Researchers Discover Shark That May Be 500 Years Old

Researchers studying Greenland sharks in the Arctic have found one that just might be the oldest living vertebrae on the planet. Based on its size, and using radiocarbon dating on tissue from its eye, this particular shark is estimated to be somewhere between 272 and 512 years old, which means it could have been born as far back as 1505 AD.

This particular individual was first spotted by scientists who were conducting a catch and release program during which 28 Greenland sharks were examined. It was notable for its size, stretching 18 feet (5.4 meters) in length, which was an indication of its longevity for sure. Do to its slow metabolism and life in icy waters, the species only grows at a rate of about 1 cm per year.

Unlike other sharks, which have hard, calcified tissue that can be used to detmeurine their age, a Geenland shark has mostly soft tissue instead. In order to determine the age of individuals scientists have begun using radio carbon dating, which examines cells that are taken from the eye. In this case, the dating process gave them the estimated age-range for this particular shark.

To be certain, the 272 to 512 year range is a wide one. The researchers say it is unlikely that this particular shark is actually 500+ years old, but it is quite possible. Their research indicates that it is most likely around 390 years old, which is still pretty mind blowing. Even if it is relatively young at 272 years of age, it is still quite impressive.

Greenland sharks are particularly difficult to observe in the wild since they live in remote places, swim through extremely cold waters, and can dive as deep as 9100 feet (2774 meters). But, researchers are doing their best to learn more about these creatures, and determining their lifespan is part of that process. Just how long they can live is a mystery, but it seems likely that there might be some hardy individual members of the species that are indeed more than a half-century old.

Nature is awesome.

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Russian Teens Skied to the North Pole in Just 5 Days

The 2016 Arctic Season may be over, but there are still a few interesting stories to share. For instance, ExWeb has posted an article about a team of Russian teens who skied to the North Pole (last degree) in just 5 days following a host of delays that cut into their planned time out on the ice.

The group of seven teens had planned to make a last-degree ski expedition to the North Pole via the Barneo Ice Camp. Their original schedule gave them 7-10 days to complete the journey, which covered roughly 125 km (77.6 miles) over the frozen Arctic Ocean. That means they were able to sustain a pace of about 25 km (15.5 miles) per day, which is an excellent pace considering the conditions they encountered on the ice.

The challenges of the Barneo Ice Camp have been well documented on this blog, and elsewhere, this year. The ice flows that the temporary base is built on were being buffeted by ocean currents throughout the season, causing the blue ice runway there to crack multiple times. That caused a lot of delays, causing the Russian teens, and a number of other teams, to back up while they waited for their chance to fly out to the camp. Eventually the runway was completed, and the flights started arriving, but it took awhile to catch up on the backlog of people who were waiting to arrive in the Arctic. This cut into the time that the skiers had to reach the Pole.

According to ExWeb, when the team was retrieved from their finish line at 90ºN, they did not look tired or exhausted. In fact, they still had a lot of energy and were so excited to have reached the North Pole. It was quite a journey for these young adventurers, many of whom have wanted to ski through the Arctic for the better part of their lives.

I know that this is "only" a last degree ski expedition, but it is still an impressive feat to see these teenagers make that journey in such a quick pace. Five days to cover a degree of latitude is quite a short time frame, and I know a few polar explorers who would be hard pressed to maintain that same pace themselves. Also, how cool is it to be a teenager and get to go to the North Pole. I clearly went to the wrong high school.

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North Pole 2016: Barneo Ice Camp Begins Regular Operations

It has been a challenging season in the Arctic so far with lots of delays for the explorers, researchers, and adventurers who planned to travel their this year. The Barneo Ice Camp, a temporary base built at roughly 89ºN each spring has experienced its share of issues, which resulted in some unprecedented delays to the start of the season. But now, things are finally back on track and regular flights have resumed, as support teams race to complete a busy schedule as quickly as possible.

ExWeb is reporting that the runway at Barneo is complete and stable at long last, which is allowing the Russian built Antonov AN-74 aircraft to safely land and deliver important supplies and people to the Arctic. You may recall that the team of engineers who build the Barneo camp experienced issues with the blue ice landing strip, which cracked on four separate occasions, even forcing it to be relocated twice.

Amongst the groups that have now flown to Barneo so far are guided last degree ski teams that will spend the next ten days or so traveling across the frozen Arctic Ocean on their way to 90ºN. Several research teams are also out on the ice, as were Arctic marathon runners who were able to complete their race after several delays.

Because of the long delays to the start of the season, it looks like Barneo could stay open later than normal. Typically it begins to wind down operations by late April, but it is now looking like it could stay open into early May due to the backlog of people waiting to reach the ice.

Meanwhile, the Race Against Time team reports that ice conditions are now improving dramatically. They have moved away from open water and are now skiing over solid ice, which is allowing them to make better time, covering 10 nautical miles yesterday. But the continue to see foot prints from polar bears and even arctic foxes, reminding them that they are not alone out on the ice. The team is on its way to the North Pole and should arrive there late this week or early next.

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North Pole 2016: Race Against Time Team Faces Big Challenges

After overcoming a series of challenges just to get to the starting line, the Race Against Time team is now out on the Arctic ice and making their way towards the North Pole. But as expected, this journey to the top of the world hasn't been an easy one so far as a number of natural obstacles force the team to earn every mile.

Last week, the team of Mark Wood, Paul Vicary, and Mark Langridge were finally dropped off on the ice after facing unprecedented delays to the start of their expedition due to issues with the runway at the Barneo Ice Camp that serves as the gateway to the Arctic each season from the Russian side of the ice. That caused the trio of explorers to rethink their journey for a second time, switching from the original plan of a full-distance ski journey to the North Pole to an expedition that actually began at 90ºN and would head south to Ward Hunt Island in Canada, before finally settling in on their current route, a two-degree ski expedition back to the Pole.

The squad has now been out on the ice for five days, and they've discovered that the Arctic is everything they had expected and more. In the first few days they faced rubble fields of disrupted ice, with many blocks the size of cars and even a few larger than a house. As they inched north however, other obstacles have begun to appear. For instance, yesterday the team only gained 4 nautical miles of distance thanks to a large lead of open water that they had to cross. The only way to do so is to don drysuits, enter the water and swim across while pulling their gear in inflatable rafts.

As if that wasn't enough, the men have also come across a set of footprints left behind by a polar bear. That means that one of these big carnivores is in the area, and they have been known to stalk polar explorers that pass through their domain. So far, no sight of the creature but they will remain wary and vigilant on the trail.

The hope is that the team can reach the North Pole sometime next week. When they originally set out, they thought it would take 12-15 days, and they are still on track to reach their goal. What else they'll find on the way north remains to be seen.

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Kayaker Begins Northwest Passage Paddle

Summer in the Northern Hemisphere brings new opportunities for adventure, and over the past few years, that has included the opening of the Northwest Passage in the arctic ocean. We've seen several attempts recently to cross that fabled stretch of water, and this year will be no exception. One paddler got underway on Tuesday, and despite good conditions early on, she is already experiencing the challenges of Arctic.

French adventurer Anne Quéméré set off from Inuvik, located in the Northwest Territories of Canada on Tuesday, and reported easy paddling as she made her way through the MacKenzie Delta towards the Arctic Ocean. It was so easy in fact, that she spent 12 hours making good progress, before stopping for a short nap, and then continuing on once again. But yesterday, reality set in, as high winds helped to make progress extremely difficult. In fact, Anne reports that she was paddling for sometime before she looked over at the shore and noticed that she wasn't making any progress. With that realization, she elected to seek shelter from the storm and wait for better weather.

She's likely to face more days like that one before her crossing of the Northwest Passage is complete. She hopes to make her way from Inuvik, through the maze of ice and water that is constantly changing, eventually reaching the Beaufort Sea, covering a distance of approximately 3000 km (1864 miles) in the process.


Quéméré is no stranger to adventure, especially those that take her across large sections of water. In 2002, she spent 56 days rowing across the Atlantic Ocean along the Tradewind Route between the Canary Islands and the West Indies. She followed that up in 2004 with a row across the Northern Atlantic that began in the U.S. and ended in France, covering some 6450 km (4007 miles). Later, she would also kite solo across the Atlantic (6700km/4163 miles) and the Pacific (7000km/4349 miles). This latest adventure through the Northwest Passage is just a progression of sorts for her.

Until somewhat recently, the Northwest Passage simply wasn't possible to sail through. But global climate change has made the area much more accessible, and explorers have been taking advantage of that change to visit that part of the world. The passage will freeze shut again at the end of summer, so Anne will have to make good time through the ice. Hopefully she's setting out early enough that this won't be a problem, but conditions still remain dicey on the Arctic Ocean, even during the warmest months of the year.

You can follow her progress on the expedition's official website.

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Video: A Polar Bear's View of the World

In April of this year, researchers attached video cameras to four polar bears in the Arctic. They have collected the first images from those cameras, and shared it with us online. The footage captures the world from the perspective of a polar bear, showing them swimming in the Arctic Ocean, finding a tasty meal, and encountering other bears. The project is designed to help us understand how the bears behave as their environment shrinks due to climate change, but mostly its just great footage of polar bears. That's worth it alone.

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North Pole 2014: The North Pole Season is Over!

It has been a long, and difficult, season in the Arctic, where numerous teams attempted to reach the North Pole on foot once again this year. Of course, only one of those teams was successful, with Eric Larsen and Ryan Waters becoming the first to complete a full expedition to the top of the world in over four years. But now the season has come to an abrupt end, as the support squad at Kenn Borek Air have shut down operations in the Arctic for another year. This has forced several teams to cancel their expeditions early, sending them home without achieving the objectives they had originally set out for.

We'll start with an update on Eric and Ryan. After spending 53 days skiing to the North Pole, the boys were extracted from the ice about a day and half after their arrival. Poor weather delayed the flight sent to retrieve them, but not for long. It gave the two men a chance to rest in their tent at last, and from the sounds of things, it was a whirlwind couple of days flying back to Cape Discovery, then on to Resolute Bay, where they packed gear, and prepared to go home. That happened yesterday, and from the sounds of things, both men are happy to be back with friends and family, and getting some much deserved rest. For now, they are content. Eric promises a recap of their North Pole expedition soon, which should make for interesting reading.

Elsewhere, the Expedition Hope team, which consists of Arctic explorers Bernice Notenboom, Eric Phillips, and Marten Hartley, are amongst those who have seen their adventures come to an end thanks to Kenn Borek pulling the plug. Yesterday was the last day for flights, and the team wasn't sure they could complete their journey with the amount of fuel and food that they have left. So, with heavy hearts, they were forced to abandon their attempt to ski from the North Pole to Cape Discovery. They were closing in on the 84th latitude when the decision was made.


Norwegian solo-skier Bengt Rotmo was making the same journey, and he will now be picked up once the weather permits as well. His home team tells ExWeb that the decision by Kenn Borek Air was made after they surveyed the ice while picking up Eric and Ryan last week. That survey indicated that  it was becoming increasingly dangerous to attempt to land a plane on the frozen Arctic Ocean, and the company could no longer guarantee the safety of its clients should an emergency rescue need to take place. Yesterday, May 12, was set as the deadline for the final flights to retrieve the remaining explorers, weather permitting. They should all be picked up within a day or two.

Jumping across the Atlantic to Greenland, Dixie Dansercoer and Eric McNair-Landry have finally gotten the good weather they've been hoping for since the start of their expedition. They are attempting to circumnavigate the country by kite-ski, covering 5000 km (3100 miles) in the process. The expedition was expected to take 80 days to complete, but progress was greatly hampered for the first few weeks of the journey due to poor weather. Now, 34 days in, they have started to really pick up steam. Over the past few days, they've been able to over more than 150 km (93.2 miles) per day, which as you can guess, has left them elated. They're finally on the move, and the kites are proving effective. While they are still behind schedule, they are making up ground at the moment. Hopefully that will continue to be case.

I will continue to monitor the progress of the teams in Greenland, but the Arctic season is now over for another year. From the sounds of things, conditions up north are not good, and it'll be interesting to see how many teams can actually complete an expedition to the North Pole in the future. The latest climate reports don't paint a very rosy picture for things to come. Expeditions to our Poles are only going to continue to get more challenging.

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North Pole 2014: Americans Hitting Their Stride

Another week has nearly passed in the Arctic, where two lone teams still push towards the elusive North Pole. It is still a long way to go before they reach 90ºN, but at least one of those teams is hitting its stride at last, and as a result, they're also gaining in confidence as well.

Just a few days ago, Eric Larsen and Ryan Waters were facing not only rough ice, but thin ice as well.  When they weren't spending the majority of their time covering the same ground, as they pulled their two heavy sleds, individually, they were worrying about open leads and trying to avoid falling into the frigid Arctic Ocean. Unfortunately, that fate befell Ryan on two separate occasions as he attempted to follow Eric across the fragile ice.

But since then, things have started to improve for the two polar explorers. Yesterday they report that they covered 7.64 nautical miles (14.1 km), which is their best day yet. That is the kind of distance that they expect to be covering if they actually want to reach the North Pole in a timely fashion. Better yet, it seems that the ice is smoothing out at long last, which means they can pull both sleds at the same time, get into more of a rhythm, and start making serious progress at last.

The question now is, is it too late? They still have 415 miles (667 km) to go to reach 90ºN, and the two men have been out on the ice for 20 days already. When they set out, we knew that they had packed enough food and fuel for 55 total days. That means, over the remaining days, they need to average approximately 11.8 miles (19 km) per day, to reach the Pole before they run out of supplies. Considering the conditions that they'll continue to face, not to mention having to deal with negative drift, that is a tall order. But it isn't impossible. The further north they travel, the easier the conditions will be. Temperatures will continue to drop, and high winds will still be an issue, but the ice beneath them will get more solid and smoother as well. That will make it easier to cover the longer distances they need to reach their goal. We'll just have to see if they still have enough time on the clock to get there.

Elsewhere, ExWeb is reporting that Norwegian polar guide Bengt Rotmo intends to ski in the opposite direction of Eric and Ryan. He'll first guide two separate groups of clients on last degree expeditions to the North Pole, before he will make a solo journey from 90ºN to Canada. Rotmo should have arrived at the Barneo Ice Camp yesterday, and will embark on the first last degree journey in the next day or two. He'll then go back to Barneo for the second group, before setting off on his own expedition.

That's all for now. The Arctic season is far from over, so expect more updates soon.

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French Team Pulls Plug On North Pole Sailing Expedition

A few weeks back I posted the story of two French sailors – Sébastien Roubinet and Vincent Berthet – who were attempting to sail from Barrow, Alaska to Spitsbergen, Svalbard via the North Pole aboard a specially designed catamaran that was built to cross both water and ice. At the time, the two men were still making their way north and were facing considerable challenges in the from of inclement weather and waterways that were more choked with ice than they had anticipated. On Saturday, the team elected to abandon their quest due to conditions that were deteriorating much more quickly than they had expected.

According to this story at ExWeb the team ran into problems after they crossed 82ºN. From there they started to see increased ice build up on the surface of the Arctic Ocean which was making it increasingly more difficult to make any kind of progress. On Saturday, August 31 they had only managed to cross .8 miles (1.3 km) by noon. Temperatures had fallen rapidly and the conditions were right for more ice to build up. Worse yet, the forecast said that those conditions would remain the same for the next eight days, which meant little or no progress in the future. It was than that Sébastien and Vincent made the tough choice to pull the plug on their adventure and head home.

Of course, even that won't exactly be easy to do. They are fairly far north and the bad weather conditions continue to hamper them. They also happen to be a long way from land. In fact, as of Saturday, they were just 100 miles from the Pole of Inaccessibility, which is the furthest point from land anywhere in the Arctic Ocean. That means they still have quite a journey ahead even if they aren't going to be able to complete their intended adventure.

I'm a bit sad to see these expedition come to an end. I was hoping to follow them all the way to Svalbard as I really liked the concept of their travels. It's too bad that they won't be able to continue, but it sounds like the conditions in the Arctic have been especially difficult this season, not just for this team but others who have been in the Northwest Passage. Lets hope these two men make back to land safely.

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Ultra-runner's North Pole Ambitions Put On Hold

Remember Tim Williamson? He's the British ultra-runner I told you about a few months back when he ruffled a few feathers by announcing an ambitious (some would say foolhardy) expedition to the North Pole. The plan was for the endurance athlete to make a solo and unsupported round trip journey to the Pole and back, which prompted many to say his plan wasn't possible. Turns out they might be right, as Williamson has pulled the plug on the expedition – at least for now.

According to this story, published yesterday on grough, Tim's adventure was scrubbed due to the record low amount of pack-ice in the Arctic this season. 2012 was the warmest ever recorded in that part of the world and as a result, there simply isn't much ice for those planning on heading to the North Pole this season. Williamson was scheduled to depart from Resolute Bay, Canada last Sunday on what would have been a 3540 km (2200 mile) journey that was expected to take somewhere between 100 and 120 days to complete. Not only is that an extremely early start to an Arctic expedition, it is also a very long time to be out on the ice.

For his part, Tim isn't giving up on his quest to run to the North Pole. While he won't be making the attempt this year, he is headed to Iceland where he'll spend the next four months training in cold conditions to prepare himself for a future attempt. He'll use that time to test gear, get physically acclimated and build important skills that will help him survive in the Arctic.

This report comes on the heels of the story I wrote yesterday about the increasing difficult of a North Pole expeditions. As climate change alters the face of our planet, the Arctic ice is becoming an increasingly rare thing. Unstable conditions there don't make for safe travel and is no stretch to say that it is far more unstable in the Arctic Ocean now than it was just a few years ago.

This year's North Pole season will definitely be another interesting one.

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Are North Pole Expeditions Becoming Impossible?

Now that the Antarctic season is starting to wrap up, it is time to start thinking about heading the other direction instead. In a few short weeks, teams of explorers and adventurers will head to Canada to begin a long distance trek to the North Pole instead. That journey has always been more challenging than a South Pole-ski, but if recent years are any indication, it may soon become simply impossible.

ExWeb posted a good article a few days back in which they discussed the challenges that Arctic explorers face. Unlike the Antarctic, skiers going to the North Pole never actually have land underneath. Instead they travel on the frozen waters of the Arctic Ocean, which brings its own set of unique challenges. Unfortunately, due to global climate change, the Arctic pack-ice is shrinking at an alarming rate and in 2012 it was at its smallest amount ever recorded. As a result, all of the skiers attempting a full-distance expedition the Pole were forced to abandon their attempts.

2013 isn't shaping up to be much better. According to the ExWeb story, some teams have already abandoned their attempts without even heading to Resolute Bay in Canada, which is where they usually launch from. We're also told that Kenn Borek Air, the company that typically flies the skiers out to their starting point, won't begin those flights until March 5, five full days later that last year. And at the other end of the season, the Russian Barneo Ice Camp has announced that they'll pull up stakes on April 22nd, four days sooner than last year. Since the Russians are the ones who typically pick up explorers that reach the North Pole, that means that skiers will have nine fewer days to travel in this year. All of those schedule changes are due to unstable and changing conditions on the ice.

All of this begs the question. Will North Pole expeditions soon become a thing of the past? Considering that no one has made the full journey since 2010, it is beginning to look like a full-distance ski journey will soon become very rare indeed. Explorers have reported larger open leads of water the past few years and it is a long and tiring process to try to cross them all or find a way around. With a narrower window then ever to make the journey, it seems that the margin for error is extremely small for anyone who is hoping to undertake this type of adventure.


I've been saying for the past few years that I expect a North Pole expedition to simply be out of the question, as least in the traditional sense, in just a few years time. The icecap is simply getting smaller and the challenges are getting larger, making the proposition of such a journey more daunting. I do know of at least two people that I've spoken too directly who are planning expeditions to 90ºN in the next year or two, but quite frankly I believe that after that the window for such an expedition may close altogether. That is, if it hasn't already.

Now, I suspect that we will still see adventurers going to the North Pole in some form. Sure, we'll have one- and two-degree ski expeditions. But if the ice cap continues to break up, some industrious person will likely try to do a combined kayak-ski expedition or something similar. But a full-on ski journey just seems like it will be increasingly rare before too long.

I'm not one who likes to step into the middle of a heated (pun intended!) debate over global warming or climate change. Quite frankly, all you have to do is look around to see that thins are changing. Whether or not man is the cause of that change remains debatable, but it also doesn't matter. If there is anything we can due to help alter the course or limit our impact, no matter how minimal, I believe we should. The Arctic icecap is like the canary in the coal mine when it comes to witnessing these changes and anyone who has been there in recent years will tell you how dramatically different it is now as opposed to just a few years ago.

We're still a month and a half away from the start of the 2013 North Pole season, but it is already starting to look like it'll be another lean one.

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North Pole 2012: Two Skiers Heading South From 90ºN

While I was away last week the 2012 Arctic season all but came to an end. The Barneo Ice Station closed up shop for another season and most of the arctic explorers called it quits on a season that was already lacking any major expeditions. But just when you thought it was over for good, one team has started an epic journey that actually began at the North Pole.

Norwegian explorer Audun Tholfsen has joined forces with Estonian Timo Palo to launch their North Pole Expedition that will see them travel on skis and in kayaks from the 90ºN to Longyearbyen, the largest city on the island of Svalbard. The entire journey is expected to take upwards of two months to complete and will cover approximately 1400km (870 miles).

On their website, Audun and Timo talk about the biggest challenges that they will face along the way. They believe that the sea conditions will present the most difficulty, which is why they're using kayaks to cover the large open areas of water. Their skis will serve them well early on in the expedition, but as they travel further south, they'll be increasingly reliant on their boats as well. They also indicate that Arctic rubble fields and the ever present danger of polar bears will be of concern as well.

The two were airlifted to the North Pole on April 23 and started traveling shortly there after. Their blog doesn't provide any updates since that point however, so it is hard to determine how they are faring thus far. Hopefully we'll get some updates on progress soon however as this is one of the few big adventures to take place in the Arctic this year.

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North Pole 2012: Marathon At The Top Of The World

At the end of last week one of the more unique endurance events in the world took place when the 2012 UVU North Pole Marathon was run. The race, which took place for the eighth time, featured 40 competitors from across the globe who ran a standard 26.2 mile (42.1 km) marathon across the frozen Arctic Ocean.

In order to reach the North Pole the racers first had to travel to Longyearbyen in Norway, then hop a charter flight to the Barneo Ice Station, which opened last week at around 89ºN. From there a Russian built Antonov AN-74 aircraft flew them out to the course, which was 2.6 mile (4.2 km) circular route that each of the runners had to complete ten times. The route is ultimately established for the safety of the athletes and is designed to avoid open leads of water or other safety hazards.

The winner of this year's race was Andrew Murray of Great Britain who finished in a time of 4 hours, 17 minutes and 8 seconds. Luis Alonso Marcos of Spain was second 2 minutes and 30 seconds back, while James Matthews, also from the U.K., claimed third at 4 hours, 41 minutes and 01 second. The top female finisher was Demelza Farr of Austraila who crossed the finish line with a time of 6 hours, 6 minutes and 36 seconds. For a full list of results click here.

The competitors only spent about two days in the Arctic for this race and most have already come and gone on their return trip through Barneo. Still, this is an impressive event to take part in and I imagine it was amazing to visit the North Pole and compete in one of the most unlikely marathons on the planet. Congrats to everyone involved.

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North Pole 2012: Norwegians Call Off Expedition To The Pole

It looks like there won't be any full-length expeditions to the North Pole after all this year. Earlier today the Norwegian team of Mads Agerup and Rune Midtgaard announced that they are calling off their attempt at a speed-ski to the Pole after Mads' frost-bitten thumbs took a turn for the worse and have now deteriorated to the point that it is dangerous for them to continue. According to their home team, the two men have now broken camp and are searching for a suitable landing spot for a plane to come retrieve them from the ice.

While just 12 days into their journey, Mads and Rune were making excellent progress towards the top of the world. While conditions weren't always as good as they had hoped, they were none the less routinely knocking off 20+km (12 miles) each day, which is a solid pace for the early days of any Arctic expedition.

We first learned about Mads' condition in a dispatch yesterday but the situation didn't sound all that serious at the time. It appears that his thumbs have gotten significantly worse since that time, prompting their call for an evacuation.

At the moment, the weather in the Arctic is quite good, with low winds, relatively warm temperatures and plenty of visibility. That is expected to change tomorrow however when bad weather is expected to hit the area. With that in mind, the two men are hoping to still get picked-up today in order to avoid further frostbite damage.

It now appears that the Arctic has fended off all challengers for yet another year. Yes, there will be some skiers still heading to the North Pole, but none will be making the epic journey on foot that we've seen in years past. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the days of the expedition to the Pole may be coming to an end, as climate change have made it increasingly difficult to complete such a journey. I already know of a couple of teams that are planning to give it a go in 2013 but the Arctic window of opportunity definitely seems to be getting narrower.

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North Pole 2012: More Teams Prep For The Arctic

There may be only one team scheduled for the full journey to the North Pole on skis this year but a host of others are now gearing up to hit the ice. The Barneo Ice Station is still on track to open in the next few days and a number of explorers and skiers will start their expeditions from the Russian side of the Arctic. Many of those will be doing one or two degree journeys to the Pole, but others will simply be conducting research and studying the region.

One of those setting out early next week is Mark Wood who is currently in Norway and waiting for a lift out to the ice. He'll start his approach to the Pole at about 88ºN and hopes to finish up in just a few weeks time. The journey will cap his North-South Expedition which began with a successful solo-ski to the South Pole in January. When he's done in the Arctic, Mark will continue sharing his message of environmental protection through public speaking and interaction with classrooms.

According to their Facebook page, the three-man French team that will be conducting research at the North Pole this spring should be getting ready to depart soon as well. They've spent the last few days preparing gear and doing last minute prep work and yesterday that posted an update saying that a weather window has now opened for travel. Presumably that means they'll also be airlifted to Barneo first and then take a helicopter to the North Pole. Their original plan was to stay at 90ºN for six weeks but it remains to be seen if that will happen.

The team of Six Ordinary Men will also be starting their North Pole expedition soon as well. They appear to be doing a last degree journey to raise funds for the Sparks Charity. The group has been silent for the most part so far, although they do promise to start blogging on March 31st. The countdown clock on their website currently lists their time of departure as a day and a half away.

Finally, an update on the Norwegians who are taking the long and difficult route to the Pole. After picking up speed in the early part of the week, they've now started to run into some challenges. Just a few days ago they were routinely hitting 20-25km (12-15 miles) traveled each day, which is actually a great pace at this stage of the expedition. But the past few days as brought them upon some large open leads that have slowed them down. They began the day today with an open water crossing and their home teams reports that had they decided to go around it would have taken them 100-150km (62-93 miles) out of their way. Worse yet, they anticipate hitting another lead later today or tomorrow as well.

The news isn't good for Mads Agerup either. Apparently he has picked-up some frostbite in his thumbs which isn't looking particularly good at the moment. The rest of his hands and fingers are fine, but they'll definitely be keeping an eye on his damaged digits in the days ahead.

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North Pole 2012: Norwegians Pick Up Speed

The 2012 North Polar season has been a quiet one so far, but after several teams abandoned their expeditions early on, it seems things are starting to heat up.The Norwegian team of Mads Agerup and Rune Midtgaard are starting to hit their stride and another explorer prepares to launch his expedition, albeit from a direction he hadn't originally intended.

Last week Mads and Rune were struggling out on the ice as their bodies adapted to the cold and physically demanding conditions. Now they seem to be getting into a rhythm and as a result they're covering respectable distance even at this early stage of their journey. The men are hoping to ski to the North Pole and over the weekend they were routinely hitting 20km (12.4 miles) per day. That is an outstanding pace for the start of their expedition which is currently passing through a region that typically has more rubble fields and open water to deal with. They are currently camped at 83.5ºN however, which means they still have a very long way to go before their done.

Explorer Mark Wood is finally on the move once again. After completing his solo ski to the South Pole back in January, he has been anxious to begin the second leg of his journey, which originally was suppose to be a solo trip to the North Pole. Some logistical and economic issues have since cropped up, which have forced Mark to actually begin his journey at 90ºN however and head south from there. An updated to his website late last week indicated that he is now packed and ready to get started and that we can expect more news on his plans this week. My guess is that he'll soon head to the Barneo Ice Station, which is set to open on April 2nd, then catch a lift to the North Pole from there. Stay tuned for more news on his travels soon.

Finally, the French North Pole team is busy preparing their gear for an extended stay at the top of the world as well. According to their latest updates they have arrived in Spisbergen where they are preparing their equipment. The three men intend to camp at the Pole where they'll conduct scientific research on climate change, the Arctic Ocean and more. Initially I believe they intended to stay there for six weeks, but I'm not sure if that is still part of their plan or not. They are likely waiting for Barneo to open as well and will probably be shuttled to the North Pole early next week.

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North Pole 2012: New Team Hits The Ice, Others Waiting To Begin

Despite my doom and gloom headline from last week, the North Polar season isn't quite over yet. In fact, while several teams have already aborted their expeditions for the year, another hit the ice over the weekend and a few more hope to join them in the days ahead.

The Norwegian team of Mads Agerup and Rune Midtgaard have started their journey to the North Pole. They were dropped off at 83.5ºN on Cape Discovery and according to their first blog update, they found the conditions to be better than expected. The duo didn't waste and time in getting started either, as they apparently started hauling their sledges immediately and managed to cover 8.3km (5.1 miles) in about 3 hours. No word on their progress today, but best of luck to the boys who hope to reach the Pole by April 22nd, which is when the last flight off the ice is tentatively scheduled.

Meanwhile, the same plane that dropped off Mads and Rune also picked up Japanese solo skier Yasunaga Ogita. You may recall that he pulled the plug on his expedition last week, although we weren't entirely sure why at the time. Turns out Yas wasn't all that happy with the ice conditions, which were apparently deteriorating at a rapid pace. Those conditions slowed his progress considerably and so he decided it was best to turn back rather than take the risk of continuing northward.

Three Frenchmen are preparing for their North Pole adventure, which is now set to get underway on Thursday of this week. The men plan on spending the next month at the North Pole where they'll be conducting scientific research on the Arctic Ocean and the effects of climate change on that region.

Also setting out soon are the Six Ordinary Men who have set their sights on a last degree expedition to the North Pole. They'll be raising funds for Sparks, an organization dedicated to children's health issues, and will begin their journey north on the first of April.

Finally, Mark Wood is expected to begin the second leg of his North South Expedition later this week. You may recall that Mark had planned to ski back-to-back to both the North and South Pole. Having already completed the Antarctic portion of the journey he has been gearing up to take on the Arctic ever since. Due to timing and ice conditions however he had decided to begin his journey at 90ºN and head south instead. He tells ExWeb that most of the logistics are now in place for the expedition to get underway, but he is still working out funding for his extraction from the ice. He hints that a few big decisions will have to be made this week or the entire project could be jeopardized.

Good luck to everyone about to get underway. Enjoy the journey!

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Catlin Arctic Survey 2011: Explorers Off The Ice

The 2011 Catlin Arctic Survey came to an official end last week when the Explorers Team was finally picked up from the ice. That team, consisting of Ann Daniels, Tyler Fish, Adrian McCallum, and Phil Coates, had been traveling south from the North Pole towards Greenland for the past six weeks.

Last Wednesday, the team had nearly given up on finding a suitable landing area for a plane to land to complete the pick-up. The ice was thinning and there were more and more open leads of water, which made travel problematic for them on foot, let alone allowing a plane to land. While they would, on occasion, find patches of ice long enough for a landing, they were often not thick enough to support the weight of an aircraft.

Eventually they did find a proper piece of ice, and the evacuation plane was able to locate them and pluck them off the ice. From there they were flown to Eureka weather station for a brief overnight rest, before continuing on to Resolute Bay, and eventually home. After two months of travel in the Arctic, they were no doubt ready to get back to the comforts of their own beds.

Their evacuation from the ice officially brings to an end the 2011 Catlin Survey, which focused on the health of the pack ice this season. In addition to the Explorers Team, there was also an Ice Base Team, which consisted of scientists and researchers, who stayed at a permanent base for the length of the study. Both teams collected a variety of data and measurements, which will now be turned over to climate scientists to study. The hope is to get a better understanding of how the loss of ice in the Arctic Ocean can affect the weather in both North America and Europe.

To my knowledge, the Catlin team was the final group that was still out on the ice when they were picked-up. It was a long and very challenging season in the Arctic, and it is clear that climate change is altering the place dramatically. I honestly believe the days of skiing to the North Pole, at least in the classic sense, may be behind us. Yes, we'll continue to see Last Degree journeys for some time, but the big polar expeditions to the North Pole may be behind us. At the very least, their days are numbered.

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Catlin Arctic Survey 2011: Heading Home!

The 2011 Arctic Season, what little there was of it, is quickly grinding to a halt, as the Barneo Ice Station closes for another year, and several last minute expeditions had to be scrubbed. As anyone who follows these polar adventures know, this was a particularly strange and challenging year, with no one making the full journey to the North Pole. But the severe, and at times odd, weather conditions didn't prevent the Catlin Arctic Survey teams from doing their job for a third straight year.

For the past two months, the survey teams have labored away in the Arctic. One of those teams stayed at an ice base that was constructed specifically for the project, while the other team traveled by skis from the North Pole to Greenland. Both teams spent time collecting important data on how climate change is affecting the Arctic and the healthy of the ice there. That data will be used in research that will potentially give us insights into how changes at the North Pole can have an effect in Europe and North America as well.

According to their latest blog post, the Catlin Arctic Survey team is now packing up their gear and preparing to head home. The scientists and researchers at the Ice Base expect to be evacuated from the ice this weekend, provided the weather cooperates. With most of their work done, and their ice core samples and other data packed away, the group took time out to celebrate the Royal Wedding today.

Meanwhile, the Explorers team doesn't quite have it so nice. Over the past few days, they've been struggling with finding a route towards their final destination, and as they go, they're encountering more and more open leads, that is to say, large sections of open water. That has required them to don their immersion suits, climb into the frigid waters, a swim across the water, pulling their gear in inflatable rafts behind them. As you can imagine, this is a time consuming, and tiring, process that has left them physically drained at this stage of the expedition.

Despite the conditions, which have included nasty weather and total whiteouts, the team remains strong and focused, with good spirits. They're still heading south of course, and hope to reach their destination soon.

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Kiwi Yachtsman Crosses Northwest Passage In Record Time

Kiwi solo sailor Graeme Kendall, sailing the Astral Express, recently completed a crossing of the Northwest Passage, setting a new speed record in the process. It took Kendall just 12 days to complete the crossing, which came as sweet redemption after he was turned back in 2005 due to heavy ice.

Traveling east to west, Kendall entered the Passage at Lancaster Sound on August 27th and sailed clear at Barrow Point on September 9th. That 12 day voyage sets the new standard for a solo sail through the treacherous waters north of Canada, and it is also believed to be faster than any of the fully crewed ships that have made that journey as well, although that isn't confirmed for sure. The journey also marks the completion of the first stage of a circumnavigation attempt that will not only cover 18,000 miles, but pass through 32 of the world's major ocean ways as well.

ExWeb recently posted a brief interview with Graeme, in which he discusses the hardest part of the journey, how he dealt with fatigue, and his plans for future adventures. You can read that interview by clicking here.

As you can imagine, crossing the Northwest Passage is quite a challenge for any ship, but going solo is especially tough considering you have to watch for ice yourself, and have a much more difficult time making progress while also getting your needed rest. For Graeme it seems like it was 12 days of tension, but it's pretty impressive that he was able to complete it in this short of a time.

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