Our North Pole Flight expedition reaches the North Pole

Our first team, the North Pole Flight Expedition has reached the North Pole and they report it was a beautiful day. After departing Longyearbyen this morning on board a charter flight they reached the Barneo Basecamp, a temporary camp with runway located approximately 70 kilometers from the North Pole. From there they took advantage of the good weather and flew a helicopter the remaining distance to the North Pole.

From the helicopter window they were able to see the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean stretch as far as the eye can see, with intermittent open water leads and pressure ridges separating and joining the pans of ice.

At the North Pole the temperature was -20 F with no wind. The sun was shining and it was picture perfect. Many photos were taken and toasts were made to celebrate arriving at the top of the world. To hear more about their experience listen to their audio dispatches below:

Meanwhile back in Longyearbyen our two ski expeditions and dogsled expedition are getting ready for their official start tomorrow evening. Several team members went on snow mobile trips to explore Spitsbergen's wild and remote coasts where polar bear have a higher population than humans. Our last degree ski team made a home cooked meal together (thanks to Guy for his culinary skills and Angelo for his olive oil from Portugal).

We will post more from the Barneo Camp, including an update on our team that will ski a short distance to the Pole tomorrow.

Check back tomorrow for another update!

One team returns, one team departs tomorrow...

Today we welcome back our Polar Shakedown team who spent the last three days "on the land" preparing for their expedition. They had a great time practicing their daily routines and getting ready for their departure on April 11. They had temperatures ranging from -15 C to -20 C and enough wind to make them appreciate their face masks. Everyone did a great job. Right now we are all enjoying a hearty well-deserved meal. The favorite dish is the reindeer burger. They will sleep well tonight!

Our North Pole Flight team kicked off their expedition with a welcome reception and a pre-flight briefing to prepare for their departure tomorrow. We have a wonderful team and there is much interest in Arctic history and Arctic travel. Tavares and Chris are on a special mission to collect some ice from the North Pole for an art festival in Venice. The project will in part celebrate the accomplishment of Polar explorer Matthew Henson.

Tomorrow our North Pole Flight team will head to the Barneo basecamp and on to the North Pole either tomorrow or the following day. The Barneo basecamp is currently near 89.30 degrees north.

We will keep you posted with the goings on of the team. Check back soon!



    The shakedown team at dinner

We have an audio update that came in and we're hoping to post it soon.

A beautiful day in Spitsbergen!

It's been a sunny day in Spitsbergen and we are enjoying the beauty of this incredible island. The last couple of days have been busy with the arrivals of our team members including all of our last degree skiers who are currently on their Polar Shakedown Training. They have great weather with temperatures around minus 14 C and light wind. It will be colder at the North Pole but this will ease them into their camp routines and sled hauling. As I write this they are likely finishing their dinner of dehydrated food (actually quite good!) and getting ready for a cozy night in the tents. Tomorrow they will ski back to Longyearbyen and enjoy a comfortable bed and showers for a few nights before they depart again for the North Pole.

Several of our other team members have arrived as well. Six of them are spending tonight on a sailing schooner that is frozen in a beautiful fjord far from the hustle and bustle of Longyearbyen. The ship is called the Noorderlicht and it is a delight to visit. There's a good chance of seeing wildlife including reindeer, seals, and possibly polar bear. As I write this they are likely finishing a delicious home cooked meal before retiring either to the ship's library for a night cap or the cozy berths. Or they may opt to take a quick walk on deck to look for polar bear and seals. The sun will set but it will not dip far below the horizon, thus it is unlikely they will see the aurora borealis even though they may be occurring. Rather if they look out their cabin porthole during the middle of the night it will look like dusk.

Tomorrow will be another busy day and we look forward to keeping you posted with our adventures. Thanks for following the blog and check back in tomorrow for another update. The audio dispatches from the teams will start on April 9, tomorrow!

Welcome to our 2013 North Pole Blog!

Welcome to PolarExplorer's 2013 North Pole blog. We are delighted to have you following the adventures of our four North Pole expeditions. We have been hard at work planning, packing and finalizing all logistics for what should be an incredible season.

We will officially kick off this expedition blog on April 6 when our North Pole Last Degree ski team will start 5 days of pre-expedition training in Longyearbyen, Norway. Our North Pole Flight will kick off on April 9 and both of our last degree ski expeditions and our last degree dogsled expedition will jump in with daily dispatches on April 11.

Our teams are eager to share their experiences and answer questions that you have about their expedition. You can send the team a question using the link on your right. You can also receive automatic email notification of posts by using the "Follow by email" feature on your right.

Once again, we look forward to having you along on this armchair adventure.

PolarExplorers & our 2013 North Pole teams