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Mission:
First ever attempt to walk the 1000km to the North Pole
in the total darkness unassisted by machines or dogs.
SUNRISE
AT THE POLE Jan
9 2006
Norwegian Borge Ousland and South
African Mike Horn have joined forces for a bold North
Pole expedition. Yesterday, both explorers left their
respective homes for Siberia, the starting point of
their challenge which they will undertake in the pitch
black Arctic winter.
Borge Ousland is quoted as saying: “We will try to do
the entire trip during the dark period, and arrive
before the 23rd of March, which is the first day of
Spring and when the sun begins to appear above the
horizon at the North Pole.”
Borge
Ousland and Mike Horn
The pair is meeting up today in Moscow to finalize the
details of their expedition. They hope to start skiing
before the end of this month. Should Ousland and Horn
succeed, they would be the first to arrive at the NP in
winter - and in time to see the sun rising over the ice.
Norwegian Ousland is one of the foremost polar explorers
in the world, together with names such as Gjeldnes,
Weber and Malakov. South African Mike Horn finished an
Arctic adventure in 2004, travelling around the Arctic,
just within the Arctic Circle, by boat, kayak, ski sail
and on foot. A support team provided him with resupplies
and various means of travel along the trip.
Ousland
and Horn's plan is as straightforward as it is outrageous.
They intend to depart Cape Arkticheskiy (a perilous last
spit of land off western Siberia) on or about January
15, to switch on their headlamps, and to bust it an
average of ten miles (sixteen kilometers) a day for 620
miles (998 kilometers). In theory, they'll reach the
pole in 60 days. Adhering to the purist ethic of
unsupported polar travel—no prearranged depots or air
drops of food and stove fuel, nor help from sled
dogs—the two will pull capsule-like sleds containing
everything they need behind them, hence the modest daily
mileage and Horn's tango with those tractor tires.
At the start they'll each be dragging 330 pounds (150
kilograms) of fuel, food, double-A lithium batteries,
and individual sleeping bags. "We are not that
close yet," Ousland says, with a nervous laugh, at
the prospect of sharing a bag. Ousland has, however,
done exactly that on North Pole trips in the past to
conserve body heat on the coldest nights.
Each day, the two will ingest upwards of 6,500 calories.
Horn will get the extra fat he needs by drinking olive
oil straight, and Ousland will beef up his protein
intake by consuming his secret weapon: reindeer heart.
Despite the dark, the pair won't brew up any coffee. As
Ousland notes, "Coffee makes you pee." And you
don't want to pee too often at minus 25 degrees
Fahrenheit (minus 31 degrees Celsius).
If not sleeping bags, the duo will share a tent, even
though Horn initially suggested two tents as well.
"I didn't think this was a good idea," Ousland
says. "A little too solo."
For two-plus months, they will wear the same four layers
of clothing. They'll each have one change of underwear,
socks, and thick mittens. Through his Russian contacts,
Ousland has arranged for the airstrip known as Camp
Barneo to open a few weeks early so they can catch a
lift home.
PROGRESS
DAY CHART
Tue,
24 Jan 2006 // 18:32
Quote of the Day:
'We are now situated 18kms south of our starting point
but hey, it's not so bad! There's nothing else to do but
to hang in there! Soon the ice cap will turn and change
it's direction.'
MIKE DATA LOG
Position: N 81°11'40.1' E 98°18'46.0' (18km south &
50km east of Cape Artichesky)
Miles covered: -18km
Conditions: Snowing with strong winds of 5-6 metres per
second
Temperature: -14°C (without windchill factor)
Days of food left: 64
DAY 3: MIKE AND BORGE
CONTINUE TO DRIFT SOUTH BUT MORALE REMAINS HIGH
Mike phoned his support team earlier today to update us on
their progress:
'We moved another 10 kms down south today. It's a bit
demoralising when you are walking non-stop north for two
days only to find that at the end of the day you are 18kms
further south of your starting point. Normally we should
be moving towards Norway and Greenland but instead we are
moving towards Alaska!!! We are now situated 18kms south
and 50 kms east of Cape Artichesky! Heh, it's not so bad!
There's nothing else to do but to hang in there! Soon the
ice cap will turn and change it's direction.
It's still snowing with winds of 5-6m per second and a
temperature of around -14°C (without the windchill
factor). The ice is like a broken mosaic. We swam across
one leed today and the rest of the time we were ice
hopping - a favourite pass-time when I'm with my girls -
but not here on the pole!!!
No bears around or at least they haven't come close enough
for us to see them! Borge and I stay very close together
when we walk. It's very dark and it would be easy to loose
each other. All I can see is his headlight next to me.
We're going to sleep now - the terrain is very uneven and
it's really hard work pulling these sledges!'
The
departure will be from Cape Artichesky, the northern
most point of Russia, on the 15th of January 2006.
The
expedition will take around 67 days: The North Pole
winter expedition is a unique challenge to Borge and
Mike. Mike is known as the best all round world
explorer' and Borge the best in 'polar exploration'.
This
unique team will combine all their experiences and will
arrive at the North Pole during the winter before the
sun rises over the horizon.Mike and Borge will cover a
distance of 1000kms with extreme temperatures of around
-40°C. In a few more years an expedition like this will
no longer be possible because of the global warming.
During
their course, Mike Horn and Borge Ousland want to draw the interest
of the public and show to them the beauty of our planet
and show them the importance of the protection of our
environment.
3
Feb 2006
Ils
se sont réveillés tôt dimanche matin pour constater que
le vent du nord-ouest avait soufflé durant la nuit,
permettant ainsi à la glace de se former près de la côte
ouest du Cap.Rapidement, ils sont sortis afin de voir
s’il était possible de partir et ils ont constaté que
la glace était solide, épaisse et stable. L’occasion
était parfaite pour pouvoir se mettre en route et dire
‘au revoir’ à la terre ferme, puis démarrer l’expédition
pour de bon.
Mike et Borge ont bien travaillé aujourd’hui. Ils ont
marché non-stop durant six heures et demi contre un vent
du nord-ouest qui soufflait la neige horizontalement à
7-8 mètres par seconde. A deux reprises, ils se sont
trouvés face à de l’eau ouverte et ont dû utiliser le
canot gonflable pour traverser. A cause des courants très
forts, ils devaient avancer très rapidement pour
atteindre l’autre côté avant que celle-ci ne soit trop
éloigné. Heureusement, les deux fois, il n’y a pas eu
de mésaventures.
Mike et Borge sont heureux d’avoir finalement quitté la
terre ferme et débuter leur expédition. Lorsqu’ils ont
téléphoné aujourd’hui, ils ont dit qu’ils avaient
marché 19 km, mais à cause du vent et de la dérive de
la glace, ils n’ont en fait avancé que de 2 km dans la
bonne direction.
Dieu seul sait où ils vont se réveiller demain matin,
mais de toute manière les deux compères sont heureux et
ils sont convaincus d’avoir pris la bonne décision en
quittant la terre ferme.
Mike
Horn startet neue Nordpol-Expedition
LAUSANNE
- Der Abenteurer Mike Horn aus Château d'Oex in der Waadt
startet eine neue Nordpol-Expedition. Er bricht Mitte
Januar mit dem Norweger Borge Ousland in die arktische
Nacht auf. Eine solche Expedition wurde bisher noch nie im
Winter unternommen.
8. Januar
werde er nach Moskau abreisen, teilte Horn mit. Sobald es
die Witterung erlaubt, wird er von dort aus im Helikopter
nach Cap Artichesky, dem nördlichsten Punkt
Russlands, aufbrechen. Die Expedition wird zwischen dem
12. und 15. Januar starten und soll 67 Tage dauern.
Horn
und Ousland werden jeder einen Schlitten mit 180 Kilogramm
Gepäck mitnehmen. Im arktischen Winter werden sie die
Sonne nicht zu Gesicht bekommen. Es erwarten sie
Temperaturen von - 40 Grad Celsius.
Horn
unternimmt seine Expeditionen üblicherweise alleine.
Ousland, der ihn diesmal begleitet und mit dem er seit 15
Jahren befreundet ist, war der erste Mensch, der die
Arktis und die Antarktis im Alleingang durchquerte.
Seit
1997 hat der Südafrikaner Horn drei grosse Expeditionen
durchgeführt: Zuerst fuhr er im Motorboot den Amazonas
hinab, ehe er alleine und ohne motorisierte Hilfsmittel
dem Äquator entlang reiste. Vor zwei Jahren schliesslich
unternahm er alleine eine Expedition entlang des nördlichen
Polarkreises.
DAILY
ACCOUNTS - PLEASE VISIT MIKE'S WEBSITE FOR MORE
INFORMATION
21.01.06
POLAR BEAR WATCH CONTINUES...
Message from Mike: "A curious polar bear circled
our tent during the night looking for something to do.
We hope he doesn’t return with any of his friends.
Fortunately, we have seen no sign of bears the last
eight hours, but we have had to repair a rubber dinghy
that the polar bear ripped apart during the
night." See latest image below sent back from
Mike and Borge earlier today, of polar bear tracks
outside their tent. Conditions on the ice are still
unstable, more news on their departure soon...
20.01.06
MIKE AND BORGE NOW AT CAPE ARTICHESKY!
The good news came today that the wind conditions had
calmed. Mike and Borge left their lodgings at
Golomiyanniy, the helicopter motors were heated, and
now at long last, they were on their way to Cape
Artichesky, the starting point of their expedition.
Conditions were not what they were expecting. The
region seems to be experiencing what we could almost
call ‘A Siberian Heatwave‘. Warm temperatures of
–5°C had struck the region, never before seen in
this area at this time of year.
Another surprise soon became apparent, the recent
westerly winds had blown the ice close to land. Mike
and Borge were able to walk immediately onto the sea
ice – almost too good to be true!! The courageous
team waved goodbye as the helicopters flew away. Now
they are alone on the ice, far away from any
civilisation or shelter.
The excitement was high! Mike and Borge put on their
skis, attached their heavily laden sleds onto their
harnesses and started walking across the sea ice.
Unfortunately the good luck did not continue...about
600 metres further on they decided to turn around. The
ice was not stable, almost sludge in places, broken
and moving fast in the current. The only option for
them was to turn back to land and hope for better
conditions tomorrow.
Now is time to put words into practice, to start
getting into routine, each person with a specific
chore, with the hope to get the tent up in as little
time as possible. They were settling comfortably in
the tent and then the next surprise came - their first
visitor - a polar bear!! They weren’t expecting that
on their first evening on the ice! The bear put his
paw in the door of the tent, stood on and broke the
zipper, sniffed around a little, and then turned
backwards to the sled. As Mike and Borge got out of
the tent they saw that he was walking off with a bag
of food in his mouth. They set off a flare, the
frightened bear dropped the food and ran onto the sea
ice. As Mike said on the satellite phone, 'We
managed to get rid of him for the moment - hopefully
he will not come back...'
They certainly won’t be sleeping much tonight! One
of them will need to stay on bear watch – not so
easy in the dark, as Mike explains, 'You can’t
hear the bears come close to the tent because the wind
is blowing too hard.'
The broken zipper is now fixed and they are once again
comfortably installed in their tent.
Although the start of their expedition is delayed
another day, Mike and Borge have no regrets being
where they are. They are in high spirits and want to
get moving. Let's hope the temperatures will now drop,
the northerly winds will appear and the ice will start
freezing once again.
19.01.06
MESSAGE FROM MIKE
Dear all,
Borge and I are still standing by to leave to the
starting position. The weather and temperature has not
been too great, strong winds and very high
temperature. We have inflated our rubber boats and
hope to leave today. The visibility is not good enough
for the pilot to fly so we have been stranded at
Golomiyanniy for two days now. The race against the
rising sun is on. We have only 65 days of food to make
it north before the sun will rise. Very thin and
broken up ice will be our bigest challenge. The first
couple of days will be very interesting. Another
problem will be to find drinking water on the salty
sea ice. There are many unknown factors at this stage
but we are ready and waiting for mother nature to
decide our time to leave, we will be in the starting
blocks. The dark polar night are making a difficult
task a little more difficult.
We will keep you informed.
Mike
18.01.06
YET ANOTHER DAY OF WAITING!
Mike called at 23h45 local time on Sredny Island
(1645GMT) to say that the weather had once again taken
control. The helicopters were unable to fly. They feel
positive that tomorrow will be the big 'D' day and
they promise to send news as soon as they land on Cape
Artichesky!
At
0330hrs CET today, Mike rang his support team to say
that in just a few hours the helicopter would take
them to Cape Arctichesky. Mike and his expedition
companion, Norwegian explorer Borge Ousland, left
Sredny Island at 1000hrs CET today and are expected to
arrive at their start destination, Cape Artichesky,
later today.
From Mike: 'Conditions are not so great! There are
strong southerly winds (8 - 9m/sec) and this has
broken up the ice around the Cape. We have been told
that the broken blocks of ice are drifting up to 82°N
so it'll be tough going at the start. The temperature
is only -20°C and it is snowing outside - far too
warm for the ice to form properly. A thick layer of
clouds cover the Cape and it is dark outside - pitch
dark 24 hours a day!! - you cannot see a thing!!!'
Sleep is the last thing that Mike and Borge want to do
this evening. They will be packing their equipment
(yet again) and thinking of every last meticulous
detail before they set off. We are looking forward to
receiving a phone call from their first camp on the
ice, when we hope to find out more details on their
departure - they will only know this themselves once
they are out there and have accessed the conditions.
Landing at Cape Artichesky signifies the imminent
start of Mike and Borge's North Pole Winter Expedition
as they attempt to be the first men to walk 1000km to
the North Pole in the sunless Arctic winter,
unassisted by machines or dogs, in the darkness and
extreme conditions with the average temperature
expected to be -50°. As Mike says, 'Obstacles are
as big as you personally make them...'
Wed,
18 Jan 2006 // 13:26
Quote of the Day:
'Conditions are not so great!...Strong winds have
broken up the ice around the cape - it'll be tough
going at the start...'
Mike Horn
18.01.06
FLYING TO CAPE ARTICHESKY
TODAY!
Mike rang at 3h30 local time to say that in just a few
hours the helicopter would take them to Cape
Arctichesky. Mike and his expedition companion,
Norwegian explorer Borge Ousland planned to leave
Sredny Island at 10am local time with an expected
arrival at their start destination, Cape Artichesky,
later today.
Mike says, "Conditions are not so great! There
are strong southerly winds (8 - 9m/sec) and this has
broken up the ice around the Cape. We have been told
that the broken blocks of ice are drifting up to 82°N
so it'll be tough going at the start. The temperature
is only -20°C and it is snowing outside - far too
warm for the ice to form properly. A thick layer of
clouds cover the Cape and it is dark outside - pitch
dark 24 hours a day!! - you cannot see a
thing!!!"
Sleep was the last thing that Mike and Borge wanted to
do this evening. They were packing their equipment
(yet again) thinking of every last meticulous detail.
We are looking forward to receiving a phone call from
their first camp on the ice, when we hope to find out
more details on their departure. They will only know
this themselves once they are out there.
Landing at Cape Artichesky will signifiy the imminent
start of Mike and Borge’s North Pole Winter
Expedition as they attempt to be the first men to walk
the 1000km to the North Pole in the sunless Arctic
winter, unassisted by machines or dogs, in the
darkness and extreme conditions with the average
temperature expected to be -50°. As Mike says,
“Obstacles are as big as you personally make
them…” More news from Mike soon...
16.01.06
MIKE AND BORGE FLY TO SREDNY
ISLAND TODAY (MONDAY)
Mike and Borge have been waiting patiently in Noril'sk
ever since the 9th of January. This has given them
time to check and recheck all their equipment many
times over. They are as ready as they can ever be! The
problem is now they must wait for the bad spell of
weather to pass so the helicopters can fly.
The news arrived yesterday that they can at long last
fly to Sredny Island today (Monday). At around 10am
Mike and Borge will be flown in a MI8 helicopter with
about 350kgs of equipment and land on an ancient
military airstrip on Sredny Island. They will then
take refuge in a weather station and await the next
helicopter that will take them to the northern most
point of Russia, Cape Artichesky. They expect that
they will get to Cape Artichesky tomorrow (17th
January) and from there their expedition will finally
start.
The ice around the Cape is not stable at the moment.
Strong winds have recently battered the island and the
ice has been broken up and pushed away from the land.
Russian pilots reported that the ice was drifting at
10kms/hr around the Cape obviously making it
impossible for Mike and Borge to set off. Now the
conditions are once again improving, the winds have
calmed and the temperatures are once again dropping
allowing the ice to form. To help Mike and Borge
arrive onto the ice they have with them two rubber
dingy's. They may well need them if the temperatures
rise again.
According to the latest weather charts the ice
conditions will be very unstable for the first 115 kms
of their trek. It will not be easy for Mike and Borge
but they are well prepared and highly motivated to
make a success of this expedition.
We hope for more news tomorrow from Cape Artichesky!
13.01.06
MIKE PREPARES TO HEAD OFF TO
NORTH POLE
Extreme explorer, Mike Horn, will set off in the next
few days on another extraordinary mission, the type of
challenge that sets Mike apart from pretty well any
other modern day adventurer. After swimming the length
of the Amazon in six months, circling the globe
without powered assistance at the Equator starting in
June 1999 and finishing 17 months later in October
2000, and then more recently circling the planet at
the Arctic Circle, including a winter time traverse of
Siberia (2 years, 3 months long), it’s hard to find
the right words to describe the quite incredible
ability and determination of this modern day
Shackleton, Amundsen and Hilary all in one.
Mike’s mission, a ‘training’ event for his Seven
Wonders project (to be revealed on his return), is
attempting to walk, unassisted by machines or dogs,
the 1000 kilometres to the North Pole, in the darkness
and extremely low temperatures of a sunless winter
(-50C expected to be the ‘average’), to arrive at
the top of the planet as the sun rises for the first
time in 2006.
13.01.06
MIKE HORN’S RACE AGAINST
THE ARCTIC ELEMENTS
Ellen MacArthur’s Offshore Challenges are supporting
Mike’s mission as part of the Adventure Team formed
in 2005. Ellen’s perspective on Mike, sets the scene
for yet another unbelievable voyage...
“An extraordinary person can achieve extraordinary
things and Mike Horn is one of those people. In
today’s world there are few new boundaries left to
break, and yet Mike keeps on doing what seems the
impossible.
“He now faces his own ‘race against the
elements’ to reach the North Pole in darkness, in
extreme circumstances. Conditions will be sub-zero,
and sometimes, down to -60 degrees Centigrade
depending on the wind chill factor, it will be
permanently dark, as the only way Mike can complete
this trip from Siberia is this ‘early’ in the
season (polar travel is normally undertaken in spring
time, just before the ice melts, but after the sun has
‘returned’). The thickness of the ice that Mike
must travel over is marginal, and at times he will
have to swim through the Arctic waters to reach the
next ice pack. To go to the North Pole you are walking
on water not land! In these conditions you can freeze
to death in minutes once you stop moving. Mike and his
expedition companion, Norwegian explorer Borge Ousland,
are attempting to be the first men to walk to the
North Pole in the sunless Arctic winter. If they
succeed, it will be an astounding feat of human
perseverance and endurance.
“The duo are aiming to arrive at the North Pole
around the 21st March – the first day of the spring
equinox when the sun will rise properly for the first
time in this region. They have 67 days worth of food
and plan to start their expedition imminently –
there is no margin for error and there is no back-up.
“I have been thrilled by Mike’s extreme adventures
over the years and on meeting him you are struck by
his piercing eyes and practically floored by his
vice-like bear hug! You quickly realise this is a
human being who has pushed his own personal boundaries
to the limit and where his determination knows no
limits. As Mike says in his own words: ‘Obstacles
are as big as you personally make them…’
“I wish him and Borge the very best of luck and look
forward to following him with you!”
For latest news on Mike and Borge go to: www.mikehornnorthpole.com
WEB LINKS
Sign up for updates on Mike's progress on his North Pole
Winter Expedition at www.mikehornnorthpole.com
Click
here to view Mike & Borge's latest position on
Google Earth. To download Google Earth click
here ( PC and Mac OS X 10.4 only).
For further information on Mike Horn contact:
Josie Robinson
T: +44 (0)870 063 0210
E: josie.robinson@ocgroup.com
MIKE HORN'S PREVIOUS EXPEDITIONS:
Arktos Expedition: July 2002 to October 2004
Circumnavigated the Article Circle solo covering around
20,000km traversing over Greenland, Canada, Alaska, the
Russian Federation and Norway, and sailing over the
Greenland Sea, Davis Strait, Bering Strait and the White
Sea. Ten stages – four on sea and six on land –
pulling a 200kg sledge without dogs or motorised
transport. Twenty-seven months later, he arrived where
he had started, mission accomplished.
Latitude Zero: June 1999 to October 2000
Solo around the world along the Equator covering
approximately 25,000 miles on land and sea using no
motorised transport. Divided into six legs from sailing
across the worlds oceans to traversing the continents of
South America and African on foot, bicycle and canoe.
Amazon Solo: August 1997 to January 1998
Mike navigated the entire 700km Amazon River from the
source to the mouth of the river in the Atlantic using a
hydrospeed [a float] solo and unassisted. Before Mike
many had tried and none had succeeded.
Mike Horn next expedition [after North Pole]
Seven Wonders : dates tbc
To be revealed on Mike’s return.
MIKE HORN PERSONAL DETAILS
Age: 39
Nationality: South African resides Switzerland
Status: Married to Cathy, two children aged 11 and 12
MIKE HORN'S PHILOSOPHY:
'The drive to go beyond our physical, mental and
spiritual limits is an internal attitude that transcends
global borders. It tests our personal limits and opens
the way for new levels of achievement in all aspects of
life. This philosophy is the driving force behind every
endeavour.
Although I find myself in the most extreme
circumstances, I always use caution. My philosophical
approach is to live the endeavour as an expression of my
being. Alone, immersed in nature, with no creature
comforts, to surpass the limits imposed by man and
nature itself. With faith and determination, one can
embody the purest expression of this philosophy.'
ARCTIC
AND ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION LINKS:
Ernest
Shackleton
Roald
Amundsen
Scott
of the Antarctic
Nelson
Kruschandl: Good luck and godspeed to Mike
and Borge
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