I was turned onto Ousland through my meanderings around the Big Dead Place site. Ousland's insane...
For those of you following, he and his buddy have been out for two months setting a new record -- the first winter, unsupported trek to the North Pole. They dragged all their supplies behind them and, pretty much, dropped off the face of the earth. They were interviewed on NPR before they set out and I quickly forgot about them, but they just got back and that reminded me to go, oh, yeah, Ousland! What a story he is. So what did I learn? He kept a fucking blog throughout the trip!
Explorers Complete Historic North Pole Journey
After 61 days of traveling across Arctic ice on skis, Mike Horn and Borge Ousland have completed their unassisted trek to the North Pole. They're the first explorers to do so in winter, during complete darkness. Along the way, they fended off polar bears, illness and frostbite, dodged holes in the ice, and swam through unspeakably frigid water.
The two men departed from Cape Arktichesky in Western Siberia on Jan. 22 and reached the North Pole on March 23, after traveling 620 miles.
Horn, a South African, and Ousland of Norway had explored the region before, though not together. This time, they didn't have the benefit of airdrops of supplies or pre-arranged depots of food. They dragged sleds filled with all their gear for the entire trek.
The men spoke to Melissa Block by satellite phone from their tent, which is drifting on an ice floe about two miles south of the North Pole. They are awaiting a Russian helicopter to bring them back to civilization.
Ousland's site, and the blog from the trip, is at:
http://www.ousland.com/
