February 4, 2014
The Incredible Lightness of Making Tough Decisions
It's hard to imagine a reality that spending $60,000 more than what you had initially planned provides a relief from stress, but surprisingly, it does and I can't even begin to describe the weight that was lifted after Ryan and I made the decision to extend our North Pole pick up date. Polar travel: the most expensive way of having a bad time ever devised.
While I love my life and the career path (polar travel) that I've chosen, the stress that accompanies planning, preparing and fundraising for these trips is, on most days, completely overwhelming. There are so many aspects of simply just getting to the starting line that when we are finally on the ice, in 50 below temperatures, with polar bears trying to eat us, I actually feel relieved! Over the past few weeks, we have been struggling with finances, logistics and trying to finalize all of our gear choices. Additionally, we had been hoping to find a third person to join, but with time running out it wasn't realistic to bring on someone new. After all, team dynamics will play a critical role in our success and Ryan and I have been focused on this expedition for over a year.
Of course, not only am I worried about getting to the start of the expedition but of equal concern is getting back. There are two ways to get back to Colorado from the North Pole. One, we fly out through a temporary floating ice base called 'Borneo' (or Barneo depending on which hemisphere you grew up in) which is located roughly 60 miles from the North Pole. Operated primarily by Russians, the base has shortened operations year after year after year due to thinning ice. In 2010, the last time I skied to the North Pole, the final pick up date was April 25th. This year, it's April 21st.
To make an April 21st pick up date means that we would have to ski to the pole in 44 days - five whole days faster than the best unsupported (no resupplies) time to date. Additionally, weather at Cape Discovery, northern Ellesmere Island is notoriously bad which could easily push our start date back - further reducing our time on the ice. Needless to say, trying to make the North Pole by the third week in April is a stressful, if not simply impossible, proposition but it's less stressful than Option Number Two because Option Number Two costs nearly $100,000. And I don't know about you, but I've never had $100,000.
The second option for flying out of the North Pole (the $100,000 one) is to charter a flight from Resolute. The plane, a twin otter, flies part way to the pole, finds a section of smooth ice, lands, refuels (with fuel that it was carrying) takes off, lands again at the North Pole (assuming there is flat ice), picks us up and then flies back to northern Ellesmere Island, refuels again and then flies to Resolute. Yikes. Scary for me, dangerous for the crew and expensive for everyone involved.
Still, Option Number Two gives us nearly two weeks extra time. That means we have extra time to get to the pole. Extra time should there be a weather delay at the start and even extra time in Boulder to finalize the millions of details.
One of my favorite sayings is, 'in order to be successful you have to put yourself in a situation where you don't have any other choice but to succeed.' Ryan and I have committed ourselves to this adventure and making the choice to spend considerably more money than we had hoped (or actually have) has left us with a feeling of calm. It is the right decision. And the safe decision. Our mission is about more than just two people trying to do some crazy adventure. We are hoping to tell the story of place that is forever changing.
Our expedition is called LAST NORTH because this may be the last time in history where this style of North Pole expedition will be possible. It's hard to imagine a place so remote and isolated that someone has to spend $100,000 just for a flight to get there (or back as the case may be). Yet that place exists - at least right now it does. But how can that same place be changing so quickly that even operating a remote base will be impossible in the near future?
It's difficult to put the stress of expedition fundraising along side the other problems that face millions of people every day. There is no comparison. Still, the North Pole is a place that binds us all together. And the fate of the North Pole could easily be the fate of us all.
Image: The view from the window of a Twin Otter while flying over Ellesmere Island in 2010.
While I love my life and the career path (polar travel) that I've chosen, the stress that accompanies planning, preparing and fundraising for these trips is, on most days, completely overwhelming. There are so many aspects of simply just getting to the starting line that when we are finally on the ice, in 50 below temperatures, with polar bears trying to eat us, I actually feel relieved! Over the past few weeks, we have been struggling with finances, logistics and trying to finalize all of our gear choices. Additionally, we had been hoping to find a third person to join, but with time running out it wasn't realistic to bring on someone new. After all, team dynamics will play a critical role in our success and Ryan and I have been focused on this expedition for over a year.
Of course, not only am I worried about getting to the start of the expedition but of equal concern is getting back. There are two ways to get back to Colorado from the North Pole. One, we fly out through a temporary floating ice base called 'Borneo' (or Barneo depending on which hemisphere you grew up in) which is located roughly 60 miles from the North Pole. Operated primarily by Russians, the base has shortened operations year after year after year due to thinning ice. In 2010, the last time I skied to the North Pole, the final pick up date was April 25th. This year, it's April 21st.
To make an April 21st pick up date means that we would have to ski to the pole in 44 days - five whole days faster than the best unsupported (no resupplies) time to date. Additionally, weather at Cape Discovery, northern Ellesmere Island is notoriously bad which could easily push our start date back - further reducing our time on the ice. Needless to say, trying to make the North Pole by the third week in April is a stressful, if not simply impossible, proposition but it's less stressful than Option Number Two because Option Number Two costs nearly $100,000. And I don't know about you, but I've never had $100,000.
The second option for flying out of the North Pole (the $100,000 one) is to charter a flight from Resolute. The plane, a twin otter, flies part way to the pole, finds a section of smooth ice, lands, refuels (with fuel that it was carrying) takes off, lands again at the North Pole (assuming there is flat ice), picks us up and then flies back to northern Ellesmere Island, refuels again and then flies to Resolute. Yikes. Scary for me, dangerous for the crew and expensive for everyone involved.
Still, Option Number Two gives us nearly two weeks extra time. That means we have extra time to get to the pole. Extra time should there be a weather delay at the start and even extra time in Boulder to finalize the millions of details.
One of my favorite sayings is, 'in order to be successful you have to put yourself in a situation where you don't have any other choice but to succeed.' Ryan and I have committed ourselves to this adventure and making the choice to spend considerably more money than we had hoped (or actually have) has left us with a feeling of calm. It is the right decision. And the safe decision. Our mission is about more than just two people trying to do some crazy adventure. We are hoping to tell the story of place that is forever changing.
Our expedition is called LAST NORTH because this may be the last time in history where this style of North Pole expedition will be possible. It's hard to imagine a place so remote and isolated that someone has to spend $100,000 just for a flight to get there (or back as the case may be). Yet that place exists - at least right now it does. But how can that same place be changing so quickly that even operating a remote base will be impossible in the near future?
It's difficult to put the stress of expedition fundraising along side the other problems that face millions of people every day. There is no comparison. Still, the North Pole is a place that binds us all together. And the fate of the North Pole could easily be the fate of us all.
Image: The view from the window of a Twin Otter while flying over Ellesmere Island in 2010.