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The North Pole, often known as the home of Santa, is located on a floating ice pack situated in the Arctic Ocean in the northern hemisphere. Walking on frozen water, there is a risk of falling through into extremely cold water. Most deaths in the North Pole are due to drowning followed by polar bear attacks. There are many stretches of open water called leads, which will have to be crossed by swimming in an immersion suit (water temperature is as cold as -1.8ºC) or paddled across on a floating sled carrying 170kg of equipment. The problems don’t stop there, not only is the ice pack moving but the temperature can be anything from -20ºC to -60ºC. Pressure ridges of ice (where two ice floats crash into each other due to wind and sea currents) create blocks of jumbled ice that can be 6m high, many kilometres long and difficult to traverse pulling a 170kg sled.
I am going solo, unsupported and unassisted; this feat has not been done from Canada. This is regarded as the “holy grail” in adventure, the supreme challenge and a truly remarkable feat of human endurance. I want to do this before the polar ice disappears. |
