Video: An Adventurous Life

I came across this video at the Adventure Journal, and found the imagery compelling, even if I didn't understand the language. It depicts German adventurer Olaf Rieck on numerous expeditions over the years and offers up some of the more challenging moments of those journeys. Entitled Abenteuer Leben (Adventure Life) Part I, the video is a reminder that adventures are often incredibly difficult and challenging, and can make us extremely uncomfortable for days and weeks at a time. And yet, strangely enough, we still keep going back for more.

While some of the scenes depicted here look absolutely brutal, I can't be the only one who views them and thinks "I'd sure like to be there."



Olaf Rieck - Abenteuer Leben Part I from ulF wogensTein on Vimeo.

Polar Explorer To Make Back-To-Back Journeys To The Poles

Making an expedition to one of the poles, either North or South, is a demanding proposition. It requires strength, endurance, and mental toughness, as explorers spend weeks at a time, often alone, out on the ice. One man has decided that going to just a single pole isn't enough for him however, so he now plans to make back-to-back journeys to the North and South Pole.

British adventurers Mark Wood will leave for the Antarctic next week, where he will embark on a solo and unsupported journey to the South Pole. He expects to take roughly 50 days to cover the 680 miles or so to reach that point, at which time, he'll be collected from the ice by ALE and flown back to Chile. For most polar explorers, that would be the end of the expedition, but for Wood it'll just be half-way there.

With the first leg of the journey behind him, he will then proceed directly to Canada, where he'll start the second stage of the expedition – a 65-day, 700-mile trek through the Arctic to reach the North Pole. When he finally reaches 90ºN, he'll then be picked up by a Russian helicopter and immediately make his way to an international conference on the environment and climate change, during which he is expected to share his thoughts on the effects of global warming on the polar ice caps.

Obviously this will be an incredibly demanding and difficult undertaking. Wood has scheduled himself a modest 50 days in the South Pole, which should be plenty of time, but the North Pole is a completely different beast, and 65-days may not be enough for that stage of the journey. On top of that, if conditions are anything like this past year, the weather may make it impossible to go at all. The journey to the North Pole is far more difficult than going to the South, and climate change has made it even more so in recent years.

Still, it'll be fun to follow along on this major expedition. I wish Mark all the best, and I'll be posting updates in the days and weeks to come. If he pulls this off, it will be an incredible accomplishment to say the least.

A Pair Of Adventure Interviews

We have a couple of good interviews this morning of two very interesting adventurers who have spent a lot of time on mountains and in very cold places.

First up, my friends at CheapTents.com are making it a habit of posting excellent interviews with some fascinating subjects. This week they put polar explorer Lonnie Dupre under their microscope, discussing such topics as what inspires him to go on his adventures, what his biggest weakness is, and why he decided to attempt Denali in January. Even for a guy who has been to the North Pole twice and circumnavigated Greenland, that was a tough expedition.

Once you're done getting to know Lonnie better, head over to Adventeer to check out their interview with  mountaineer Meagan McGrath. I've written about Meagan's adventures a few times, most notably when she went to the South Pole, but also on her Seven Summits climbs as well. In her interview, Meagan discusses her motivations for climbing, what it was like going to the South Pole alone, and how she manages to self-fund her adventures. She also goes into detail on the Seven Summits and shares which of those peaks was her favorite as well.

Both are good reads and highly motivational. If you're finding it difficult to get your energy going this morning, both Lonnie and Meagan may provide some inspiration. At the very least, they'll give you something to think about heading into the weekend.

Train For A Polar Adventure With Ice Warrior

The 2011 Antarctic season is just a few weeks away, and soon we'll see a number of intrepid explorers setting out for the South Pole or other locations on the frozen continent. If you have your own dreams of visiting polar destinations, you may want to consider taking a course from Ice Warrior, a company that not only organizes expeditions of their own, but provides crucial training for adventurers traveling in the extreme polar regions of our planet.

Ice Warrior is preparing a full slate of Polar Training courses for this October, offering excellent opportunities to learn new skills and discover just what it takes to survive on a journey to the North or South Pole. The courses are held in Dartmoor, in the U.K., and offer training on navigation, first aid, ropes work, and more. Most of the training modules are broken down into two day sessions and they can be taken independently or back-to-back in one comprehensive learning experience.

Of particular interest to me is their first course in October which focuses on the core skills of expedition planning, finding funding, and overall fitness. Those are key skills that are important for anyone hoping to make an expedition, whether in an arctic setting or elsewhere. And since these courses are instructed by polar veteran Jim McNeill, you can bet you'll come away with some excellent practical knowledge that can be applied to your next adventure.

For a complete list of courses, including dates and pricing, click here. On that same page, you'll also find information on two polar training expeditions which will be coming up in January as well.

Pole To Pole Run Update: Halfway There!

A little more than a year ago, I wrote about Australian ultrarunner Pat Farmer, who was planning the massive undertaking of actually running from the North Pole to the South Pole. Since then, I hadn't really heard much about the expedition, but it turns out that it launched on schedule this past spring and Farmer is continuing to make impressive progress.

Dubbed the Pole To Pole Run, and not to be confused with the Pole2Pole Expedition, Farmer set off from the North Pole last April and has been heading south ever since. Traveling across the arctic on foot, and sometimes kayaks, Farmer made his way to Quebec, Canada, then has continued across the eastern United States, down into Mexico, and through Central America, arriving in Panama this week. Thus far, he has covered approximately 12,500km (7767 miles) and is about to start the next phase.

After crossing the Panama Canal, Pat will now make a daring trek through the Darien Gap, a dangerous stretch of jungle that is home to drug runners, bandits, and insurgents. For this stage, which is roughly 250km (155 miles) in length, he, and his support team, will be escorted by armed guards to ensure their safety.

Once he's cleared that section, he'll continue into South America proper, where he'll keep running until he reaches Tierra del Fuego at the end of the continent. That will tack an additional 9693km (6022 miles) onto his journey. From there, it'll be on to the final stage, which will be a crossing of Antarctica beginning at the Ronnie Ice Shelf and ending at the South Pole, 900km (559 miles) later.

This is a truly epic expedition to say the least and it seems that Farmer could indeed accomplish his goal of running from one pole to another. However, if he's going to make the 2011 Antarctic season, he's really going to have to make good time on his way across South America. Most expeditions to the South Pole will get underway in November to allow plenty of time for the crossing of the Antarctic continent. If he misses that window, he may have to wait until next year to complete his run, or risk horrible weather conditions for his crossing.

Either way, it should be fun to follow along with his adventure. Below is a video that was posted to the Pole to Pole Run website a few days ago and gives you an idea of what kind of conditions Pat has been running in recently.

Row To The Pole Team Reaches Destination

A few weeks back I posted a story about the Row To The Pole Team, which was made up of six crew members who were attempting to become the first people to row to the Magnetic North Pole. At the time, they were just setting out from Resolute Bay, Canada and were taking to the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean. Now, more than three weeks later, they are approaching the finish line.

The team, which is led by polar explorer Josh Wishart, has battled cold weather, high winds, and plenty of drift ice on the way to their destination. In total, they will have covered approximately 450 miles on their way to the Pole, which is located in the waters of the Arctic Ocean itself. Reading the updates from their blog, it is clear that his hasn't been an easy trip, as weather conditions haven't been favorable much of the time.

Officially, the team is rowing to the GPS coordinates of 78°35.7N 104°11.9W, which is actually the location of the Magnetic North Pole back in 1996. Unlike the Geographic North Pole, which is located at 90ºN, the Magnetic Pole is moving, and has continued to do so for some time. Now, 15 years after it was recorded at this location, it has now drifted further north and east. In 2005, the Pole was estimated to be located at 82.7°N 114.4°W, and is now believed to be moving towards Russia at a speed of about 35 miles per year. That means that the destination that the team is actually rowing to is nowhere near where the atual Magnetic North Pole is located. This has, as you can imagine, caused a stir amongst some in the adventure community.

So, while I congratulate the team on reaching their destination, as rowing through the Arctic Ocean is never an easy feat, I can't help but wonder what it is they have actually accomplished. They did reach a point on the map, but that point doesn't really hold any kind of significant relevance to any other. I salute their adventurous spirit and attitude, and I commend them for facing the elements to complete their voyage, but I'm not sure that they actually achieved what they set out to do, which is to Row To The Pole.

The video below shows what the conditions are like for them today as they approach the finish. They've left behind much of the ice and the winds have calmed some as well.

Colder, The Story of Eric Larsen's Save The Poles Expedition

Last Year, explorer Eric Larsen became the first person to visit the North and South Pole, as well as the summit of Everest, all in the same calendar year. He used his expedition to raise awareness of the challenges of climate change to our planet and the effect it is having on the "three poles." Now, a documentary of this "Save The Poles" expedition is in the works, and we have the trailer for it today as well.

According to this story on the Wend Blog, the film is called Colder and the full length version will be coming soon. You can get a sample of it in the video below, where you'll get just  a sample of what Eric went through on his expedition. Colder indeed!

Richard Parks Completes 737 Challenge

I've mentioned Richard Parks and his 737 Challenge in the past, but wanted to do a follow-up to report that he has completed the expedition, which had the ambitious goal of climbing the Seven Summits and visiting the Three Poles, in just seven months time.

According to this story, from Wales Online, Parks finished his journey last week by reaching the summit of Mt. Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe. You would think that after he knocked off Everest in the spring, that Elbrus, which stands 5642 meters (18,510 ft) in height, would be a relatively easy climb, but according to the story, Richard struggled to the top as his strength and energy waned. Then again, getting so close to his final goal, and having traveled and climbed a lot in the past six+ months, I guess it should be expected that he would be a bit tired.

While standing on the summit, Parks said that his accomplishment hadn't set in yet, but a blog post that came a few days later allowed him to share some thoughts on the journey. He was back home in the U.K. at that point, and has a lot of media appearances on his agenda, and it sounds like he's still struggling to come to grips with his accomplishment.

The expedition website says that the official time to complete the 737 Challenge was six months, 11 days, 7 hours, and 53 minutes. In that time frame, Richard managed to climb the seven highest peaks on each of the seven continents, while also visiting the "three poles." That would be the North and South Pole of course, and the summit of Everest, which is sometimes referred to as the "third pole." While his polar journeys were last-degree ski expeditions, this is still one very impressive accomplishment. The travel time alone would be enough to wear a lot of people out, let alone climbing mountains and skiing through frozen wastelands.

It should also be noted that Parks undertook this journey to raise funds and awareness of the Marie Curie Cancer Care organization, a great cause that has inspired a number of adventurous Brits.

Congratulations Richard, well done!

Pole2Pole Expedition Update: On The Bike, Still Heading South

It's been awhile since I posted an update on the Pole2Pole Expedition, during which explorer Johan Ernst Nilson is traveling from the North to the South Pole using only non-motorized transportation. You may recall this past Spring he started on this journey by skiing through the Arctic, and while is original intention was to travel to Greenland and then cross the North Atlantic by sailboat, he actually ended up simply skiing to Canada instead.

Since then, he's been continuing the expedition by traveling on bike to the west coast, arriving in Vancouver a few weeks back, where he'll now get a new bike for the journey south along the Pacific Coast  Highway with his next stop being Seattle. Johan will also be joined by Carl Robert, a companion of his on Everest, who will go with him all the way to Ushuaia, Argentina, which is the next major leg of the trip. They hope to complete that leg in five months time.

If they are successful, that will put them at the southern most tip of South America just as the Antarctic season is about to get underway. They intention is that Nilson will then cross the Southern Ocean by sailboat, and then travel by skies to the South Pole. Five months seems like an ambitious schedule for the bike ride to Chile, but hopefully they'll be able to stay on course and get there on time.

Check out Johan's latest updates on Pole2Pole.net and follow along with his progress.

Polar Explorers Wanted! No Experience Necessary!

Have you ever wanted to join a major arctic expedition making a journey to remote and unexplored place? Then you're in luck, as polar veteran Jim McNeill is planning to travel to the North Pole of Inaccessibility, and he's looking for partners to join him on that mission.

For those that aren't aware, the North Pole of Inaccessibility is defined as the furthest point from any coastlines, or essentially the very middle of the Arctic Ocean. According to the latest calculations, that point falls at the coordinates of: 85.78 North, 176.15 East, and has never  been visited by explorers traveling on foot.

In the spring of 2012, Jim and his hand picked team will attempt to make that journey. Starting in February of next year, he and the other polar explorers will begin an 800-mile long, 80 day quest to reach the Pole of Inaccessibility. That journey will be broken into four legs, with each leg lasting 20 days each. McNeill is looking to find team members to join him on each of those legs.

If you're interested in joining the expedition, you'll want to attend the Ice Warrior Induction Weekend, scheduled to be held July 8th - 10th in a remote location in the U.K. That weekend will serve as an introduction of what the expedition will be like and offer would be polar explorers the opportunity to meet one another and work as a team. After that, full blown training weekends and a week-long training expedition will prepare the team for the challenges they'll face out on the Arctic Ocean. Interested parties will have to pay for their training and gear, as well as help with fund raising, but they'll also get the opportunity to take part in an expedition that very well may be the "last true world first in polar regions."

You may recall that this expedition was originally set to take place last year, but the team was forced to post-pone the attempt due to unstable conditions on the ice. Hopefully they'll get their opportunity in 2012.

For more information, go to Ice-Warrior.com.

Pole2Pole Expedition Update: In Sight Of Land At Last!

It has been awhile since I posted anything about Johan Ernst Nilson's Pole2Pole Expedition. That's the ambitious adventure undertaken by the Swedish explorer during which he hopes to go from the North Pole to the South Pole, in a completely carbon neutral fashion, in just one year's time.

When last we checked in, Nilson has been dropped off at the North Pole, and had begun his journey south on skis. It was very tough going however, as the conditions in the Arctic were less than ideal this season, with large open leads of water, incredibly tumultuous weather, and thin pack-ice all around. Still, Nilson has been sticking to his course and working hard, and his efforts are about to get a lot easier.

In a blog post from earlier today, Nilson announced that he is in sight of land at long last. That means that he is approaching northern Greenland, where he expects to enter the next stage of his journey, which will be conducted on a dogsled. He still remains a few days away from actually touching solid ground, but when he does, he'll transition to this new mode of transportation, which will carry him to Thule Airbase, where he'll board a ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

After that, Nilson will climb aboard a bike and begin a very long cycling journey from Ottawa, Canada to Tierra Del Fuego, where he'll once again sail across the Drake Passage, and head to the South Pole via skies. That's a long way off at this point, but he is about to hit a major milestone in what has already been a difficult journey.

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.

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.

Pole2Pole Update: Heading South And Fighting Frostbite

Last week I posted a story about the launch of the Pole2Pole expedition which will see Swedish explorer Johan Ernst Nilson travel from the North to the South Pole in 12 months time. When I wrote that introductory article I was only able to link out to PR sites from expedition sponsor Audi, but now I have the full website where we can follow Nilson's progress online.

The year-long journey officially got underway last Tuesday, with Nilson setting off from the North Pole. During this first leg of the journey, he's attempting to kite-ski to Greenland, but according to updates to his blog, things have not been easy thus far. The ice walls that are common in the arctic do not make it easy to use the kites, and dragging the 110 kilo (242 pound) sleds has made for slow going thus far. The Swede has already broken (and repaired!) one of his skis, but is also suffering from frostbite on all ten fingers, although that seems to be a holdover from previous polar expeditions.

Still, Nilson seems determined to forge ahead with his expedition, and upon reaching Greenland he'll transition to dogsleds for a brief run to the northwest coast. From there, he'll sail across the Atlantic to Canada where he'll begin a long bike ride south to Patagonia, eventually reaching Tierra del Fuego. After that, it's back in the sailboat for a jaunt across the Southern Ocean, and then one final leg by kite-ski to the South Pole. When he's done, he'll have traveled more than 28,000km (17,000 miles) in a completely carbon neutral fashion without using any fossil fuels.

Be sure to follow along with Johan's progress on his website and check out the video below for more i

nformation on what he's up to and the polar history that he is paying homage to.

North Pole 2011: Parker Liautaud Completes North Pole Expedition

16-year old polar explorer and environmentalist Parker Liautaud completed his last degree expedition to the North Pole yesterday and in a stunningly quick time. He was accompanied to 90ºN by his guide Doug Stoup, who was with Parker last year when the duo endured terrible weather conditions and came up 15 miles short of their goal.

It took Parker and Doug just 4 days 2 hrs and 27 minutes to cover the 112km (69.5 mile) journey from his their drop-off point on the ice to the Geographic North Pole at the top of the world. That put them at their destination a week ahead of schedule, which was already a challenging pace considering they were delayed for three days awaiting the opening of the Barneo Ice Station.

While on his mission to the North Pole, Parker also collected data on the thickness of the snow pack along their route. Each day, he took 100 measurements, and the data will be handed off to the University of Alberta, where it will be used to aid in the study of how climate change is impacting the health of our polar regions. The collection of that data adheres works in tandem with Parker's goal of spreading the word about climate change and how it is affecting our planet.

A hearty congratulations are in order to both Parker and Dough on a job well done. Not only did they reach the Pole in a very fast time, they also managed to meet the goals of their expedition along the way as well. Excellent work!

North Pole 2011: Update On Prince Harry

Yesterday I posted the scary story of the runway, located at the Barneo Ice Camp, had broken under the weight of a landing plane, which has caused all kinds of trouble in the Arctic. For now, there are no planes getting in or out, and the Russians are trying to find a suitable ice patch on which to build a replacement landing strip. As I noted in that update, Britain's Prince Harry was scheduled to be picked up from the ice yesterday, but he remains with his Walking with the Wounded team as they make their way to the North Pole.

Harry is in no danger of course, but he was expected to be plucked from the ice via helicopter yesterday, and flown back to Barneo, where a jet would take him home. He had hoped to go all the way to the North Pole with his mates, but military obligations, not to mention family obligations, require him back in the U.K. That won't be happening for at least a few days however, despite what the video update below says.

Building a new runway is going to take a bit of time, and the last we heard there was a blizzard hitting the area. That means very little work has been done in the past 24 hours, likely delaying the Prince's departure even further. There are high hopes however that he can at least be on his way home this weekend.

The story of the runway cracking simply further underscores the challenges of traveling in the Arctic. The pack ice is getting increasingly thinner and there are more and more open leads of water these days. If things continue at the rate they seem to be going, we'll all be able to visit the North Pole on a cruise ship soon.

Update: It seems the prince is headed home after all. According to this Reuters story, he was picked up by a helicopter and returned to Barneo late today. The article says that the cracked runway was "repaired," but doesn't offer much detail beyond that. Hopefully they can avoid any further incidents like the one that occurred yesterday, and the base can remain safe through the next few weeks.

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North Pole 2011: Trouble At Barneo

So just how bad is it in the Arctic this season? We already knew that all the explorers traveling to the North Pole from the Canadian side of the ice called off their expeditions due to the extremely bad weather, but it seemed that for the most part it would be business as usual at the Barneo Ice Station. That doesn't seem to be the case however, as ExWeb is reporting that the runway at the temporary base has cracked and broken under the weight of a landing plane.

As I reported earlier this week, the Barneo station finally opened for business on Monday following some weather delays. The base is built each spring to facilitate travel to the North Pole, and in order for it to be constructed, a suitable ice flow needs to be located, and then a team of paratroopers are dropped onto that flow to begin construction. That includes creating a smooth runway for the planes to land on. Yesterday that runway suffered damage when an Antanov-74 plane came in for landing, cracking the ice, and making it completely unsafe to land upon. In fact, the ice broke up as the plane was touching down, forcing it to lift off and return to Longyearbyen.

Apparently the crack is so large that it extends through the entire base and as a result, the runway was immediately shut down. Another in-bound plane was diverted back to Spitsbergen and the Mi-8 Hind helicopters were dispatched to search for another slab of ice to serve as the landing strip. That search is being hampered by weather at the moment however, as high winds and snow have hit the area.

We're told that everyone in the camp is safe and that there is plenty of food and fuel to keep everyone warm and happy. But there are a number of explorers and scientists who are now waiting for an opportunity to get out on the ice. It could be a considerable amount of time before a new runway is ready, and time is a commodity that is in short supply this time of year in the high arctic.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry was suppose to be picked up from the ice today and returned to the U.K. He is now stranded there as well while they figure out the best way to get supplies and people in and out of the region. Current estimates say it could be 36 hours to two days before any kind of resolution can be had.

So, how scary would it be to come in for a landing on the ice runway, only to see, hear, and feel it break-up underneath your plane? That has to be one of the most terrifying things that you could experience. It also highlights once again how much the Arctic is changing. Exploration in this part of the world is going to be very different in the years ahead, that much is certain.

Pole2Pole Expedition: 12 Month Journey From North to South Pole Begins Today!

Swedish explorer Johan Ernst Nilson is about to embark on an epic and ambitious expedition that will see him travel from the North to the South Pole in under 12 months. If that wasn't challenging enough, he'll also be doing it in a carbon neutral manner, making the entire journey without the use of fossil fuels.

The projected is called the Pole2Pole Expedition and it is being sponsored by Audi. The journey officially gets underway today, with Nilson being dropped off at the North Pole, where he'll make the first stage of the journey on skis, heading south to Greenland. Once there, he'll begin the second stage of his journey, which will take him to Thule Airbase, located on the northwest side of the country. He'll make that trip by dogsled. The third stage of the expedition will be an aquatic one, as Nilson will then board a sailboat and cross the Northern Atlantic to Ottawa, Canada. Once there, he'll embark on the longest leg of the trip, during which he'll make his way from Canada to Patagonia on a bicycle. After that, it's back in the sailboat for a quick crossing of the Drake Passage, arriving in Antarctica late in the year, where he'll start the final leg of the journey, kite-sledding to the South Pole.

If all goes as planned, it'll take Nilson less than 12-months to complete the expedition, but it certainly won't be easy. He may be cutting it close on the far end, as we all know that the Antarctic season is quite treacherous after mid-January or so. But that is probably getting well ahead of ourselves, for the moment, he should be concerned with just getting out of the Arctic in one piece.

For their part, Audi is taking an active role in their sponsorship of the expedition. They've helped Nilson design a lightweight, yet durable, sled that he'll be puling behind him in both of the polar regions, and their vehicles are being used by a support team and documentary film crew that are following the explorer on his journey. Nilson will also be stopping at various Audi dealerships along the way to help cover that all important sponsorship.

In order to arrive at the South Pole by April 6, 2012, Nilson is going to have to average roughly 62 miles per day. Obviously that's not out of the question on a bike or kite-skiing, and certainly not in a sailboat. Skiing from the North Pole to Greenland will be the biggest challenge, which he may be finding out at this very moment.

It should be fun to follow along on this expedition. Stay tuned for updates.

North Pole 2011: Barneo Ice Camp Is Open

Last night the first planes began arriving at the Barneo Ice Camp, the temporary base that is constructed on the ice each spring to allow explorers to travel to the North Pole from the Russian side of the ice. To build the base, a team of paratroopers is dropped out of the sky, and they begin constructing the camp, including building a land strip for the passenger planes to start arriving. The base is maintained for about 3-4 weeks, and then abandoned again for the year, and since it is built on a frozen ocean, the location of the camp is often in flux.

So what's it like to arrive at this base? Check out the video below, which was shot from the first aircraft to arrive at Barneo yesterday, carrying the first teams of skiers, including the Walking with the Wounded team and Prince Harry.

North Pole 2011: Prince Harry Begins Polar Trek

Way back in January I posted a story about Britain's Prince Harry possibly making a trek to the North Pole.  At the time, he was training to do so as part of a fund raising effort for the Walking with the Wounded organization, but it was unclear whether or not his military obligations, not to mention his brother's impeding nuptials, would allow him to join the expedition. Yesterday, the team set out on their journey at last, and with Harry in tow, but the Prince won't make it to the Pole after all.

Four of the members of the team are disabled vets who were injured in the war in Afghanistan. Two of those are amputees. The group is hoping to raise as much as $3.2 million on their trek, which will go to the Walking with the Wounded foundation, an organization the helps wounded soldiers recover and get back on their feet, both literally and figuratively. Harry serves as the Patron for the foundation.

Unfortunately, the Prince won't be able to complete the entire journey with his companions. Instead, he'll spend five days in the arctic with the team, and then he'll get picked up and returned to the U.K. where he is training to be an Apache helicopter pilot. He felt so strongly about the expedition however that he wanted to join them for at least a small part of the journey.

The expedition had been delayed due to bad weather. The entire crew was in Spitsbergen last week, and were waiting for a flight to the Barneo Ice Station. The runway there was finally opened yesterday, allowing flights in for the first time this year. Now, they'll be making the 200 mile journey by skis to the North Pole, completing a "last degree" expedition to the top of the world.

Update: Just a brief clarification on this story. It seems this isn't a "last degree" expedition at all. The team was actually dropped at 87ºN after arriving at Barneo yesterday, which makes for a longer, more challenging journey. The 200 miles quoted above is still the proper length, but wanted to give credit where it was due. The team is actually finishing the final three degrees to the North Pole.