we did! it we did it! we did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi I am back in longyaerbarn we did it the team got to the north pole and back !! absoloutly incredibly amazing i truly can't believe it i am so happy so so happy we had amazing weather it was an average of -25/30 but you get used to it cobalt blue skies and sun little wind we covered over 100 kms in 5 days unbeleivable we were truly utterly taken care of by powers much much more powerful than us i am beyond happy beyond thrilled beyond anything to be honest. i have skiied to the north pole unbeleivable but true!!!! the team were brilliant alan chambers our guide totally the best a polar legend, jeremy gane who organised it all was as ever utterly brilliant at arranging it all, (call him at charity challenge he will arrange any adventure you wish!) i will write a little resume later at the airport but thank you for your support i am the happiest man on earth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have been to the top of the world i have stood on the north pole its the best feeling ever ever ever, amazing fantastic yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

drama

last night we were told the runway had split at Barneo and we were going to have to stay at the north pole for another two nights before being collected... sleepless nights...

luckily however we were picked up this morning, the runway seems to now be fixed (??!) and we're due to leave in 50 mins, hopefully heading home! more to follow...

HE'S THERE...HOORAY!

No sooner said than done I've just had a call, they've made it, Johnny is at the North Pole, how fantastic is that! They are camping overnight before flying back to the main camp tomorrow. No more details apart from the ice is cracking really badly... No doubt there will be some stories to tell...

Will update again tomorrow as soon as I have more news but WELL DONE JOHNNY! So very proud of you! Hurry back safely!

lol Katie xxxx

he's nearly there...

Johnny rang this morning to say he was only about 14 kms away...they've had amazing weather and able to make fantastic progress AND if all went well they were hoping they might make it sooner rather than later...

Katie

Hanging around part two (day 8)

unbelievable... there was a chance we might fly today this morning but there is, believe it or not, a north pole marathon, 40 "Runners" are due to run at barneo. they all arrived a few days ago the run was supposed to be run on Wednesday but with the delays they were stuck along with us. the long and short of it we have been bounced off the plane by them, we were first in the queue, they left this morning in a hurry and we are still here, so guess what we are still waiting..... 8 days.............. maybe tonight?alan is doing his best.

Hanging around

Golly gee, this is getting agonising, as i have alluded to in past blogs i am pretty nervous about this trip. i am in the best hands possible no concerns there, its the unknowns which prey on my mind and there are potentially many. but worries are magnified by the waiting. we thought we might go tomorrow, at lunchtime we were told to be ready at 8pm we were, then wait, more news at 9 pm, none wait until 10 pm none then at 1030 pm no the flight isn't going. no criticism at all of the russian at barneo and here, that team are doing their very best but they simply won't let us go up to barneo unless its a 100% safe and it plainly potentially still isn't. i guess you have seen the huge crack a cross the runway which stopped us getting up yesterday, in the papers? they are sending the plane up with no passengers on a test and probably to bring prince harry back.. tomorrow at 10am we will have another update and we may head off tomorrow but our issue is we have been here waiting over a week and time is running out the window to get to the pole is short and barneo closes at the end of april as the sea takes over again and the ice melts.

Nightmare!

We boarded the plane took off and we were on our way hugely excited and extremely nervous in equal measure, crammed into this russian jet laden with 20 people and all our gear, people in seats and others perched on top of the kit piled up behind a huge net. over two hours into our flight 20 minutes before we landed on the frozen arctic ocean on an ice runway carved out of the frozen ocean we had to turn back, a huge crack had appeared on the runway and had we landed (as is wrongly reported on the internet apparantly) we would all be at the bottom of the arctic ocean. so i thank god that we didn't land but none the less it is bitterly disappointing.
we now have to wait at longyearbarn to see if they can fix/move the runway. of course there are people up there whose only way back from a frozen ocean is by this flight, three flights went up ahead of us, they are effectively stranded until the runway is repaired (including prince harry)
without sounding all mawkish or a bit of a nit, this is what adventure is all about, highs and lows and potential significant risk. but i do think as travellers we have a certain amount of hubris to think we can just rock up 700 or so miles from the mainland and land in one of the most inhospitable hugely un predictable remote wastelands and head towards the pole without risk in many many different guises. the ice is unpredictable, highly unpredictable we are skiing on a frozen ocean after all and ice melts even up there.
any way it is clear our time window is running out we defo won't get up there for two more days at the earliest and even that is highly uncertain,
the one thing though, i can guarantee, the russians who run camp barneo (and who i see very unfairly criticised by one very high profile group who are currently on the ices blog a totally unjustified criticism which exemplifies the hubris and arrogance referred to above..... grrr makes me very angry!) are the loveliest most thoughtful, organised team you could imagine their paramount concern is for our safety and they as well as our guides alan and mickael and the legendary jeremy gane who arranged all of this, as far is possible manage some of the many risks we face so don't worry we are in very safe hands and i will not do anything at all i don't feel comfortable with.
this type of trip doesn't come naturally to me i have to say and i forget how nervous i get but the adventure comes in many parts broken down into preparation and execution, i just seem to frequently find the execution part is thwarted by unseen circumstances!
any way otherwise all good stunning day here, the team are nursing sensational hangovers but, dear reader, surprisingly not me... it was a beautiful clear night and i walked back to our hostel at midnight surrounded by snowy mountains on the clearest crispest lightest most beautif

ul midnight walk you could possibly imagine, grateful to many for the fact i wasn't at the bottom of the arctic ocean!