North2

Journal

• 30Mar2010 For a Biscuit

  For a number of reasons, some outside my control and some entirely down to me, I’ve decided to postpone restarting this expedition until the spring of 2011 .

  Without wishing to sound too much like a recorded pre-flight safety announcement, the thing I’m most concerned about when I’m planning, organising and carrying out expeditions is my own safety. Convincing sponsors, the media, the audiences I speak to, my girlfriend and my mum that solo expeditions without support over several weeks in one of the least hospitable places on the planet aren’t inherently reckless has at times been difficult. And while I suspect I have a healthier appetite than most for challenge, solitude, hardship and risk, outright danger is something I’ll go out of my way to steer clear of.

  46 comments – Continue reading For a Biscuit

• 27Mar2010 Pitch and Toss

  I’m sat on a bed and typing this on a laptop. Neither are things I expected to be doing this Saturday afternoon. If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that one of the two plastic five-litre fuel containers in the back of my sledge broke, at some point on Wednesday, contaminating nearly all of my food bags with Coleman fuel. I’m still reeling from the shock of discovering this, on the morning of the third day of the expedition, and sat here in a world that is suddenly too comfortable -my skin itches when the heating is on, my toes have pins and needles, my fingers are puffy like sausages and my lips are numb- I’m still planning my next move.

  16 comments – Continue reading Pitch and Toss

• 26Mar2010 Back to the beginning

  From Ben’s expedition manager, Andy:

  Yesterday evening I was expecting a normal check in call with Ben, but instead he called with disastrous news.  The intensity of the pounding the sledge had been taking over the coastal sea ice (where the ice crushes up against Canada) had somehow managed to crack one of Ben’s fuel canisters. The leaking fuel had melted through the foodbags and contaminated 70% of his food supplies. Losing this much food is catastrophic for an expedition that relies on being ultra fast and light and thus carries little in the way of spares. 

  27 comments – Continue reading Back to the beginning

• 24Mar2010 Day 2

  Ben is having a minor technical glitch with his iPAQ and Iridium phone and is currently unable to upload his blog post and photo this evening but will try again in the morning.

  10 comments – Continue reading Day 2

• 23Mar2010 Go

  Seven nautical miles in the bag, and a rather bigger (and harder) start than I’d anticipated.

  17 comments – Continue reading Go

• 22Mar2010 Countdown

  I seem to specialise in pulling expeditions together at the last minute. I’ve never been a worrier, and the teachers of the boyhood me would, I fear, not be surprised that I still wing it optimistically from time to time, pulling an all-nighter before the exam rather than studying diligently.

  27 comments – Continue reading Countdown

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