DUBLIN, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - Well Lewis Gordon Pugh is the guy who has been swimming in the North and South Pole waters before so at least he’ll be used to the cold. He plans to kayak for 10 hours a day in which he hopes he will cover 100km a day. When he reaches the most Northerly point possible he plans to raise the flags of 192 nations to show that everyone has an effect on the melting ice caps. Check out his own personal website here and the expedition website to keep up to date with latest news.

Lewis on his Website:

On the 27 August I will attempt to become the first person to kayak all the way to the North Pole. I will start on the Island of Svalbard (just north of Norway) and paddle 1,200km across the Arctic Ocean, into the ice packs, and along cracks in the ice, till I get to the North Pole.

I am undertaking this expedition to show the dramatic loss of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean.  It shouldn’t be possible to kayak all the way to the North Pole.  It should be frozen over.  But a number of scientists are predicting that this year will be the first year the North Pole will be ice-free.  I hope they are wrong, and I do not get all the way there!

-Eoinod-

What’s involved in the race:

In December 2008 international teams will race over 400 miles to the Geographic South Pole. Almost 100 years after Scott and Amundsens historic race, in the Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race of the new century teams of 3 will ski pulling 200lb pulks over the same route, with the same equipment, starting from the same start line.

-Aisling-

Image and qoute from SimplyDecide.
Earlier TGU story here.

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - Antarctic explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton left them here in their way to the South Pole, at the beginning of the last century. I’ve read Scott’s biography (twice, in two different forms) and it is truly amazing that these physical objects are still there since the 1900’s when they left them to return the following year - neither did.

The shelves are still stocked with tins of cabbage, veal or onions. All these objects have been preserved by cold for the last 100 years. This is when ice is you friend!

Unbelievable! You can see lots of photos and some commentary on this blog. Very well worth a visit.

To make this post a double bonus - here’s a picture I’ve been looking to post for some time now, but didn’t merit its own post. This is what Antarctica will look like when we have come to the end of this iceage. This is what the landmass under the ice is actually like.

I wonder has that image taken into account of what height the sea levels will be at due to all the melting ice, or is it done based on our current median sea-level?

-Robin.

(Image Credits: Unknown original sources.)

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Geared Up Blog)- This years mens race was won by Korean Byeung Sik Ahn in a time of 4:02:37 and Cathrine Due of Denmark won the womens race in a time of 5:37:14. Congeratulations to both Peter Ferris and Wayne Pollock from Ireland you finished the tough course in 6:12:05 and 7:10:22 respectively. I’ve heard of people doing their training in industrial size freezers for these cold marathons. I wonder did any companies in Ireland let Peter or Wayne use theirs?

The men’s race was a close event over the initial stages before Ahn’s persistent pressure on the frozen ice floes finally began to reap dividends. He developed a widening gap over his opponents during the second half of the race and crossed the line in a winning time of 4:02:37. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian Ignas Staskevicius overhauled Charles Sanders of Great Britain for second position. Ahn will receive a special Kobold expedition watch for being the outright winner.

Cathrine Due and Margit Andersen, the two Danes in the women’s event, battled thoughout. However, Due proved the stronger in the latter stages to take the women’s title. Kirsty Devonport of Great Britain was third.

Results Below courtesy of www.npmarathon.com

Mens Race
Name Time
1. Byeung Sik Ahn (Korea) 4:02:37 Bib No. 1
2. Ignas Staskevicius (Lithuania) 4:19:05 Bib No. 25
3. Charles Sanders (Great Britain) 4:21:27 Bib No. 23
4. Jurgen Heilbock (Germany) 4:50:01 Bib No. 17
5. Hans-Wilhelm Hamke (Germany) 5:21:07 Bib No. 14
6. Craig Davis (Australia) 5:47:50 Bib No. 8
7. Darius Jurgaitis (Lithuania) 5:54:18 Bib No. 19
8. Peter Ferris (Ireland) 6:12:05 Bib No. 12
9. Steve Bicknell (Great Britain) 6:27:10 Bib No. 6
10. Christer Klingspor (Sweden) 7:01:10 Bib No. 20
11. Wayne Pollock (Ireland) 7:10:22 Bib No.27
12. Hans-Jacob Berntsen (Norway) 7:22:08 Bib No. 5
Womens Race
Name Time
1. Cathrine Due (Denmark) 5:37:14 Bib No. 11
2. Margit Andersen (Denmark) 5:53:10 Bib No. 3
3. Kirsty Devonport(Great Britain) 6:12:05 Bib No. 9
4. Alison Gill (Great Britain) 6:44:08 Bib No. 13
5. Marie-Hamren Larsson (Sweden) 7:04:32 Bib No. 16

-Eoinod-

Wayne Pollock is doing just that. His biog on the site goes like this:

A former Ireland U-21 rugby international but first time marathon runner. Wayne will follow up on his debut at the North Pole Marathon by attempting the Antarctic Ice Marathon & 100k later in the year. Aged 42, Wayne works in the travel business and lives in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. Together with his running colleague, Peter Ferris, Wayne hopes to raise €150k for cancer charities in the process. He has also set a longer term goal of running 100 marathons on all of the continents.

Peter Ferris has run almost 300 marathons according to the site. If they complete it they’ll join a list of superheroes who’ve done it before including Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Everest summiteer and previous winner Sean Burch and Irish novelist Michael Collins. The fun starts next week, 26th March and there are strong Irish connections with race director Richard Donovan and last year’s winner Thomas Maguire.

-Aisling-

“Tom Crean Antarctic Explorer” tells the story of the Irish explorer who served with Scott and Shackleton on three expeditions; Discovery, Terra Nova and Endurance. Aidan Dooley manages to drag you right into the centre of things and give you a sense of the hardship involved. If you miss it you’ll regret it, really, it’s brilliant! One account of a sled ride down a glacier will never leave you……

Six nights only from 25th March!

-Aisling-

In the spirit of those early pioneers there will be one team attempting to write a new chapter in Polar history. Mark Pollock will attempt to be the first blind person to reach the South Pole with 2 others.

Yet another one of Mark’s crazy stunts!! Head over to the Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race site for details of the event and teams that have entered. Best of luck to Mark and his team, the training alone will be incredible!

-Aisling-

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) -
Best Outdoor Adventurous Ad ever! Cracks me up every time, I love it! What’s your favourite?

-Aisling-

SINGAPORE - The first scheduled passenger flight to Antarctica landed yesterday. The Australia/Hobart to the Australian Casey Station will fly weekly transporting public and scientists to the base.

The first scheduled Australian passenger flight, Airbus A319, left the Australian city of Hobart the previous evening, destined for the newly built Wilkins ice runway, 70 kilometres from the Australian Antarctic Division’s Casey Station.

Video on Reuters.com

I like the air-stewardess announcement “15 mins to landing - please put on your survival suits.”…. yes there’s no nice warm airport terminal to step into here!

-Robin-

(Image Credit: Reuters video still.)

From the Poles:
This undertaking is one of mans greatest adventures and challenges and is equivalent to running 55 consecutive marathons,” says Pat. “I’m very proud of how our small Irish team has performed in going to the edge of their physical abilities. We are not a nation where this type of effort or challenge is normal. But we do have a great connection with Antarctic,” mentioning Shackleton, the boss and those un-sung heroes Crean, Keohane, Forde and the McCarthy brothers.

-Aisling-