
Lots of love from Ros, Bob, Jeff and Jason
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Bookie BloggerApril 13, 2010 at 5:33 PM
Hi Howard and Team North Pole!
When we were having our Easter break, you were having a very amazing time. Was it really scary when you were afloat on Tessum’s Island? Ibrahim (Ethiopia, grade 8) was wondering why you don’t tie yourselves together when the ice is thin and you are in danger of falling in? All of us were very relieved that you were all fine when we got back from our break.Thank Goodness! We had some pretty gnarly weather of our own but it would be very whiney of us to complain about it knowing what you and your team have to deal with on a daily basis. We saw in the news that there was a guy who flew a hot air balloon over the North Pole a few days ago, did you happen to see him?
Are the people who are at the North Pole aware of your progress and are they planning a party to celebrate your accomplishment? We hope so.
We have decided by a unanimous vote that we would have a North Pole party to celebrate your arrival. We are thinking that we will eat ice cream and popsicles to honor you, your team and the icy environment that you have coped with for so many days. To celebrate Indinda’s arrival we are going to bake a marble cake that looks like giraffe’s spots! We’ll post pictures on our blog for you to look at when you get home. Good luck, be safe, keep warm and stay vigilant!!!!!!!
With great admiration,
From your BJHS North Pole Followers
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AnonymousApril 14, 2010 at 4:30 AM
Good luck - our thoughts are with you at this time. Take care, Peter & Belinda
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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, April 12, 2010

30 Miles to go, but the Arctic still challenges and teases us...

13 comments:

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The Expedition Goals

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The Next Pre-Expedition Training

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