North Pole Speed Record supported by Ernst & Young
After 8 days on the ice and at a position of N.83.57.686 W. 074.12.566 Ben Saunders’ expedition to become the fastest man to walk solo and unsupported to the North Pole is over following the critical failure of his ski equipment. Arrangements are currently being made to pick Ben up off the ice.
Ben Saunders said “To have an expedition that is the culmination of seven years training, preparation and experience forced to a halt due to an equipment failure is incredibly disappointing, particularly as I am still in excellent physical condition. I came here well prepared and believe that the daily distances I have achieved to date (in my first four days I covered 29.4nautical miles, something that took a Finnish Special Forces team two weeks to achieve in 2006) show that setting a speed record was within my reach. The ice conditions I have encountered have been the worst I have ever seen, and worse than I could have imagined. I am witnessing at first hand the disintegration of the last of the Arctic’s multi-year pack ice. If climate change in the high Arctic continues at its current rate, I may be one of the last to be able to attempt this journey on foot. I feel enormously privileged to have had that chance and the only true failure would have been not to have started this expedition in the first place.”.
The main bolts which attach the binding of Ben’s boot to the skis have sheared off and the degree of damage is beyond repair. The unprecedented, appalling conditions of the ice, coupled with Ben exerting his absolute maximum effort to achieve the speed record, have clearly impacted this crucial equipment failure. As a result, and coupled with the current ice conditions in the Arctic Ocean, Ben is unable to continue without his skis on this high speed light weight expedition.
Battling against what has been described by many as the worst conditions in recent history, Ben has encountered miles of never ending pressure ridges, some standing as tall as two-storeys high, over which he has dragged his 65kg sledge.
Since Ben was dropped at the starting point at Ward Hunt Island on the coast of Canada at 4.10pm UST on the 26th March 2008, he has covered 60 miles. Overcoming such appalling ice conditions to cover this distance in just eight days makes Ben”s journey a huge achievement in itself and members of the polar community have stepped out in support of his attempt.
Pen Hadow said, “Ben has attempted a pioneering feat which requires courage beyond that which is required on the ice. To break new ground in a substantial way in the polar field can be done in strides or in leaps - Ben was attempting a leap and I still believe he can do this. I salute his spirit in trying to take us to the next level. I know what he’s going through in the tent waiting for the pick up but it comes with the territory and he will go on to greater things.”
Ben is not in any life threatening danger. The pick-up is currently being coordinated and further updates shall be provided within the next 24 hours.
In my final few hours in the tent, waiting for the helicopter and staring into the abyss of self-pity, I had a wonderfully apt text message on my satphone from a dear friend, Oli Barrett. “Stories about journeys”, he wrote, “are always better than ones about arrivals.” So this, then, is a story about a journey but not an arrival. At least not where I expected to end up, anway.
Posted on 06th April, 2008 ~ 44 comments ~ Continue reading »
...to let you all know that I’m ok, and feeling far more upbeat than I was 24 hours ago. I’m now back at the South Camp Inn in Resolute Bay, with coffee on tap and chocolate brownies in the fridge. It seems incredible that I was alone in my tent yesterday morning.
Posted on 05th April, 2008 ~ 22 comments ~ Continue reading »
Ben Saunders is a record-breaking long-distance skier, with three North Pole expeditions under his belt. He is the youngest to ski solo to the North Pole and holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton.
Since 2001, Ben has skied more than 2,500km (1,500 miles) in the high Arctic, which he recently worked out equates to two percent of his entire life living in a tent.
“Should he be successful, he will totally reset all existing North Pole records. Ben Saunders is a truly remarkable young man”
Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Most of the equipment that Ben is taking with him was either custom-made or modified by the North Pole Speed Record team, and sometimes both.
We don’t necessarily go for the equipment that has been used by the most polar expeditions in the past or made by the biggest companies. Instead we look for companies that aren’t just interested in making the best polar kit out there, they’re obsessive about it.
Often they are very small companies, such as Brenig, Titanium Goat and Acapulka, but their willingness to push design forward and constantly innovate means that we have become huge fans.
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