THE LAST DEGREE 2009
-Ten days on skis from 89°N To the North Pole

Scedule

Timescedule can change due to weather and runway conditions.

Training trip

We organize a training trip in the mountains of Norway between 12– 15th of February. The aim is to go through the basic skills for winter survival to be as well prepared as possible. Here we go through all the equipment and routines. On this trip we will also get to know each other a bit beforehand, becoming a team is an important part of the whole concept. The training trip is voluntarily but highly recommended. This trip is free for all participants, except travels to Oslo and accommodation in Oslo, if needed. More info on the training trip will be distributed later.

When and how

Departure from Longyearbyen is on 14. April, in the morning.  The plane will be an Antonov 74, a short-runway jet with a payload of around thirty people.  We will land at "Barneo" a Russian ice-station situated at about 89 degrees North.  Barneo is re-established each year by Russian staff from Khatanga in Siberia.  Because thick, frozen leads are used for the runway, the position of Barneo varies from year to year.  Three hours after leaving Longyearbyen we'll be landing.  The plan is to set out from the base that same day, so that we can get out into the pack-ice and into our routines without further delay.

The final degree of latitude spans roughly 110 kilometres, from the 89th parallel to the North Pole.  The first couple of days are usually the though part of the trip, but gradually we get used to the conditions and terrain and things get better.  As the return trip from Barneo is on 24. April, we have ten days at our disposal.  Experience shows that this is adequate to cover the last degree on skies.  But as ice conditions vary from year to year, it's good to have a safety margin.  We will probably have one or two days in hand, depending on when we reach the Pole.  After spending the night at the Pole, we will be picked up by helicopter from the Pole and flown back to Barneo.  Departure for Longyearbyen will be in the afternoon April 25, if weather permits.  Two and a half hours later we'll be back in "civilisation" at Longyearbyen.

A typical day on the ice

It's sunlight twenty-four hours a day and usually between -25 and -35C.  The landscape is fascinating and ever-changing.  As we navigate our way through leads and pack-ice, our surroundings will vary constantly and never become monotonous.  The midnight sun, the pack-ice and the special quality of light will infect most people with the polar bug, a lifelong and incurable affliction.

Alarm clocks set for 07.00.  Lighting the stove is simple, but melting snow for water takes time at minus 30C.  If it's not your turn to prepare food and fill the thermoses that day, you'll be able to have an extra hour's doze in your sleeping bag before you need to worry about breakfast and filling the thermos flasks with water.

Packing up equipment and tents.  Gradually this will become routine, we will agree a time for departure and each tent will manage its time accordingly.  It actually takes two and a half to three hours from "reveille" to the moment when we're standing in front of our sledges ready to go.

Skis on, ready to leave.  The day consists of 8-9 hours on skis with regular breaks.  We will be eating a calorie-rich diet throughout the day.  One of the most important things is to keep on the move, not get cold, and consequently breaks are short.  Even so, there will be plenty of photo opportunities during the march, at each ice ridge and lead we have to force.

We will be moving across a frozen sea, with 4,000 metres of water beneath us.  This is what makes the environment up here so unique.  Throughout the day we will cross a mixture of ice fields, pack-ice, thin ice and open water.  Pack-ice is the most common, it will slow us down and can be tough to negotiate, and for that reason the daily stages are shorter than would be normal in winter mountain travel further south.

Evening.  The first task is to use one's experience to find a secure camping place, where the ice won't begin to pack or open up just where we have set up our camp.  We shall be living in two- or three-man tents.  Again, the snow-melting takes a long time, we need to melt about four litres per person per day, but it's always a joy to get into the tent in the evening and feel the warmth of the stove.  Dinner is the high point of the day, consisting of good, rich expedition food that will warm us up.  Nothing is nicer than to go to sleep happy and replete after a good day's work in the pack-ice.  With the sleeping bags we'll be using no one will feel cold.  Most people will sleep soundly and awake next morning refreshed and ready for new challenges.

The mess tent in Barneo ice station.

Who's organising it?

Borge Ousland organizes this trip with help from his Russian partners Centre Polus who are providing all the logistics. Borge have been to the North and South Pole a number of times and is the world’s most experienced polar explorer.  Borge has done "The last degree" since 1998 and are very well acquainted with the condition and needs for such a trip.  All previous groups have reached their objective

Numbers

There will be 8 - 12 participants plus Børge as expedition leader.

Equipment

We will be in a part of the world where the correct equipment is of vital importance.  We will need to check everybody’s personal equipment before we leave.  We are keen to share our experience with regards to equipment and routines and will run through everything well in advance. A complete list of equipment will be distributed

Offloading the Antonov 74 jet plane.

Training trip.