January 20, 2006
Three card board cut-outs outside their offices in Canary Wharf.
January 24, 2006
Shortly after this photo was taken, the horse in red put its hoof in David's tyre and took him for an unexpected spin. Fortunately no injuries but our flask of tea did get smashed.
March 24, 2006
The final training run was a 20 mile tyre pull followed by a well earned lunch. It took approximately six and a half hours.
April 06, 2006
It was here that we discovered that Andre had left his sleeping bag at David's house in Harpenden.
April 07, 2006
SAS went on strike. Lunch at the airport whilst we tried to find a private jet to take us to Spitsbergen. Mike's sister Helen came up trumps with a google search.
April 07, 2006
The jet arrives but can he get all our baggage on board. At least we don't have Andre's sleeping bag.
April 07, 2006
Michael, Chris & Mark get comfortable while Andre gets ready to jump into the cockpit. Andre has a private pilot's licence.
April 07, 2006
David, Graham & Ian keep the baggage company. Disaster strikes - the crew thinking we were all fit men - took the majority of the alcohol off which only left us one bottle of red wine.
April 07, 2006
We got to Spitsbergen at last but we were some what poorer. A journey that should have been a few hundred pounds cost alittle more.
April 07, 2006
The first of many great meals (loading the calories) while we waited for the flight to Camp Barneo.
April 08, 2006
Alan supplemented the provisions with thirty large sausages that he had brought with him from France.
April 08, 2006
A life size replica of a Polar Bear at the 5 star Radisson hotel - which was not where we stayed!!!
April 08, 2006
We had to make up ten bags of food for each day that we would be on the ice.
April 09, 2006
We left on Thursday the 6th and it's now Monday the 10th and we are still waiting to leave. Everyone is fed up.
April 10, 2006
We are informed just before getting on the plane that the radio has broken at Camp Barneo and that could the pilot borrow a satellite phone if he is unable to locate the airstrip on the ice.
April 10, 2006
Low cloud cover so the pilot has to fly very low for a while whilst looking for the air strip. Just as well this is a frozen ocean.
April 10, 2006
Camp Barneo exists for one month of the year for scientific research and supporting expeditions like our own.
April 10, 2006
Watching the plane take-off in such a short distance is amazing.
April 10, 2006
Cross country skis with a 70kg sledge sliding through inches of fresh snow.
April 11, 2006
David who organised and planned the entire trip over the past eighteen months had started to feel under the weather.
April 11, 2006
There was much more open water around this year than usual. It was just a matter of luck as to how far you needed to walk to go around it.
April 11, 2006
Alan, Andre & Alan melting ice, heating water, filling flasks and adding the boiling water to the dried food for the evening meal. The whole process took 2 - 3 hours.
April 12, 2006
We progressed approximately one mile an hour. There was an unusally strong drift against us which meant that we drifted back half a mile per hour. If we slept too long we made no progress at all.
April 12, 2006
It was possible to cross small leads on skis. It was then that you realised that the ice was only a few inches thick.
April 12, 2006
You needed to trust that the skis would take your weight which of course they are designed to do.
April 12, 2006
The trick was to get enough speed to get the sledge across before it fell into the water.
April 12, 2006
At tricky points Alan & Pete would ensure that everyone got across safely.
April 12, 2006
Visibility was often poor and Alan & Pete would take every opportunity to scale a high point in order to try and navigate as smooth a path as possible.
April 12, 2006
The best weather was often just after we set-up camp. We tried to stay on the UK clock as much as possible despite the fact that it was 24 hour day light.
April 12, 2006
The trouble with cooking in the tents was that all the steam eventually condensed and you would have water dripping on you all night.
April 12, 2006
David is really suffering now and is doing really well to keep going. He is not eating and the little food he has will not stay down.
April 13, 2006
Pete getting a helping hand to join Alan and survey the landscape
April 13, 2006
Unclear what to do as the large lead is wide in both directions as far as you can see.
April 13, 2006
We camped up knowing that we had to find a way across a massive open water lead in the morning. The drift also continued against us and we knew that by the time we woke up that the would hardly have made any progress in the last three days.
April 14, 2006
David was so weak now that he had now choice but to get air lifted off the ice. We had a team meeting and decided to see if we could get the helicopter to drop us over the large lead infront of us. The helicopter was due at mid day the following day. The only good news was that we were substantially ahead of all other groups on the ice. Everyone really felt for David who had organised the entire expedition.
April 14, 2006
I was determined to send live updates to the website and I took a lap top to the North Pole (yes I am mad!). The only problem was that I had to sleep with the lap top each night to warm it up before it would work. Still I managed to send a number of live pictures to the blog which numerous friends & family left messages against which made it all worthwhile.
April 14, 2006
We bid David a sad farewell. We did all manage to board the helicopter but our hearts sank when the captain decided to jump us a shorter distance than we were hoping.
April 14, 2006
Our luck has turned. The large lead closes up over night and we are able to get across. Most of the other groups are so far behind that they are waiting for helicopter drops to jump them 30 miles forward. Determined to get to the pole first - we push on - no it's not a race!!
April 15, 2006
For the first time we start to believe that we will make it. We had a great day covering over 10 miles.
April 16, 2006
The final lead to cross. We camped up after a long day just three miles from the pole. In the morning we walked for half an hour south but the lead just got wider. We retraced our steps and crossed our fingers.
April 16, 2006
We came across the tracks of the husky dogs that Prince Albert of Monaco had used - a stoke of luck that helped us safely navigate some large frozen leads where the ice was very thin.
April 17, 2006
Chris Heminway carried four outfits for the High School mascot - one for each house.
April 17, 2006
One of Graham's sons asked him to carry his furry friend with him to the North Pole.
April 17, 2006
Graham is raising money for the 'Specialist Schools & Academies Trust'. Promethean - the interactive whiteboard company of which he is chairman have made a major contribution to the appeal.
April 17, 2006
The red jackets came out whenever we stopped to keep us warm. The gear was fantastic.
April 17, 2006
We highly recommend you to go on an expedition with Alan Chambers & Pete Goss. They inspired confidence throughout the entire trip.
April 17, 2006
Alan attaching the banners of the charities supported by Clifford Chance ('The Place2Be & Keech Cottage')
April 17, 2006
A little advertising from Landmark Adventures.
April 17, 2006
The helicopter turned up five hours after we reached the pole.
April 17, 2006
The helicpoter that picked us up from the North Pole was carrying a gentleman from Kazachtstan who planted his flag at the North Pole or was it the Alan Inglis tower.
April 17, 2006
Copious amounts of Vodka were drunk to celebrate our success.
April 18, 2006
Prince Albert of Monaco was on the ice at the same time as us but travelled slightly quicker.
