Sunday 16 February 2014

Breaking news! Nanook Polar Expedition going for the longest unassisted unsupported polar journey

    To experience more intensely what early explorers must have endure, I decided to attempt to complet my journey without any resupplies. My itinerary is therefore slightly changed, avoiding the commuauties of Taloyoak, Resolute and Grise Fjord. I'm in my base camp in Yellowknife for a couple of week now, training to pull an heavy sled, as I'll leave with 80 days of food. It's going well, convincing me that I can do it.
     The current record for the longest unassisted (no sled-dogs, no wind-kite, non motorized) unsupported (no resupplies) polar journey has been established in 2011 on a return trip to the South Pole, at 2275 km. I'm going to try to beat it by about a 100 km.
     The project of filming the Inuits life still holds. I'll film in Kugaaruk, my starting point, and in Qaanaaq, the arrival. And of course, the whole journey. I'm very impatient to explore that part of the Arctic and following the foot steps of explorers like Sverdrup, Franklin, Greely or Ross.

   Training on the Great Slave Lake: because of the weight of the sled, I had to switch from skis to snow-shoes, offering me better grip.




6 comments:

  1. Fantastic! Ski with wild abandon and may God startle you with joy!

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  2. Just a few friendly points which may help your preparations and to check:

    - SPOT transmitters don't work in the region around Qaanaaq or similar latitudes and the GEOS insurance included in that deal only covers $50,000 per claim and in their T&Cs 'do not cover expeditions'.
    - Currently there is a particularly large polynya in the Nares Strait, far north of your intended crossing point. This area will not be passable at any point in the season.
    - The longest unsupported polar journey is currently held by Gamme/Cas and Jonesy at 1400 miles and they did not receive resupplies as you intend in your settlement visits, which obviously constitute support.

    Best wishes for an original trip!
    Alex.

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  3. Hi James or Alex, not sure...
    I know about the Spot transmitters, they are not supposed to work once I'll reach Ellesmere. And I also know about the insurance.
    The polynya is well known, the latitude of the ice bridge between Ellesmere and Greenland change depending of the year. I should have updated my itinerary map, as I'm planning to cross further North. Dont worry, I did my home-work.
    I know that those guys got the record, and if I'm now saying that I'll try to beat that record, it off course mean that I wont get any resupplies anymore in the communauties. I'll avoid them. I know what unsupported mean!!! It was obvious to me, but I guess it needed to be clearer.

    Thanks for your concerns

    Vincent

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  4. Have you thought about using only pemmican (from 100% grass fed beef) as your food source? It is as calorie and nutrient dense as you can get, thus the most efficient food.

    With abandon,
    Patrick

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  5. Hi Deacon Patrick, I thought about it, but could not find a quality pemmican at a decent price.

    Vincent

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  6. Very true, Vincent. I make my own. Not too hard, but no doubt challenging with all the other prep.

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