HOME
ABOUT US
CONTACT US

SOUTH AFRICAN
PHOTO SAFARI

   
INFORMATION
 
SOUTH AFRICA IMAGES

 
NORTH POLE
EXPEDITIONS
   EXPRESS
   2-NIGHTS BASE CAMP
 
NIGHT at BASE CAMP
   NIGHT AT THE POLE
   SHORT SKI

SKI TO THE POLE
   4-DAY SKI
    
SKY DIVE OVER THE
   NORTH POLE
 
ADVENTURE TRAVEL
  
       LINKS
TESTIMONIALS
 
PHOTO GALLERIES
   NORTH POLE
   FRANS JOSEF LAND
   GENERAL GALLERY
   STOCK PHOTO GALLERY
   SOUTH AFRICA
 
J. ROBERT RUSSELL
   PHOTOGRAPHY
   STUDIO
   SERVICES
   OUR CLIENTS
 
NEWSGROUPS

Registration

SITE MAP

All Material
© Copyright 2009
J. Robert Russell
 
All Rights Reserved
All our photographs are protected under
U.S. and International
Copyright laws.

Reproduction and/or use in any manner, by any means, is illegal and prohibited.
For more information  contact J. Robert Russell at: jrrussell@eaglescry.com

 




3-DAY SKI EXPEDITION:
Description:
3-Day Ski Adventure
Date: April 10, 2010 Departure from Longyearbyen
Expedition duration:
April 2-7 OR April 14-19, 2011

Code: NPT

You will be placed on the ice by an MI-8 helicopter and from that point you will experience
the life on the ice as you travel to the geographic North Pole. You will spend the next 3 days
skiing to the Pole. This is truly an experience of a life time. You will be guided by one of the finest and experienced persons the industry has to offer. Few people have ever been able to experience this remarkable accomplishment. The physical ability required is more demanding than just visiting the Pole, but well within the ability of most adventurous travelers.
 

 

 

 

 

 

MI-8 Helicopter unloading skiers


Price:
20,200 € Euro
 
***Please note: Due to the almost daily fluctuations of the exchange rate of the Euro to the US dollar, we must post trip cost in Euro. To calculate the cost in US dollars, please visit this site for the current exchange rate:
http://www.xe.com/ucc/     or
 http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html
Final cost in USD will be determined at the time of full payment, based on the exchange rate at that time.

Call or Email for booking.
Click here for booking instructions

 

 

 

Update on December 1, 2010


Itinerary:
*Actual departure dates may change due to weather.
Suggested Schedule for Participants:

Day 1
Meeting guides, expedition equipment check, general instructions.
Preparations for the training trip, sleds packing.
19:00 - Welcome dinner
Briefing. Guides will inform you about ice conditions, current situation
at Barneo ice camp 89N , flight departure time. Any questions welcome.
Final equipment check, sleds packing.
Overnight in your hotel
Training trip in around Longyearbyen.
Day 2
Breakfast
Briefing. Guides will inform you about ice conditions, current situation
at Barneo ice camp 89N , flight departure time. Any questions welcome.
Final equipment check, sleds packing.
Overnight in your hotel
Day 3
Breakfast
Transfer to the airport, security check, boarding.
Flight with AN-74 aircraft (weather permitting) to Barneo ice camp. 2,5 hours
flight duration. Arrival, lunch in Borneo mess tent.
Pitching expedition tent camp nearby Borneo , dinner in expedition tents.
Overnight in expedition tents.
Day 4
Helicopter flight to a starting point. Ski expedition starts. Overnight in
tents on the drifting ice.
Days 5
Skiing towards the North Pole. Overnight in tents on the drifting ice.
 
Day 6
Arrival the North Pole! Celebrations. Satellite phone calls home. A few
hours to be spent at the North Pole. A helicopter brings us back to Borneo .
Dinner in Barneo mess tent.
Flight Barneo - Longyearbyen (AN-74 aircraft)
Transfer to your hotel, overnight.
Day 7
Breakfast
The North Pole Diploma ceremony.
End of services.

                                             
                                                                QUALIFICATIONS

Ski expedition to the North Pole is a serious personal challenge. One should be ready to face that physically
and mentally. It is better to enjoy the trip rather then to suffer from that.
To get prepared you should be ready to ski or trek (depending on ice conditions) for 8 - 10 hours a day for
3 - 4 days. You should also be ready to pull a sled of 15 - 20 kg which contains you personal and communal
equipment, fuel and food. Ice surface is mainly uneven, so you should not expect smooth skiing and pulling.

Temperatures normally are in between - 20 and - 35 C, so you should be quite familiar with low temperatures
like that. It can be windy, so count on wind-chill effect as well. And keep in mind that there is a pretty small
difference in temperature during a day, cause the sun is constantly up, but only a few degrees above the horizon.
Previous experiences in trekking, mountaineering, winter sports (particularly skiing) and winter camping are
quite welcome. Please contact your physician before making a decision to join the expedition.
 

Important: Each expedition to the North Pole is the ultimate adventure full of random factors. Though we are making all possible efforts to accomplish every expedition, We reserve the right to change or cancel an itinerary due to weather and / or ice conditions, group fitness, political situation, strikes, wars, revolutions, terrorism and / or other factors beyond its control. Such changes are to be made in our customers’ interests and with regards to their safety.


 

Price includes:

Price does not include:

•  Meeting at the Longyearbyen airport ( Spitsbergen, Norway);
•  2 transfers airport-hotel-airport;
•  Introductory dinner in Longyearbyen;
•  Training tour in the Longyearbyen surrounding;
•  Aircraft flights Longyearbyen - Barneo - Longyearbyen;
•  Helicopter flights according to the programme;
•  Using Barneo facilities;
•  Full catering at Barneo Ice Camp and on the trek;
•  Disposable plates, spoons, forks and cups at Barneo (2 sets per visiting a mess-tent per person);
•  Personal polar expedition clothes kit (please, see Equipment check-list);
•  Rent of the safety equipment (communication, navigation aid, weapon);
•  Rent of the skis with binding and ski poles;
•  Rent of the cargo sledge and tent;
•  Rent of the other group gear;
•  Stove fuel;
•  1 satellite phone call from the North Pole (2 min maximum, if battery capacity is sufficient);
•  Certificate of the North Pole visit;
•  Festive ceremony at Longyearbyen;
•  Guides service;
•  Accommodation in the heated tents at Barneo and full catering at Barneo Camp before departure to Longyearbyen (in case the group completed expedition before the time);
•  50 kilos of luggage.

•  Travel costs from your place of residence to Longyearbyen ( Spitsbergen , Norway ) and back;
•  Accommodation in Longyearbyen;
•  Catering in Longyearbyen;
•  Transfers in Longyearbyen (excl. airport-hotel-airport for travel home and hotel-airport-hotel for travel to the North Pole);
•  Activities in Longyearbyen (dog-sledge rides, tours to the glacier, excursion to the coal mine, depending on the weather);
•  Alcohol drinks ;
•  Full medical-evacuation insurance with minimum coverage for evacuation - 50,000 Euro, required;
•  Insurance against full or partial cancellation of the expedition, luggage insurance, life insurance (strongly recommended);
•  Private belongings;
•  All the unforeseen costs related to the flights delays;
•  Souvenirs and postal expenses;
•  Overweight luggage - 20 Euro/kilo.

What a member of the expedition to the North Pole has to know.

Ski expedition to the North Pole - is a complex mission that demands a good physical and psychological preparation. It is always better to enjoy the trek than to suffer of it. In order to estimate your abilities and prepare yourself better, you ought to know what to expect.

Physical exercises:
You are going to walk on skis or afoot (depending on the ice conditions) for 8-10 hours daily for 2 days. Besides, you have to pull 20-30 kg expedition sledge with equipment, fuel, and food. The ice surface is mostly rugged, making smooth and comfortable sliding pretty unlikely.

Cold:
The air temperature in the Pole vicinity during the expedition period lies usually between -20 C° and -35 C° and it is good if you have endured it in the past. Apart that wind may dramatically increase cooling effect. Daily temperature deviations in the Arctic are not significant in April. Sun neither sets nor rises high over the horizon.

Conclusions:
1.     Consult your doctor before making up a decision about expedition to the North Pole.
2.     Previous experience of the tours, ascents, expeditions and winter camping could prove very useful.
3.     Doing various winter sports would be very helpful.

 


List of equipment for the expedition
Contact us for a list of necessary equipment you will need.

ATTENTION: Though, we provide you with basic polar expedition clothes kit, everyone endures cold differently. Therefore, if you have some items in your wardrobe, which are tested in cold environment and suit you, you are welcome to bring them.

 

To book your expedition for 2011, click here,
or
email:  jrrussell@eaglescry.com
or call me:
 
678.414.9119