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North Pole Challenge

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Category: Fundraising

Published on Saturday, 17 July 2010 13:23

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There’s always someone willing to go that extra mile, but we don’t think this will be beaten. In April 2012 Team AWNTY (Are We Nearly There Yet) 2012. will be racing to the Magnetic North Pole.

We are delighted that we have been chosen as one of the charities they are supporting and you will see they have decided to use the duck as their mascot. They are planning many ducky events and we look forward to keeping you all up to date with these.

Thank you for your support and the fabulous opportunity to raise awareness of fibromyalgia throughout the world. The following is taken from Team Awnty website.  Arctic exploration is regarded as one of the most arduous tests of physical and mental endurance in the world with temperatures plummeting as low as -50°c.

THE CHALLENGE
Polar Challenge is a 320-nautical mile race to the 1996 position of the Magnetic North Pole with the competitors stopping en route at two manned checkpoints to re-supply. The race is held between mid-April to mid-May every year since 2004, and is televised annually to 168 million homes in 107 countries.
The teams come from all walks of life and are a variety of ages. What we have in common is physical stamina, mental endurance and a desire to achieve the extraordinary.

ROUTE / ENVIRONMENT
Travelling by foot and ski we will each have to drag all our equipment in a pulk (sledge) weighing over 150lbs across mainly frozen sea ice. On route we will have to negotiate vast ice ridges and ice boulder fields, which are caused by ice flows colliding with one another forcing the ice to pile up at the point of contact forming ridges.

The route we will take also leads through the migratory route of 80% of the world's polar bears. Arctic Temperatures regularly fall as low as -50°c, if you include wind chill this can plummet further to -70°c. Such temperatures can quickly cause frost bite on any part of uncovered skin. On route there are only two checkpoints where we will be able to get a resupply of food and if necessary were airlifted out.

A TYPICAL DAY
As this is a race, our aim is to get to the Magnetic North Pole as fast as possible, beating the other teams. The race can take up to 4 weeks to complete but current winning finishing times are between 9 and 10 days! A typical day entails skiing for around 14 hours before settling into the routine of melting snow and ice for the next day, which can take hours, fixing and repairing any broken equipment as well as setting up and digging in your tent. This leaves very little time for sleep.