North Pole 2011: Barneo Station Ready To Go

While the 2011 North Pole season has been a bust for explorers heading to 90ºN from the Canadian side of the world, there will still be plenty of adventurous souls that will be visiting that fabled destination this year. Most will be making a "Last Degree" journey from the Russian side of the ice, and as ExWeb reports today, the airstrip at the Barneo Station is ready to start receiving visitors.

Barneo is a temporary base that is built each season to facilitate travel to the Pole. It is constructed when a team of Russian paratroopers drop on to the frozen Arctic Ocean, and set up camp. They then go about smoothing out the ice for a runway, which eventually allows the big Illyushin jets to deliver paying clients. The base is roughly situated at 89ºN, which allows for these last degree adventures, and in a few short weeks, it'll be gone completely. But for now, it stands ready for the first travelers to arrive, and begin their journey on skis to the North Pole.

Much like on the Canadian side of the planet, it doesn't sound like the weather conditions have been all that great near Barneo this year either. High winds and deteriorating ice have made it a challenge to establish the base at all. The first Illyushin was scheduled to arrive last Friday, but the runway wasn't complete yet, but everyone is hopeful that the base will open for business in the next few days.

Amongst those waiting for a lift to Barneo are Parker Liautaud, the 16-year old hoping to make the journey to the North Pole to help inspire other young men and women to do something adventurous. Parker is also hoping to raise awareness of global climate change and the effects it is having on the Poles as well. According to his most recent journal entries, he and his guide, Doug Stoup, are in Longyearbyen, which is located on Spitsbergen, where they continue to patiently for the word that Barneo is ready for them. So far, they're still waiting, but as you can imagine, they're eager to get out on the ice and get the journey underway.

Eric and Sarah McNair-Landry aren't headed to the North Pole, but they are off on an arctic adventure of their own. The siblings began their attempt to kite-ski the length of the Northwest Passage a few weeks back, and are making steady progress as the winds allow. While the high winds may have prevented many of the polar explorers from setting off this season, they are very much welcome for Eric and Sarah, who have managed to knock off serious milage on some days thanks to those gusts. This past Saturday alone, the duo covered more than 86.5km (53 miles). They still have a long way to go, but they seem to be enjoying their arctic adventure so far.

North Pole Circumnavigation Update: Russians First Through The Northwest Passage

ExWeb posted an update on the race around the North Pole that is currently being conducted by the Russian crew aboard the Peter 1 and Norwegian explorer Børge Ousland. Both ships have been attempting to become the first to sail completely around the North Pole via the Northeast and Northwest Passages. According to the update, the Russians are the first to clear the Northwest Passage, and while that is an important milestone, the race isn't over yet.

Peter 1 arrived in Pond Inlet on the Northern coast of Baffin Island a few days back, marking the end of the journey through the Northwest Passage, and with the Northeast Passage already complete, it's just a matter of which ship reaches their home port first, completing the entire voyage.

Ousland and his boat, the Northern Passage, are said to be not far behind the Russians and have also reached Pond Inlet. That has to be a big relief for him and his partner, Thorleif Thorleifsson, as their ship is much smaller and lighter than the Russian yacht, and had the potential to suffer more damage from the ice. On the other hand, the ship is also much faster and more nimble on the water, giving them the possibility of overtaking the heavier hulled ship of their rivals.

It should be noted that "rivals" is a bit of a relative term, as the two crews are obviously seeking the same goal, but have also become friendly during this "race." Apparently they are now not very far apart either, as ExWeb says that the Northern Passage crossed the 74th Parallel just hours behind the Peter 1. Perhaps they'll end up reaching the finish line, which is in Grimstad, Norway, together. That seems like a fitting end.

Archeologists Search For Franklin Ships in the Canadian Arctic

Back in 1845, Sir John Franklin set out in search of the then mythical Northwest Passage. Unlike today, the Passage didn't exist, and he and his crew of 128 men died a horrible death hundreds of miles from civilization, stranded without the hope of rescue. But that death didn't come quickly. According to historians, Franklin and his crew spent three long years in the Arctic, while scurvy, botulism, starvation, and sub-zero temperatures slowly did them in.

The remains of the crew have been found and extensive forensic studies have been done to help determine what exactly happened to the ill fated team, and while those studies have revealed a lot, such as the fact that the crew apparently resorted to cannibalism, the expedition's ships have remained missing.

Now, according to the BBC, a team of Canadian archeologists are heading to the Arctic in search of Franklin's long lost ships – the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus. They'll take with them sophisticated sonar systems to search the ocean floor and they'll investigate locations that local Inuit tribes once reported seeing the ships locked in ice 150 years ago. They'll also be searching for the HMS Investigator, the rescue ship that went looking for Franklin and also disappeared in the process.

The BBC articled that I've linked to above has more details on the Franklin expedition, but describes the explorer as a man obsessed with finding the Northwest Passage. At that time, it meant a major new trade route, and could have been worth a fortune for the man who discovered it. It also talks about some of the men who went in search of the missing crew, and the stories and legends that have arisen about what happened out there on the ice.

I have to admit, I don't know a ton about this story, but it is a fascinating one. It reminds me a bit of Shackleton's ill fated expedition, although that one ended up with a happy ending. I can't imagine spending three years stranded out on the ice, wondering and hoping that someone would come. Amazing.

Thanks to the National Geographic Adventure Blog for the tip on this one.