Dark Ice Project
- February 11, 2014
There are only a handful of polar expeditions in history that have ventured into the polar winter. The multi-phase landmark expedition began in December 2013 with a small international team making their way into the darkness.
The expedition is set to last from mid-December 2013 to July 2014, Alex Hibbert and the Dark Ice team will each haul over 250kg the length of the Nares Strait and then make an unsupported return attempt on the Geographic North Pole. In August 2013, an initial preparatory phase took place to lay and prepare depots for the main phase, with that ultimate goal of the Pole unsupported in winter. This has never been achieved. The Pole has also never been reached from Greenland - the final main route is as yet untravelled.
The route will cover up to 1800 miles over fractured and mobile sea ice between the cliffs and glaciers of Ellesmere Island and North-West Greenland and then the vast, frozen Arctic Ocean. The team will set out from the Greenlandic Inuit village of Qaanaaq and travel north to the edge of the Arctic Ocean and then the North Pole, before returning. The sea ice through these narrow straits is amongst the most dynamic and technically demanding in the world.
The team will have only their tent as protection against the, at times, brutal Arctic winter conditions and their trusty Inuit dog, Dave, as a companion and warning against over-curious polar bears.
The team are using one of our trackers which means loved ones at home can keep up to date with their progress.
For more information on the expedition please visit the Dark Ice Project website.
