Arctic Adventurers–Ready To Take The…Plunge: Trans-Arctic skier Ben Saunders, and North Pole soloer Wave Vidmar, report that the Russkies have finally put down their vodka bottles and agreed to provide airlift to Sredny, then on to Cape Arkticheskiy at the edge of the ice pack. Except–little problem–the ice pack isn’t, err, ice anymore. In fact, it looks like this…

Uh-oh. Here’s Wave Vidmar’s report:

“Bettina Aller, one of the other expeditioners called a satellite weather monitoring service in her native country of Denmark and they report there was 70 kilometers of open water around the Cape. This could be a serious and dangerous problem. If there is that much open water, then I will ask to be flown further north until there is ice.

Each year the ice is decreasing, by about a rate of about 1%, or 10% every decade. Some people say that global warming does not exist, but our polar regions tell no lies; our earth is getting warmer.”

Good plan, Wave. Maybe you could get a lift halfway to the Pole. Except according to Explorer’s Web you won’t get credited for a North Pole trek unless you leave from terra firma. These guys had better start praying for the Mother Of All Cold Snaps or thinking about small boat design. Ben Saunders is worried about the situation. But he’s definitely got something else on his mind for the moment: “I’m hoping against hope that there will be solid ice all the way to the coastline. We’ll see…For now, I’m going to enjoy my last night with my girlfriend for three months. In a bunk bed. Great.” No one ever said Arctic adventure would be without extreme sacrifice…



“Uhh, Ben? Baby? I know you’re eager to get going, but do you think you could take all your gear off before coming to bed…?”

(Saunders and Ice Pack Images via Explorer’s Web)