The First Ever Summer Expedition to the North Pole
Pulling for the Planet

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The Expedition

Canada -- North Pole - 2006. The Arctic Ocean, that mysterious body of water and ice that physically connects all regions of the Earth. Traditionally, Arctic Ocean expeditions have been launched during the coldest time of year while the ice is still thick and stable. Over time, many polar expeditions have been planned and completed. Yet freeze-thaw conditions, dangerous shifting ice floes, slush and melt water pools continued to prevent even the most experienced explorers from attempting a summer North Pole Expedition. Until now.

Lonnie Dupre and Eric Larsen are traveling from Ward Hunt Island, Canada to the geographic North Pole, to Cape Morris Jessup, the northernmost point of Greenland. The two explorers will pull and paddle specially modified canoes across nearly 600 miles of shifting sea ice and open ocean. Their objectives are threefold:

To accomplish the first summer expedition to the North Pole.
To create awareness of global warming and collect relevant scientific data.
To produce a documentary film and book that focuses on global climate change, teamwork and the spirit of adventure.

Route

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Equipment

click to view equipment list

What's for Dinner

Food... and plenty of it. Dupre and Larsen will each need to consume nearly 6,000 calories daily, eating densely packed freeze-dried meals, energy bars, drinks and high-calorie supplements.

Click to view expedition diet

The Arctic Ocean and its Environment

Located at the top of the globe, the Arctic Ocean is 50 percent larger than the United States and covers 8.5 million square miles. It plunges to a depth of 14,000 feet, yet until recently has remained mostly frozen throughout the year. Despite the climate's chilly hold, the ice is influenced by tides, currents and wind and is in constant motion. Huge ice pans break apart and collide, creating gigantic ice pressure ridges and wide leads of open water. Seen from above, the ice cap looks like a maze of frozen puzzle pieces, a white sheet split by thousands of dark, watery lines. Polar bears roam the drifting pack in search of seals. Summer dangers for the team include: rotten and broken sea ice, 24-hour sunlight, heavy fog, cold water submersion, polar bears, ice drift, pressured ice and hypothermia just to name a few.

Canoes in the Arctic Ocean?

In short, we are redefining traditional Arctic travel by transforming our canoes into sleds. Of course, it's been no small process selecting the right boat to take as the amount of gear and extreme conditions that we will face create several contrasting problems.

First, the boats need to perform more like sleds as we expect to pull the canoes across pack ice for up to 70% of the journey. Therefore, the boats are short with considerable sweep in the bow and stern. The canoes have flat hulls to accommodate plastic runners to the bottom. Conversely, the canoes also need to be large enough to hold our gear and us while we cross the many open leads. They are capable of being catamaranned (rafted together) for stability or paddled solo using lightweight kayak paddles.

Science

Lonnie and Eric will collaborate with National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) scientists Walt Meier and Thomas Painter, as well as Thomas Grenfell and Stephen Warren at the University of Washington, to take scientific snow and ice measurements.

Dupre and Larsen will measure sea ice freeboard, or the amount of ice above the water line. The will also measure snow depth on top of the sea ice, as well as collecting and preserving snow samples. Dupre and Larsen will place the snow samples in specially prepared freezer bags that will travel close to the outside of the sleds to prevent melting.

Learn more at the NSIDC web site

Notes from John Huston

John has been busy updating the website and orgazing the upcoming depot. Shipping items to the Arctic Ocean is not cheap, but the smallest piece of equipment can make a big difference. Spring in Ely, Minnesota has been quite nice.

John Huston, expeditioner, writer, dog musher, will be operating the One World Base office and website during Lonnie and Eric's 2006 attempt at reaching the North Pole in summer. Check back for weekly updates on John's action-packed life in Minnesota.

Q & A with the Team

These questions were sent in by Annmarie Woscek-Morrowam and her first grade class at Quebec Heights School, located in Price Hill of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Q: What do you eat?

A: Food is very, very important to us and we eat A LOT of it. It takes tons of energy to pull our canoe-sleds across the ice every day. We eat breakfast and dinner in the tent and consume lunch in a series of rest breaks during the travel day. We pack in over 5000 calories per day, this is 2 or 3 times a person's normal intake, and sometimes we are still hungry. Lonnie likes oatmeal and Clif Bars and Eric loves pasta and salty foods. It is a good thing we like our food, because we eat the same thing almost every day. Food is our fuel. See all the food we brought with us.

Q: Do you cook? If so, how do you do it?

A: We cook breakfast and dinner on a small, efficient MSR camping stove. We don't have to cook lunch, but we always have hot water in our thermoses. Cooking is very simple, in order to save energy and time and so we can get as much sleep as possible. All the meals have been packed individually and we just dump them into a pot of boiling water. Most meals can be cooked in less than 10 minutes. Although it may seem boring eating the same food all the time, dinner is the highlight of many of our days. Dinner is warm and we get to sit and relax with the wonderful feeling of another travel day accomplished.

More answers to come soon, thanks for sending in your questions, keep them coming.

Frequently Asked Questions