Richard and Steve prepare for punishing North Pole leg
The time has arrived for possibly one of the most gruelling of all legs of the challenge. Mount Everest may well be the leg that catches the eye of most but skiing across the unpredictable sea ice to the Geographical North Pole represents the most demanding of mental and physical challenges.
“It’s one of the toughest legs in it’s own right, and I’m beginning to show signs of fatigue from the first 5 legs” stated Richard. “But that’s why this is a world first challenge”. He added; “The North Pole is one of the most hostile environments on the planet. The sea ice is made up of a fluid jigsaw of open ‘leads’ of water and ‘flows’ of ice that can be up to thousands of tons in weight. Steve and I will have to battle pressure ridges caused by colliding ice flows, soft porridge ice and even open leads of arctic water. As daunting as it sounds, we are both ready having spent time preparing on the sea ice of Greenland for this very environment. We will have to be extremely disciplined and focused for this leg”.
After a day of last minute preparation in the Longyearbyen surrounding, Richard and Steve will fly to Barneo Ice Camp, located at 89 degree North. The start point will be decided in dependence on the ice conditions. They will be ski pulling Pulk sleds for 60 nautical miles (111km), which is scheduled to take between 6 to 10 days but could take considerably longer depending on ice conditions and progress. The team will sleep overnight in expedition tents on the drifting ice. When they reach the Geographic North Pole they will return back to Barneo Ice Camp by helicopter.
Unlike the South Pole, the North Pole has no land mass to support the fluid jigsaw of ice over the ocean, so there is the added risk of breaking through the ice or having to cross open water. The ice underfoot can be anything from soft ‘porridge-like’ ice, open water ‘leads’ to paper thin ice which literally flexes under foot. The opposing scenario is pressure-ridges of up to 7m high, caused when two ice masses collide.
737 Challenge logistical expert Simon Lowe, from Jagged Globe said; “This is where it’s going to get seriously hard, going to the North Pole, travelling over sea ice at -40 on a good day, just as the sun is up is going to be immensely tough. The constant worry of the sea being inches below their feet is a big psychological challenge for Richard and Steve and it’s going to be colder as the dawn has only just risen in the article circle. To then go straight from there to Everest two weeks later than ideally we would plan, means two weeks less acclimatisation, so the pressure is on. They can not afford to come off the pole with any frost injury so they will have to be very careful of how they look after themselves”.
When Richard Parks met and interviewed one of the inspirations behind the idea of the 737 Challenge last year, Sir Ranulph Fiennes (you can view this video here at 737challenge.com), the world’s greatest living explorer was straight to the point about the extreme dangers of this leg; “The few people that have ended up dead have been in the last 2 degrees so they are a bad area in the North” he stated. “A lot of swirly stuff can start and the storm might be 100 miles away and you don’t know about the storm, you are camping there and all hell can break loose, so my advice would be to do it very quickly and get out pretty quickly”.
Finally Richard stated; “Of course the dangers are real, as they have been on every leg, although I am respectful of them, I am not intimidated. Steve and I have prepared thoroughly for this and will be working together as a team to ensure we successfully complete this leg. I’m focused and ready for this leg. Although I have tried not to look too far forward in the challenge, but to take one leg at a time, this is very much the business end of the 737 Challenge. These are the tests that I’ve been looking forward too and will relish, its game time!”.
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