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Clare O’Leary [The Ice Project]
TWO IRISH ADVENTURERS will fly out to Canada next Friday to begin their assault on what’s regarded as one of the most arduous expedition routes in the world.
Described by renowned adventurer Reinhold Messner as being “ten times harder than Everest” — the walk to the geographic North Pole has only been completed by 132 people.
Far more than that number have visited the top of the world, obviously — but to be regarded as a proper Pole walk, it’s accepted that an expedition must set out from land.
And with the sea ice receding year-on-year, there’s a chance that the 780km journey planned by Kerry mountaineer Mike O’Shea and Cork adventurer Clare O’Leary could be the last ever such crossing to take place.
“That’s the big thing — the ice is just getting so unstable it’s getting more and more difficult to make it across every time,” O’Shea told TheJournal.ie.
“In a few years it may not be possible.”
Ice floes float in Baffin Bay between Canada and Greenland above the Arctic circle on July 10, 2008 [Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press/PA Images]
O‘Shea’s climbing career began at the age of 13 when he started climbing the McGillicuddy Reeks. As part of his ‘Ice Project’ missions alongside O’Leary he’s also completed a 640km trek across a frozen lake in Russia, an expedition to Kilimanjaro, and a gruelling 19-day trip across the North Patagonian Icecap.
In addition to her Ice Project adventures, O’Leary also became the first Irish woman to climb Mount Everest in 2004, and has skied to the South Pole.
They know what they’re doing in other words.
So why the North Pole? Because it’s there, really:
“I suppose the North Pole is a natural progression. We’ve been wanting to do the it for a long time – it’s a bit like the World Cup of expeditions.”
It’s a second attempt at the task for the pair — they were unable to complete their 2012 trip after plans to share charter logistics with another team fell apart.
Mike O’Shea [Image: The Ice Project]
The issue of transport costs is also a major factor this time around — if the duo manage to reach their destination as planned in the week of 21 April they’ll be able to charter a plane out with the Russians at a cost of €30,000. If they miss that window, they’ll have to travel to a Canadian science base further along the ice — and a flight out from there would cost €100,000.
O’Shea and O’Leary have been fundraising intensively ahead of take-off this Friday — and have raised enough to cover their basic costs, including a ‘food-drop’ along the projected route. However, O’Shea’s still appealing for other sponsors to come on board, as he says a second supply drop would increase their chances of making it “by 30 to 40 per cent”.
(Youtube: Outsider Magazine)
The pair fly into Ottowa this weekend. From there, it’s a trip the northernmost Canadian territory of Nunavik. They’ll spend a few weeks adjusting to the conditions in the region, before flying to the remote outcrop of Ward Hunt Island — from where they’ll launch their assault on the Pole.
The team will burn up to 9,000 calories per day and are expected to lose up to 44lbs in weight over the duration of the journey. (The expedition is the energy equivalent of running two marathons daily for around 50 days consecutively).
And all that bad weather we’ve been experiencing is good news for O’Shea and O’Leary — changes to the jet stream this year mean better conditions for the attempt, and there’s been a ”good freeze” in the Arctic Ocean in advance of the duo’s departure.
“Last year no trips took place, as the ice was in such bad nick,” O’Shea said.
“We got the call over three weeks ago that conditions were good for this year, that this could even be possible — we’ve been going all guns blazing ever since.”
[Image: The Ice Project]
The journey will take around 50 days to complete — and in addition to the cold, snow, ice (and whatever else the elements might throw at them) the pair will also be waging a frustrating battle against ‘Arctic Drift’.
What’s that, you ask? The team have explained all on the expedition website:
In a single day the ice can drift up to 18km away from the pole — meaning that on a day where you really push hard and walk 15 – 17km you could end up further away than when you started.The ice is moving and shifting all the time, even when we sleep. It can be very disheartening to wake up further away from your goal than when you lay your head on the pillow.
The map below shows the drift of individual marker buoys on the ice over the course of a year:
[Image: arctic.noaa.gov]
And just how cold will it be?
“Minus 50 to 55 during daylight. We don’t take the thermometer out at night — it’s just too cold.”
Mike and Clare will be busy with preparations over the coming days as launch date approaches — they’re even spending the night in an industrial-sized freezer in Dublin’s Docklands on Tuesday night to check their sub-zero gear is working properly.
Expect to hear a lot more from them over the coming weeks as the adventure progresses: the support team will be providing updates over at theiceproject.org.
And just in case you weren’t already feeling guilty enough for putting off that Sunday morning run, you’ll pleased to learn that the intrepid pair are already thinking about future expeditions.
The list includes a “full crossing of the South Pole”.
So… Nothing too taxing then.
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Very best of luck to them.
Starting your journey only to end up further away than when you started.
All they had to do was come drinking with me.
9000 calories a day, that’s unreal. Good luck to them
6 Big Mac meals from McDonald s will do the trick DAILY
They talk the talk ,
But hopefully they can walk the walk.
Best of luck folks…
Hopefully, but CO’L has definitely walked the walk already. Everest and South Pole (and she’s physically tiny.) Good luck to them.
What a waste of time and money and possibly life.
With your attitude, humans would never have left Africa. You sound about as adventurous and inquisitive as a door knob.
Might have been a good idea if our ancestors had of stayed in Africa ..
Brian over a 100 people have walked that same walk . We know where the pole is and we know it can be done. Your argument over Africa is stupid just like you .
Over 100 people have gone to space. Do we stop space exploration and research now? Over 100 people left Africa thousands upon thousands of years ago. Should we have stopped then?
I have to agree with Declan, I’m not what is being gained other that self gratification at a huge cost. North Pole has been covered and no research is being done by these two. I don’t even understand how they are getting money from sponsors…..what is the return?
This being compared to space exploration is silly as space is vastly unexplored still with much to be learned and gained form it.
And yet, Noel, we have space tourism, which provides no scientific benefit whatsoever. I mean, where do you draw the line? The North Pole is one place. If you say we shouldn’t attempt to go there because it has already been done, then we probably shouldn’t attempt Everest either. Or Mont Blanc. Or Carrauntuohill. Or the Hill of Tara. Or walk to the beach. I mean, you can’t tell people they can’t do something without coming up with some arbitrary line beyond which humans should no longer venture. And who gets to decide that line?
I din’t say they couldn’t do it, I just agreed with the opinion that it is a waste of a lot of money. Space tourism actually has a benefit……it will potentially play a part in the possibility of human life going to another planets and potentially living on another planet. As for the other examples okoume gave, how many will cost form 30,000 to 100,000 to return. Everest is great too but let’s be honest, people only climb it so they can say the climbed it. What exactly is the human race benefiting from the climb?
Just so we are clear, I’m not telling people what to do or not do but just stating in my opinion that trekking to the North Pole with an exit plan costing either 30,000 or 100,000 seems like a waste of money especially given the fact they are relying on others to help pay for.
Well, personally, I think it is worthwhile. I think an individual’s personal challenges are just as worthy as humankind’s collective challenges. And if someone else is willing to pay for it, then so be it. Regarding the scientific benefits, well the technological advances since the first person walked to the North Pole have rendered aided human endurance information since then mostly obsolete.
Agree waste of time, and money. With all this talk of Africa why don’t these adventurers go there ,and give of their time , skills( she’s a doctor) ,and resources, to improve the lives of the less fortunate of our brethren.
I thought the Rocky Mountains were going to be a little rockier than this.That John Denver’s full of shit.
Best of luck lads hope you get back safely. But I think yer mad!
Mean global sea ice over the 2013 year was above average and is now the same as it was in 1986 and is also 10 feet thick compared to 7 feet last year arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/global.daily.ice.area.jpg
Humans think they know everything!
You are totally wrong as usual and trying to mislead to further your anti-science assault on the robust evidence for manmade climate change.
The NOAA, accepted experts in records of ice and snow say this:
“The Arctic caught a bit of a break in 2013 from the recent string of record-breaking warmth and ice melt of the last decade,” said David M. Kennedy, NOAA’s deputy under secretary for operations, during a press briefing today at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in San Francisco. “But the relatively cool year in some parts of the Arctic does little to offset the long-term trend of the last 30 years: the Arctic is warming rapidly, becoming greener and experiencing a variety of changes, affecting people, the physical environment, and marine and land ecosystems.”
Why do you think anti that all of the oil companies and northern countries like Russia are lining up and preparing to exploit our lovely pristine Arctic? They all say that the lessening of sea ice is going to open up passages for them to get there year round. They obviously know more than you! Or perhaps they just believe the scientific consensus and the evidence of their own eyes.
I wish you would stop this anti-science campaign against the scientific consensus on climate change and I wish also you would say one way or another whether you have a vested interest in your campaign.
Well there goes Santa ‘s job then. I guess he’ll have to emigrate
Legends
In 2008 the Kapitan Khlebnikov got stuck in the ice in the Arctic Sea and had to sit it out for a week before this very powerful icebreaker ,again carrying tourists, could break free even with it’s 24000shp power.This is the ice that warmists are telling us has vanished :-)
Al Gore said the Arctic would be ice free by 2013 and he should know ;-)
First of all, the Kapitan Khlebnikov didn’t get stuck in ice in 2008. It actually got stuck in ice in November 2009 (winter time). Secondly, warmists aren’t saying the Arctic or Antarctic is ice free, you are. What climatologists are saying (and Al Gore is not a climatologist) is there has been an observed longterm decrease in both sea ice cover and density/depth. That doesn’t mean you won’t have rebound years which have also been observed. Your choice to pick out select incidents shows you conflate weather with climate. It’s not very encouraging when one person, who doesn’t know what climate is, flies in the face of the majority of the world’s climatologists.
Wouldn’t it have been fantastic if climatologists existed for a few thousand years to observe the many natural climate changes that may have occurred in the past? ;)
Well I suppose Dec in a way they are – paleoclimatology studies past climate change through evidence such as ice cores and fossils… that is why we know so much about past climate and the natural forcings… that is how we also know that there is no possible natural explanation for the current unprecedented rate of warming we have seen on our planet in the last 100 years… and we know that when climate did change so quickly in the past from natural forcings (eg big asteroid hits or massive volcanic activity) then it usually led to mass extinction events. There has not been a mass extinction event in the history of human life on this planet, but most scientists thing that we are entering one now – and all our own work… sad :-( But also dangerous, since messing with the food chain and the whole ecosystem always has unforseen and unknowable outcomes…
Expected to lose up to 44lbs? I’d be dead if I lost that ..
Correction:
In 2009 the Kapitan Khlebnikov got stuck in the ice in the Arctic Sea and had to sit it out for a week before this very powerful icebreaker ,again carrying tourists, could break free even with it’s 24000shp power.This is the ice that warmists are telling us has vanished :-)
OK so you are obviously not aware at all of the science! It is the Arctic that is warming at a much faster rate than the rest of the globe, not the Antarctic. Why on earth you expect anybody to believe you as an unqualified commentator on this site above the actual real experts who are taking these records all the time is beyond me but here goes:
“The Arctic caught a bit of a break in 2013 from the recent string of record-breaking warmth and ice melt of the last decade,” said David M. Kennedy, NOAA’s deputy under secretary for operations, during a press briefing today at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in San Francisco. “But the relatively cool year in some parts of the Arctic does little to offset the long-term trend of the last 30 years: the Arctic is warming rapidly, becoming greener and experiencing a variety of changes, affecting people, the physical environment, and marine and land ecosystems.”
Here’s an explainer about Antarctic sea ice – sigh! http://www.skepticalscience.com/antarctica-gaining-ice.htm
In 2009 the Kapitan Khlebnikov got stuck in the ice in the Arctic Sea
Professor Wieslaw Maslowski ,a fan of models advised, the Catlin expedition to the North Pole in 2009, he told them that they could row there in open water. He was wrong, they missed by about 800 miles :-). He also claimed that the Arctic would be ice free by 2013 [a popular year with climatrologists] He also claimed that his guesstimate might be too conservative.
Is that really the best you can do, quoting one bloke from years ago???!!!
How about some evidence to rebut the scientific evidence that Arctic sea ice is melting at an alarming rate, faster than predicted by most climatologists??? Faster than predicted by the IPCC in fact!!! And still is:
“The Arctic caught a bit of a break in 2013 from the recent string of record-breaking warmth and ice melt of the last decade,” said David M. Kennedy, NOAA’s deputy under secretary for operations, during a press briefing today at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in San Francisco. “But the relatively cool year in some parts of the Arctic does little to offset the long-term trend of the last 30 years: the Arctic is warming rapidly, becoming greener and experiencing a variety of changes, affecting people, the physical environment, and marine and land ecosystems.”
In 2007 Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen, planned to walk 530 miles from Canada to the Pole, swimming across rifts in the ice created by warming. They failed after a few miles ’cause it was too cold.
I think it’s great that young people save up for years to go on holidays to exotic places be it the jungles of South America or to the North Pole but I do wish they would leave out the almost obligatory AGW bit or is this a ploy to get grants? Thes kids would be wise to take out insurance against the cost of being rescued just like the Akademik Shokalskiy fiasco which was led by Chris Turney [a Professor no less]. “Australian Maritime Safety Authority general manager John Young said the ships involved in the rescue would each be responsible for their own costs.
The costs, which would run to millions of dollars, could ultimately result in legal action between the ships’ insurance companies and the owners of the stranded Russian research vessel that sparked the rescue.”
Maybe these intrepid explorers might consult the experts on Arctic ice ? The Russians,Danes and Canadians have lot of experience in the real world, not sure if they bother much with ‘models’.
Climate activists are cracking up.”And the psychological damage is not only over what is happening now, but what is likely going to happen in the future.“This kind of anticipatory anxiety is especially crippling and is increasingly being seen among climate activists — in some cases rising to the level of a kind of ‘pre-traumatic’ stress disorder ” Lise Van Susteren forensic psychiatrist
I agree anti, it can be stressful when you have studied it enough and see the scientific consensus that we are going to be fcuked if we do not act fast.
It’s also distressing when you look at your child and think that bas**rd oil interests and US ultra-conservatives out there are spending billions to block action on climate change and cast doubt on the science just to further their own financial ends. I do not know how they can sleep at night. Tragic and very very sad :-(
Oops! That comment was meant to be in response to Anti’s comment about the psychological stresses of what we know lies ahead for our children and the planet with climate change…
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