THREE DAY TRIP
-One day on skis and night at the North Pole

Cost / Booking

The price for the three day trip 2009 is not ready yet. This year the price was 19.900,- Euro. Contact post@ousland.com for booking and details.

Our trip includes: all transport and baggage up to 50 kilos, food and accommodation north of Longyearbyen. With regards to equipment, we provide: tents, sledges, skies, snowshoes, skipoles, boots, sleepingbags, sleeping mattresses, stoves, cooking gear, fuel, wool mitts and wind mitts, communication, food and other shared gear.

What is included?

The price does not include: personal equipment, air fare Oslo-Longyearbyen, accommodation and food in Longyearbyen, expenses connected with alterations to air tickets necessitated by late return to Longyearbyen, or insurance.

Equipment / flights

We will be in a part of the world where correct equipment is of vital importance. Most of the equipment for this trip will be provided by us, except personal clothing. Warm Arctic clothing can be purchased or rented in Longyearbyen. A complete list of equipment will be distributed.

All equipment supplied by us will be handed out in Longyearbyen. That is why it is important to arrive one day early, to make sure that boots and equipment are tried on beforehand. Of personal equipment, warm clothing similar to that commonly used in high mountains is acceptable -Windproof clothing, large, warm mittens and down jacket is the most important. We will personally assist everyone in choosing the right equipment.

Airplane tickets for the flight to Longyearbyen from Oslo (Tromsø) can be a bottleneck and reservations should be made as soon as possible. Air travel from Oslo (Tromsø) to Longyearbyen could be a bottleneck, and tickets should be secured well in advance. Two airlines fly to Longyearbyen, check out www.sas.no and www.norwegian.no or book your airplane ticket through your travel agent. .

SUNDRIES

Physical condition

This trip is not particularly physically demanding. It is mainly a trip for the experience. We will ski for one day, about 10 kilometres depending on the time we have available and the composition of the group. All will haul a light sledge with personal equipment. This is the easiest way to carry what we need of equipment, but the sledge will not weigh more than maximum 15-20 kilos. We have lots of time, and our aim is to see and explore.

A conversation between each individual participant and Borge Ousland some time before departure will clarify any problems regarding physical condition. In some cases, due to illness etc., it can be necessary to recommend to a participant that he/she should not undertake the trip. In case of doubt, it may be necessary to request a certificate from a physician.

Other North Pole trips

In addition to this trip I have also planned a longer, more demanding trip where we will ski the last degree of latitude to the Pole in 7 to 8 days.

Liability

Borge Ousland is the leader of the trip and will organise the expedition. Furthermore, he will do his best to complete the trip as planned, as well as keep participants informed of all aspects of the expedition. The individual participant will be covered by the Travel Guarantee Fund in Norway (RGF). But it is important to emphasise that this trip cannot be compared with normal organised travel, and that special conditions apply. It is also important to make clear that accidents and injuries can occur and that all parties join at their own risk, and participate in the full knowledge of these facts. All participants must sign a waiver stating that they fully understand this and that they participate on this trip at their own risk.

Risks

Trips to the most extreme areas of the earth always involve a certain amount of risk. Thorough preparation, good equipment, a wide knowledge of polar regions and an expedition leader who has been to the North Pole several times before, ensure that the risk during the actual expedition is small.

The journey to and from Barneo base and Longyearbyen, will be done with pilots and planes from Gasprom. Helicopters and pilots comes from Taymyr Aviation in Norilsk. These companies have flown in the Arctic for many years. The aircrafts are well maintained, and these pilots are among the most experienced Arctic pilots in the world.

Generally speaking, this is an area where bad luck can have more far-reaching consequences than in other places. Mishaps can occur en route, such as fractures, frostbite or acute illnesses. In case of emergency, the helicopter can normally be summoned quickly, and there is normally always at least one helicopter stationed at Borneo. Helicopters aren't so weather-dependent as planes and can land and take off under almost any conditions. Normally there is a doctor at Borneo, but this cannot be guaranteed. The nearest hospital is at Longyearbyen, and it would take some time to reach it. The plane needs good weather to land at Borneo and, as there usually isn't one stationed there, it would generally take at least ten hours to reach Longyearbyen.

The expedition is equipped with firearms and warning shot in case we meet polar bears. These bears are not usually found so far north, but there are exceptions.

We take spares for most critical pieces of equipment. We carry two communication devices, an Iridium satellite phone and an emergency beacon, or two Iridium phones.

Insurance

Delays that prevent us catching the scheduled flight south from Longyearbyen, however caused, will not be covered. It is also necessary that all participants provide personal insurance for the expedition itself.

Ordinary insurance will normally not cover polar expeditions, but only be valid as far as Longyearbyen. You can check with your own insurance company and ask if they can extend your existing travel insurance to include the North Pole/Arctic for the specified period. Or you can contact www.ihi.com and buy their world wide travel insurance.

Follow your dream, never stop!

THREE DAY TRIP -One day on skis and night at the North Pole