About
The North Pole Speed Record
Aim
To set a new world speed record from Ward Hunt Island to the Geographic North Pole. The current record was set in 2005 by a guided team using dog sleds and numerous re-supplies in a time of 36 days 22 hours. Ben�s expedition will be solo and unsupported* and foot. This route has only ever been completed once solo and unsupported, by Pen Hadow in 2003. Ben aims to halve his time and complete it in 30 days.
Environment
Ben will be skiing over the frozen surface of the Arctic Ocean, one of the harshest environments on the planet. There are no route maps as the pack ice is in a constant state of flux, melting and refreezing with the changing seasons, and drifting according to the competing forces of wind, current and tide. One of the biggest obstacles Ben expects to encounter are areas of open water; giant cracks in the ice known as leads.
Route Map
The Cold Facts
- Distance: 478 miles
- Duration: ~30 days. Start date 26th March 2008.
- Sledge weight: 60kg
- Temperature range: -50 to -5°C. Wind chill as low as -70°C.
- Hazards: Thin ice, open water, polar bears, frostbite, hypothermia, equipment failure, injury
- Start point: Ben will be dropped by a Twin Otter ski-plane at Ward Hunt Island, Northern Canada N83 05 and will to ski from there on to the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean
- Finish: Ben aims to reach the Geographic North Pole N90
- Communications: Ben is equipped with an Iridium satellite phone and an ARGOS satellite beacon that allows the support team to monitor his position and status.
- Calorie intake: 5,946 kcal/day
* Unsupported - No assistance for the entire expedition - all food & fuel is pulled in the sledge.
Ben Saunders
Ben Saunders is a record-breaking long-distance skier, with three North Pole expeditions under his belt. He is the youngest to ski solo to the North Pole and holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton. Since 2001, Ben has skied more than 2,500km (1,500 miles) in the high Arctic, which he recently worked out equates to two percent of his entire life living in a tent.
Born in 1977, Ben grew up in Devon, was educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and lives in London. He is passionate about the great outdoors and spent four months walking and climbing in the Nepalese Himalayas aged 19, going on to work as an instructor at the John Ridgway School of Adventure in the Scottish Highlands (once billed as 'the UK's toughest management training school'). John was (and is) a role model and mentor of the highest calibre - in 1966 John (along with Chay Blyth) became the first to row across the Atlantic, and went on to break records in non-stop round the world sailing.
"The next Sir Ranulph Fiennes."
The Times, February 2004
Ben is a keen athlete - after an unpromising start ("I was the podgy kid at school that was always picked last for the football team") he discovered mountain biking in his teens and went on to race bikes on and off-road at national level. He has run several marathons (New York is his favourite course and 2:55 is his best time to date), two ultramarathons, and aims to start competing in Ironman-distance triathlons before too long.
When he's not pulling a sledge, Ben divides his time between planning and training for expeditions, and earning a crust as one of the UK's leading motivational speakers. He is an Ambassador for The Prince's Trust, A Patron of the British Schools Exploring Society, an Ambassador for Global Angels, an Honorary Vice-President of the Geographical Association, and supports the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and the Orchid Cancer Appeal.