Arctic Arc 2007 : the entire crossing of the Arctic Ocean (part 3/6)

24 pictures posted on the 02.07.2009

There is water everywhere

There is water everywhere", explains Alain, "we must constantly cross leads, either by finding pathways or by turning our sledges into catamarans. This is probably due to the fact that temperatures have become quite milder these past few days, -18°C yesterday morning and -11°C yesterday evening.

© IPF, Michel de Wouters & René Robert

  • Here are few elements of the equipment which had to be replaced : 3 packages of bandages, 2 bottles of transcutaneous hexomedine, 1 set of batteries, 2 new solar panels, 1 sleeping bag, 1 pair of Hagloff trousers, 1 box of Q-tips, etc.
  • April 11th : At this pace, they progressed 7 hours, accomplishing 10.5 kilometres, and set up camp in the evening 242 kilometres from the North Pole.
  • In the resupply thay carried also : 1 thermos, 21 kilos of diced cheese (Comté cheese), 500 g of salt, 10 bars of chocolate, 1 kilo of Nescafé, 1 kilo of coffee, 40 packets of Japanese soup, 320 sugar cubes, Etc...
  • Today, April 15th, the pole is 146 km away, but the main concern is that the northern gale will push them back through the night at a rate of about 800 meters per hour. Spirits are high and they look forward to a good night to make up the past, eventful one.
  • As the wind had turned, blowing from the North at 50km/h, they were pushed back by 12km during the night (night of April 14th).
  • They made up for their nightly drift with a good 18km in 9 hours. Their fighting spirit is bringing them another 6 kilometers closer from the North Pole.
  • Being so close to the pole, the presence of these huge open waters is simply unbelievable.
  • April 19th : One degree left before the two men come up to the first stage of their big adventure. Three or four days from now, they should indeed reach the north pole.
  • And things don't seem to be getting any better, since, for two days now, the men have been skiing with water over their feet.
  • There is water everywhere
  • Yesterday, April 19th, a complete chaos. The real hellish world of the north. Fifty times, sixty times, maybe more: the men can't even remember how many leads, chaos and unpredictable ice bridges they had to cross anymore, nor even how many times they had to embark their sledges on dangerous surfaces.
  • Every four days, Alain has to take -for the ESA- measurements of the thickness of the snow above the ice.
  • Moreover, the obstacles blending into the scenery to such an extent, visibility (not more than 150 metres) did not allow them to aim and trace the direction to follow.
  • This morning (April 19th), since the barometer was a little higher (1008 millibars), Alain and Dixie decided to break camp even though visibility was really bad. They were quickly slowed down by two big leads, one 50 metres wide, the other over 100 metres wide.
  • Like yesterday, they were swept by fear each time they had to cross a lead and then happy as a kid whenever the lead had been conquered.
  • And, in the end, when the evening camp had been set up, a huge satisfaction of, first, having taken off despite the storm, and, second, to have progressed almost 24 km in a single day.
  • On the one hand, they have suffered as never before from what Hubert calls the sheer hellish world of the north. On the other hand, they are liking it...
  • Yesterday, April 20th, a complete chaos. The real hellish world of the north. Fifty times, sixty times, maybe more: the men can't even remember how many leads, chaos and unpredictable ice bridges they had to cross anymore, nor even how many times they had to embark their sledges on dangerous surfaces.
  • April 25th : Dixie Dansercoer and Alain Hubert will thus have needed 54 days to reach the goal of their first stage, the North Pole. And, as though it were part of the celebration, the Arctic honored them yesterday with the first day of beautiful weather since their departure.
  • Of course, many polar explorers have already rallied the North Pole from Cape Arktichewski. Nonetheless, to succeed this trek is still a real achievement.
  • During the two or three days following the departure from the Pole, the terrain on which Alain and Dixie progressed was more or less acceptable. Yesterday, however, was another dive into an indescribable hell. Judge for yourself: they struggled during 8 and a half hours to cover only 8 km!
  • Three weeks ago, when the first resupply took place, Boyarsky forgot to take for the 2 men on the ice the expedition fuel at Barneo station. Thye had received helicopter, fuel instead. Finally MI8 comes back after the Pole with the right fuel.
  • Since the Belgians are involved with the polar Arctic adventure, they made friend with Viktor Boyarsky, currently director of the Arctic and Antarctic Museum in St. Petersburg, where he lives.