Prince Harry begins arctic trek

by Kraig Becker on

Way back in January we posted a story about the possibility of Britain’s Prince Harry going to the North Pole as part of a fund raising effort for charity. While the prince won’t actually be heading to 90ºN as predicted, he did embark on an Arctic trek this week with a team of disabled veterans from the U.K.

After a number of weather delays, Harry and the rest of his group, were finally able to get underway on Monday. The journey began with a flight from Spitsbergen to the Barneo Ice Camp, a temporary base built on the Arctic Ocean that is annually constructed by a team of Russian paratroopers. After a very brief stay at the station, the group was shuttled off 87ºN, where most of the team began their 200 mile journey to the North Pole.

I say most of the team, because Harry won’t be making that journey with the vets. Instead, he’ll be picked up from the ice in a couple of days. The 25-year old prince was given special leave from his military duties to accompany the squad, but he is due back on base, where he’ll continue his training to become an Apache helicopter pilot. There is also the small matter of a wedding in the family soon as well.

The expedition is being undertaken to raise funds for the Walking with the Wounded foundation. The team hopes to raise as much as $3.2 million for the organization, which is dedicated to helping soldiers injured in military service to recover from their wounds and get on with their lives. Four of the men on the expedition were injured during the war in Afghanistan, with two of those being amputees. Prince Harry serves as a patron for Walking with the Wounded, which made it of utmost importance to him that he get to take part in the trek, even if it was only for a few days.

If all goes as scheduled, the team should arrive at the North Pole around the 25th of the month. Harry will be back in warmer climes by the weekend however.

[Photo credit: The Mirror]

Barneo Ice Station Opens

by Kraig Becker on

In another spring tradition, the Barneo Ice Station has opened for another season, providing the gateway for adventure travelers and explorers to make a “last degree” journey to the geographic North Pole from the Russian side of the ice.

The ice station sits roughly 60 miles from the Pole at 89º N. Latitude, and each year it has to be rebuilt thanks to the shifting ice flows at the top of the world. The process begins with two Russian built Hind helicopters scouting the region for relatively flat, smooth surfaces on the ice. Once the location is selected, the first supplies, along with a team of engineers, hits the area to go to work creating a runway. Once that runway is finished, large supply planes can land on the surface, and a full blown camp, including a Russian post office, is established.

Shortly after the camp is officially opened, visitors begin to arrive. Some are polar tourists who will make an expedition to the North Pole on skis, while others are scientists and environmentalist that come to study the area, and the effects of climate change on the health of the ice, as well as the creatures that live there.

Generally the station closes down at the end of April or early May at the latest. It is just there long enough to support the teams, and then everything is packed back on to the supply planes and shipped off for another year, when the process will begin again. But for a few short weeks each spring, it becomes a hub of arctic adventure.