NORTH POLE 2010

ABOUT US

Vanessa Lindsay, 33, and Louise Cameron, 32, both from South London, were introduced by Louise’s brother and became firm friends when we worked together as Powder Byrne ski guides in Courchevel in 2001. After applying and being selected, Louise asked Ness if she would also be interested and naturally she jumped at the opportunity. We each applied and were selected individually for the Arctic North Pole 2010 expedition. We are now looking forward to the challenge and journey ahead of being on the same expedition to the North Pole - and standing On Top of the World 2010!

WHY ARE WE DOING IT?

Not only did the physical and mental challenge of the expedition – going where nobody has gone before - excite us both, the ethos did too: a polar veteran leading a team of novice explorers out deep onto the frozen wilderness of the Arctic Ocean to be the first to the Arctic Pole, whilst undertaking an important scientific project measuring and evaluating the state of the ice.

Now we are excited to be fulfilling a longtime aspiration of one day heading to the North Pole. Both adventurers and keen skiers, we share a "can-do" philosophy: that, given the right attitude and training, ordinary people can achieve extraordinary expeditionary feats and give something back by better informing our generation about global warming. This felt like the natural next step.

Highlighting the acceleration of the Arctic ice cap melt and providing information about the current sea ice thickness that is not available from satellites is also a key motivation for our taking part.

If this isn't enough, we are also driven by our determination to raise lots of money for our three chosen charities - WaterAid, Survival International and the British Red Cross Haiti Earthquake Appeal (all chosen for their links to climate change).

For Louise, there is an additional motivation: scientists are now seriously claiming that in 20 years the North Pole will be reached by boat in open water, not over ice - it's quite amazing to think that the ice is melting so quickly that her 16-month-old son Hamish may never get this same opportunity... She wants people to sit up and take notice of that fact. And for Hamish to one day be proud of his mama for doing this!

THE NORTH POLE

The North Pole is the Everest of Polar expeditions. Surrounded by sea ice and in total darkness for half the year, the Pole is reachable only during a short time window. If too early, darkness and extremely cold temperatures make the challenge dangerous to the extreme. If too late, an increasingly melting Arctic ice cap makes the journey across the frozen ocean impossible.

Controversy surrounds who was the first human being to reach the Pole. Whilst Admiral Robert Peary is historically credited with being the first person to achieve the feat, in April 1909, this has in recent years proved to not be the case. The pole was only conclusively reached in 1968, by a team of Americans on dogs, and by foot years later in 1979 by a team of Russians. Since then it has still only been reached from the Canadian or Russian Arctic coastlines by approximately 120 people by foot. Many have failed.

Monotonous hauling of a pulk/ sled of 100kgs for up to 70 days over pack ice, numerous ice ridges, open water ice leads, all in temperatures down to –60C and under the constant threat of Polar Bears, makes it a serious undertaking.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND OUR EXPEDITION

We will provide vital information that is not available from satellites for NASA-funded NSIDC (National Snow and Ice Data Scientists). We will be measuring: snow depth; ice thickness; temperatures at the snow/ice interface; prevailing weather conditions (temperatures, wind speed, wind direction, cloud cover, sun conditions etc); the number and dimensions of pressure ridges; open water leads; rafting (where one pan of ice slips over or under another) and the shear zone (where one pan has pulled away from another leaving a disturbed area). We will use a mechanical hand-operated Auger to take up to 12 times samples daily.

Find out more about the current condition of the Arctic sea ice

THE 4 POLES EXPLAINED

ARCTIC POLE ("NORTHERN POLE OF INACCESSIBILITY") 85° 47‘ N, 176° 9‘ E
The farthest point from any coastline or the centre of the Arctic Ocean; also called the 'Northern Pole of Inaccessibility'. First established in 1927 by Sir Hubert Wilkins, by aircraft but recently re-positioned by Jim McNeill and NSIDC scientists using modern satellite technology.

GEOGRAPHIC NORTH POLE 90°N
A fixed location on the surface of the Arctic Ocean where the Earth's axis of rotation meet. First seen in 1926 from the airship ‘Norge’.

MAGNETIC NORTH POLE 85° 11’N, 133° 7’ W
A non fixed location at 90 degrees to the Earth’s surface, where the lines of magnetic force exit. The magnetic field is vertical and points vertically into the ground. The north seeking compass needle points to this pole. It now lies well into the Arctic Ocean and moves a further 40km every year.
 
GEOMAGNETIC NORTH POLE 80° 1’ N, 71° 59’ W
The point where the geomagnetic field is closest to True North. It is the northern end of the axis of the geomagnetic field which surrounds the Earth and extends into space as the magnetosphere. It is tilted at 11 degrees to the rotation axis of the Geographic North Pole.

TEAM MEMBERS

Inge Solheim - Norwegian polar guide
Henry Cookson - Adventurer and explorer
Farzin Pourmokhtar - Photographer