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Downloaded from
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.BZ

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>> I guess it’s T minus
12 hours now just about.

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00:00:26,219 --> 00:00:30,487
So we’re going to preload the
plane and at 7 a.m. tomorrow

5
00:00:30,487 --> 00:00:35,194
if the weather is good
we’ll take off to the ice.

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I think we’re ready.

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[ Music ]

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00:01:05,587 --> 00:01:09,997
>> It is difficult to pinpoint
the beginning of this journey.

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Was it the childhood dream
to follow in the steps

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of the superman, who
charted the maps of our world

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with their bravery, instinct,

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and natural connection
with the land.

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[ Music ]

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Was it the day the
thought entered my mind

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that to make the poles could
in fact be within my reach.

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Was it a year ago when I began
articulating the thought first

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mentally, then vocally, that
I would undertake the Everest

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of polar expeditions,
perhaps the toughest on earth.

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Was it 6 months ago when I
stepped up both my training

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and diet to increase
strength and mass

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so that I could endure the
brutal cold and harsh conditions

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of 6-8 weeks on the ice.

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Was it when lo and behold amidst
the failing economy minimal

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00:02:02,916 --> 00:02:06,646
funding came through to green
light my 2-member centennial

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expedition to the North Pole

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to commemorate Perry’s first
successful reach in 1909.

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Or was it just now as
I sit in the middle row

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of a fully booked flight to
Minnesota to undergo a week

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of shakedown training with polar
explorers to test the equipment,

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00:02:23,969 --> 00:02:26,840
the systems, and
our capabilities.

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Conditions here can simulate
the artic environment,

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and spending a week on a
frozen lake, sleeping in snow,

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and dropping into
a hole in the ice

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for survival tests can wake
you to the realities ahead.

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>> Mother flucker.

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>> We were leading by example

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into a wilderness
that is endangered.

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>> One which is suffering
greatly

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at the hands of climate change.

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>> We had a shortage
of food basically.

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>> We faced really, really
tough traveling conditions.

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>> Those decisions that we made
in the tent really hindered us

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from peak performance.

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>> We had very reduced
visibility.

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>> I was, I was physically
exhausted.

46
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>> Because I virtually could
hardly see a damn thing.

47
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>> Rescue is uncertain.

48
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>> The north pole is a very
very difficult experienced.

49
00:03:15,151 --> 00:03:18,923
>> And traveling to there is
the hardest trip in the world.

50
00:03:18,923 --> 00:03:23,862
>> The ice just simply opened up
from under me and swallowed me.

51
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[ Music ]

52
00:03:29,330 --> 00:03:32,200
>> I got the exploring
bug from my grandfather.

53
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He conducted safaris in India
and Africa in the 1940s and 50s.

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By midlife, he traded
his gun for a camera.

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My earliest memories of
photographs date from childhood

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and viewing black and whites
of his lions and elephants.

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I shot my first pictures
of wildlife

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in Africa when I was 12.

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From that time on,
photography has been my weapon.

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00:04:01,998 --> 00:04:04,869
With images my mission would
be to help people fall in love

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00:04:04,869 --> 00:04:08,873
with their world, because I
feel we will not save what we do

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not love.

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[ Music ]

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My first trips to
Antarctica were game changers

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and such rich experiences.

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It is also a system that is
challenged by climate change.

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I first went there in 2006 with
my friend John Quigley to send

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and SOS from the remote
iceberg in the Gerlache Strait.

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That trip consolidated
my love for the ice.

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And from it I brought
back impressions

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that changed my life.

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I had dreamt of reaching the
North Pole since I was a child.

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Today, that environment,
ground zero for climate change,

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is melting away at
confounding rates,

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and mild childhood dream
will no longer be afforded

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to the children of
future generations.

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Part of my mission is to
commemorate the remarkable feat

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of Admiral Peary, Henson
and his team of [inaudible],

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who set off on foot and reached
the North Pole 100 years ago

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00:05:12,968 --> 00:05:16,598
on April 6, 1909.

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But it is also to raise
awareness on the fact

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that there will be no
bicentennial expedition

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on foot to the North Pole.

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The arctic sea cap is
melting as well as so rapidly

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that it will be gone
in the summer months

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within just a few years.

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It is hard to imagine the
North Pole without ice,

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but that is the impending
reality that we face.

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This should send a
clarion to the world

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and raise a significant
call onto our responsibility

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to develop sustainably
[background noise].

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I do not know what
Duluth, Minnesota,

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looks like any other
time of the year,

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but in early February it
probably does not figure

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on many top ten destinations
short of dog sled training

96
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and outward bound programs.

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The approach by plane
spelled out the gray,

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00:06:05,546 --> 00:06:08,120
grim and frigid environment.

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What kind of individual
volunteers to fly

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00:06:10,221 --> 00:06:13,620
from sunny California
to this outpost near the

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00:06:13,620 --> 00:06:15,622
Canadian border?

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On the taxi drive from
the airport to the motel

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where we’ll be spending
the rest of this night,

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my driver assesses me
out by assessing the slew

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of sponsor badges that
adorn my expedition jacket

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and concludes accurately that
I’m not from these parts.

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After I share with him
the purpose of my trip,

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he tells me that 2 months ago
he saw the coldest temperatures

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ever recorded here,
minus 50 degrees.

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Minus 50.

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[ Background Noise ]

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Minnesota, it turns out,
can produce conditions

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that approximate the
artic environment.

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The land of ten thousand
lakes is ideally suited

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00:06:58,432 --> 00:07:01,534
within the continental
United States to train

116
00:07:01,534 --> 00:07:02,634
for polar expeditions.

117
00:07:02,634 --> 00:07:06,001
>> A balmy day in the arctic.

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This will be a joke compared
to where we’re going.

119
00:07:08,244 --> 00:07:10,213
>> After careful consideration,

120
00:07:10,213 --> 00:07:13,744
I will lead my own team
Keith will be with me,

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and I feel good about that.

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00:07:16,119 --> 00:07:17,087
>> [inaudible] camping.

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Four inches of snow.

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00:07:18,485 --> 00:07:21,389
>> I met Keith in training,
and we share a passion

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for polar exploration.

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00:07:22,918 --> 00:07:25,756
He is an expert outdoorsman,
and I am confident

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that his skills will
complement mine.

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00:07:27,328 --> 00:07:32,862
>> For someone like myself,
who is enamored by polar travel

129
00:07:32,862 --> 00:07:35,765
and polar history, the
opportunity to get out there

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and experience the environment

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00:07:37,437 --> 00:07:40,506
that those explorers were
traveling in was a highlight

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for my young adventuring career.

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00:07:42,442 --> 00:07:44,444
>> Keith and I are the
only ones here to plan

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00:07:44,444 --> 00:07:48,976
for the 5-6 weeks needed to
cover the 300 nautical miles

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00:07:48,976 --> 00:07:50,483
of the last 5 degrees north.

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In the years since Peary, less
than 150 people have traveled

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00:07:55,322 --> 00:07:56,984
that distance on foot.

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00:07:56,984 --> 00:07:59,756
Within the next few years,
no one will likely be able

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00:07:59,756 --> 00:08:02,957
to travel that distance any
longer unless they’re willing

140
00:08:02,957 --> 00:08:07,928
to travel partly by night
for the ice will get too thin

141
00:08:07,928 --> 00:08:12,636
and fragmented during the
spring days [background noise].

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00:08:12,636 --> 00:08:13,439
Up early to feed the kennel

143
00:08:13,439 --> 00:08:17,905
of sled dogs we find unusually
mild temperatures and rain.

144
00:08:17,905 --> 00:08:19,940
>> Breakfast of champions here.

145
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Five star accommodations.

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00:08:22,414 --> 00:08:23,779
Courtesy of Mr. Rick Schroeder.

147
00:08:23,779 --> 00:08:25,186
>> Thank you very much.

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00:08:25,186 --> 00:08:28,123
>> Rick, the owner of Polar
Explorers, later tells me

149
00:08:28,123 --> 00:08:30,819
that the shakedown is
designed to dissuade all

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00:08:30,819 --> 00:08:33,293
but the most committed
adventurers.

151
00:08:33,293 --> 00:08:35,790
In a flat, matter of
fact tone, he announces

152
00:08:35,790 --> 00:08:37,825
that the week has
been designed to shake

153
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down the less than super fit.

154
00:08:39,332 --> 00:08:41,433
>> It’s really beautiful
around here.

155
00:08:41,433 --> 00:08:45,238
Conditions are a lot milder
than they will be in the arctic

156
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as well as the effort.

157
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Pulling the sled is probably
a little harder here.

158
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The snow is sticking to the
sled, makes it a bit heavier.

159
00:08:52,443 --> 00:08:55,777
It’s about 200 pounds as
it is, this big one here,

160
00:08:55,777 --> 00:09:00,848
and that will be my
lifeline for about 6 weeks.

161
00:09:00,848 --> 00:09:04,257
All these lakes in Minnesota
would be very difficult

162
00:09:04,257 --> 00:09:08,228
to travel and hike around in the
summer because all those trails

163
00:09:08,228 --> 00:09:10,054
that we’re walking would
be filled with marsh,

164
00:09:10,054 --> 00:09:14,729
so you can cut trails
in the winter,

165
00:09:14,729 --> 00:09:17,765
and that’s what we’re doing.

166
00:09:17,765 --> 00:09:22,241
>> Gorgeous around here.

167
00:09:22,241 --> 00:09:23,176
[background noise]

168
00:09:23,176 --> 00:09:25,069
>> The mild temperatures
and the rain make

169
00:09:25,069 --> 00:09:26,136
for very slushy conditions,

170
00:09:26,136 --> 00:09:30,943
and I have some trepidation
pulling my 200 pounds of weight.

171
00:09:30,943 --> 00:09:34,286
As it turns out, the sled
starts gliding in the slush,

172
00:09:34,286 --> 00:09:37,685
and before long, my
body temperature rises

173
00:09:37,685 --> 00:09:39,082
to a steady sweat.

174
00:09:39,082 --> 00:09:42,525
This will be the biggest
challenge in the great north.

175
00:09:42,525 --> 00:09:43,889
Sweat can be deadly.

176
00:09:43,889 --> 00:09:46,661
The game hinges on how
to regulate the systems

177
00:09:46,661 --> 00:09:51,467
to maximize performance
while minimizing body heat.

178
00:09:51,467 --> 00:09:54,206
Tomorrow will be the
first test of endurance

179
00:09:54,206 --> 00:09:56,000
with 8 full hours of skiing.

180
00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:00,311
My body aches, and as I lay
to rest, I am contemplative

181
00:10:00,311 --> 00:10:03,479
of my limitations,
which silently scream

182
00:10:03,479 --> 00:10:04,711
from the depth of my soul.

183
00:10:04,711 --> 00:10:08,880
What type of man are you to
think you will succeed at this?

184
00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:16,227
[ Music ]

185
00:10:16,227 --> 00:10:18,725
The countdown has begun.

186
00:10:18,725 --> 00:10:20,892
I will set off on March 23rd.

187
00:10:20,892 --> 00:10:25,368
[ Music ]

188
00:10:25,368 --> 00:10:26,600
March 17, 2009.

189
00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,165
>> Tonight we’re going to be
honoring Sebastian Copeland,

190
00:10:30,165 --> 00:10:32,870
who is travelling
to the North Pole

191
00:10:32,870 --> 00:10:34,674
to raise awareness
about global warming.

192
00:10:34,674 --> 00:10:37,006
Global Green’s resident
architect, trekker, author,

193
00:10:37,006 --> 00:10:40,174
and board member, also an
Angelino, Sebastian will depart

194
00:10:40,174 --> 00:10:42,252
on a 2-month artic
trip to the North Pole

195
00:10:42,252 --> 00:10:45,146
to document icecap melts
to bring further attention

196
00:10:45,146 --> 00:10:47,049
to the loss of artic
to global warming.

197
00:10:47,049 --> 00:10:49,755
>> Today, the city of West
Hollywood made a proclamation

198
00:10:49,755 --> 00:10:52,791
of my departure and gifted
me with a certificate

199
00:10:52,791 --> 00:10:54,826
and a proper send
off at City Hall.

200
00:10:54,826 --> 00:10:58,225
>> It’s a great honor to
have you recognize this trip.

201
00:10:58,225 --> 00:11:01,766
As you’ve mentioned, the
North Pole is a rapidly

202
00:11:01,766 --> 00:11:02,503
changing environment.

203
00:11:02,503 --> 00:11:05,572
It has had the greatest
consecutive ice loss culminating

204
00:11:05,572 --> 00:11:09,708
in the last 2 year with about
a half million square miles

205
00:11:09,708 --> 00:11:10,544
of ice loss in the summer.

206
00:11:10,544 --> 00:11:15,175
That’s an area the size of
California and Texas combined.

207
00:11:15,175 --> 00:11:16,110
>> Welcome back to
Larry King Live.

208
00:11:16,110 --> 00:11:18,750
It’s now a great pleasure to
welcome Sebastian Copeland,

209
00:11:18,750 --> 00:11:21,819
the acclaimed photographer
and environmental advocate,

210
00:11:21,819 --> 00:11:25,591
who serves on the board of
directors of Global Green USA.

211
00:11:25,591 --> 00:11:27,791
His photographs are
see in the book,

212
00:11:27,791 --> 00:11:29,430
Antarctica, The Global Warning.

213
00:11:29,430 --> 00:11:32,730
The forward by the way of this
book is by Mikhail Gorbachev

214
00:11:32,730 --> 00:11:35,304
and the preface by
Leonardo DiCaprio.

215
00:11:35,304 --> 00:11:38,472
>> Larry King had me on the
show discussing the importance

216
00:11:38,472 --> 00:11:41,002
of creating an international
treaty for the protection

217
00:11:41,002 --> 00:11:44,511
of the artic and how
different the arctic is today

218
00:11:44,511 --> 00:11:47,613
than it was 100 years ago.

219
00:11:49,647 --> 00:11:53,113
[background noise] Training for
the pole is a daunting task.

220
00:11:53,113 --> 00:11:55,554
With 70% failure
rate, it presents life

221
00:11:55,554 --> 00:12:00,087
and death challenges for
even the fittest of athletes.

222
00:12:00,087 --> 00:12:00,856
>> Early morning workout.

223
00:12:00,856 --> 00:12:04,024
It starts with a
1-hour workout at 7.

224
00:12:04,024 --> 00:12:14,001
Then a hearty breakfast
Then [inaudible] session

225
00:12:14,166 --> 00:12:15,035
for an hour and a half.

226
00:12:15,035 --> 00:12:20,073
Then do some work and emails
and then in the afternoon

227
00:12:20,073 --> 00:12:27,783
with an hour and a half climb
with a 100-pound vest and in

228
00:12:27,783 --> 00:12:31,919
between just eat
a lot of calories.

229
00:12:31,919 --> 00:12:34,361
I think I want to take
him to the arctic,

230
00:12:34,361 --> 00:12:35,725
feed him to the polar bears.

231
00:12:35,725 --> 00:12:45,262
[ Background Noise ]

232
00:12:46,802 --> 00:12:48,704
>> The meditation practice
here will provide me

233
00:12:48,704 --> 00:12:52,302
with the strength needed to
combat the isolation one feels

234
00:12:52,302 --> 00:12:57,647
from traveling the
frozen wilderness.

235
00:12:57,647 --> 00:12:59,418
[background noise] My
daily routine then led me

236
00:12:59,418 --> 00:13:01,948
to my afternoon hike
at Runyon Canyon.

237
00:13:01,948 --> 00:13:04,753
I take my 100-pound
vest and climb

238
00:13:04,753 --> 00:13:07,855
to the grand vistas
of Los Angeles.

239
00:13:07,855 --> 00:13:17,227
[ Music ]

240
00:13:24,607 --> 00:13:28,875
>> One day all of this will
produce power sustainably

241
00:13:28,875 --> 00:13:31,680
and it won’t be [inaudible].

242
00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:32,879
Here we go.

243
00:13:32,879 --> 00:13:42,251
[ Music ]

244
00:14:10,245 --> 00:14:12,786
>> March 18, 2009.

245
00:14:12,786 --> 00:14:14,953
Departure is finally upon us.

246
00:14:14,953 --> 00:14:17,384
After months of training
and preparation.

247
00:14:17,384 --> 00:14:19,221
A seamstress works
late into the night

248
00:14:19,221 --> 00:14:22,092
to affix the sponsor
patches onto the outerwear.

249
00:14:22,092 --> 00:14:26,294
Meanwhile, back at the fort and
with the company of the handful

250
00:14:26,294 --> 00:14:27,932
of loyal friends, I stay

251
00:14:27,932 --> 00:14:31,232
up all night finalizing
the remaining items on my

252
00:14:31,232 --> 00:14:34,675
to do list and complete packing.

253
00:14:34,675 --> 00:14:37,040
I guess one never feels ready.

254
00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,175
They drive me to the airport,
and after a powerful sendoff,

255
00:14:40,175 --> 00:14:46,115
the plane takes off for Ottawa
where overnight I meet Keith.

256
00:14:46,115 --> 00:14:46,951
>> Hey Keith.

257
00:14:46,951 --> 00:14:47,621
>> How are you?

258
00:14:47,621 --> 00:14:48,150
>> Good buddy.

259
00:14:48,150 --> 00:14:48,721
How are you?

260
00:14:48,721 --> 00:14:49,887
>> We’re at the airport.

261
00:14:49,887 --> 00:14:50,317
>> Yep.

262
00:14:50,317 --> 00:14:51,021
>> Ready to head north.

263
00:14:51,021 --> 00:14:53,419
>> A quick dinner and
[inaudible] and then lights out.

264
00:14:53,419 --> 00:14:53,957
>> What is this?

265
00:14:53,957 --> 00:14:56,455
>> Neither of us have
slept last night.

266
00:14:56,455 --> 00:15:01,228
>> The morning ritual
of excess luggage.

267
00:15:01,228 --> 00:15:02,537
>> March 19, 2009.

268
00:15:02,537 --> 00:15:07,102
Early flight out
to Iqaluit today.

269
00:15:07,102 --> 00:15:10,237
It takes another 3-1/2
hours to reach Iqaluit,

270
00:15:10,237 --> 00:15:13,141
just at the edge of
the arctic circle.

271
00:15:13,141 --> 00:15:14,373
A layover there gives us time

272
00:15:14,373 --> 00:15:15,880
to make some last
minute food shopping

273
00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,685
and check the local museum,
which I visited last summer.

274
00:15:19,685 --> 00:15:24,284
[ Background Noise ]

275
00:15:24,284 --> 00:15:25,351
>> How do you feel, buddy?

276
00:15:25,351 --> 00:15:26,352
>> I feel ready to go.

277
00:15:26,352 --> 00:15:28,793
We’re still on our travel day.

278
00:15:28,793 --> 00:15:29,629
We have a few more hours.

279
00:15:29,629 --> 00:15:32,225
Our longest flight so far,
at least my longest flight

280
00:15:32,225 --> 00:15:35,063
so far is going to be heading
up north to Resolute Bay,

281
00:15:35,063 --> 00:15:38,330
and we’ll meet Ozzy
[phonetic] at the South Camp Inn

282
00:15:38,330 --> 00:15:42,740
and spend the next couple days
preparing to get out on the ice.

283
00:15:42,740 --> 00:15:43,335
>> [inaudible]

284
00:15:43,335 --> 00:15:48,581
>> It’s like T minus 4 days
I think, or 3 days now.

285
00:15:48,581 --> 00:15:54,147
We’re in Iqaluit, a stopover
on our way to Res, Resolute,

286
00:15:54,147 --> 00:16:01,452
and I think we’re both ready
to go, just raring to go.

287
00:16:01,452 --> 00:16:07,325
And it’s mild here temperature
wise, which is both reassuring

288
00:16:07,325 --> 00:16:08,931
and surprising at the same time.

289
00:16:08,931 --> 00:16:12,968
It’s been very cold
up north on the ice.

290
00:16:12,968 --> 00:16:15,607
We’ve had reports from
a couple of teams there

291
00:16:15,607 --> 00:16:19,172
that have been just struggling
with the temperatures.

292
00:16:19,172 --> 00:16:21,844
But it feels to me like
it’s warming up a bit,

293
00:16:21,844 --> 00:16:24,682
so we might get lucky yet.

294
00:16:24,682 --> 00:16:32,548
[ Background Noise ]

295
00:16:32,548 --> 00:16:35,924
>> The plane finally takes off
for another 3 hours up north

296
00:16:35,924 --> 00:16:38,861
with a short stop in Nanisivik.

297
00:16:38,861 --> 00:16:48,233
[ Music ]

298
00:16:52,841 --> 00:16:55,570
>> These are familiar steps,
retracing the itinerary

299
00:16:55,570 --> 00:16:59,848
of my summer but for one detail,
when I landed in Resolute

300
00:16:59,848 --> 00:17:03,445
in early July, temperatures
had hit a historical high

301
00:17:03,445 --> 00:17:04,721
of 67 degrees [music].

302
00:17:04,721 --> 00:17:11,661
Today it’s minus 36
degrees Fahrenheit.

303
00:17:11,661 --> 00:17:20,429
[ Background Noise ]

304
00:17:20,429 --> 00:17:21,671
>> Resolute.

305
00:17:21,671 --> 00:17:27,171
[ Background Noise ]

306
00:17:27,171 --> 00:17:28,909
>> Lovely resolute.

307
00:17:28,909 --> 00:17:33,474
It’s minus 36 right now.

308
00:17:33,474 --> 00:17:34,145
[background noise]

309
00:17:34,145 --> 00:17:36,785
>> The landscape is covered
with a sheet of white,

310
00:17:36,785 --> 00:17:39,820
and upon walking out of
the plane, the air explodes

311
00:17:39,820 --> 00:17:44,089
in my lungs like a
shot of adrenaline.

312
00:17:44,089 --> 00:17:46,520
Resolute is a town
of 200 people,

313
00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:48,159
but it is the logistic center

314
00:17:48,159 --> 00:17:50,996
for all activities
in the high arctic.

315
00:17:50,996 --> 00:17:54,703
It has taken 5 planes and 2
days to reach this outpost

316
00:17:54,703 --> 00:17:56,001
in the middle of
the freezing arctic,

317
00:17:56,001 --> 00:18:01,710
some 3500 miles north
of Los Angeles.

318
00:18:01,710 --> 00:18:06,275
The hotel brings back all kinds
of memories and some nostalgia.

319
00:18:06,275 --> 00:18:09,982
I’ve spent over a month in and
out of this hotel last summer,

320
00:18:09,982 --> 00:18:13,820
dreaming of coming
back to try the pole.

321
00:18:14,953 --> 00:18:17,120
March 20, 2009.

322
00:18:17,120 --> 00:18:19,991
Woke up today to find
Keith already downstairs.

323
00:18:19,991 --> 00:18:23,556
We spent a few hours
organizing our food allotment

324
00:18:23,556 --> 00:18:25,459
for the first 20 days, which is

325
00:18:25,459 --> 00:18:27,626
when we’ll get our
first re-supply.

326
00:18:27,626 --> 00:18:33,400
>> This is a ration for 5 days.

327
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,007
You got your cereal.

328
00:18:36,007 --> 00:18:40,879
You got your rice and beans.

329
00:18:40,879 --> 00:18:43,179
Your stews.

330
00:18:43,179 --> 00:18:47,919
Your breakfast, your
lunch, your dinner.

331
00:18:47,919 --> 00:18:48,986
Your company.

332
00:18:48,986 --> 00:18:49,416
>> Hey.

333
00:18:49,416 --> 00:18:50,516
>> Got your butter.

334
00:18:50,516 --> 00:18:52,022
>> And your bacon.

335
00:18:52,022 --> 00:18:52,584
>> That’s right.

336
00:18:52,584 --> 00:18:54,761
Then you’ll get a salami, bacon.

337
00:18:54,761 --> 00:18:55,256
>> Bread.

338
00:18:55,256 --> 00:18:59,657
>> Lots of fat, saturated stuff.

339
00:19:00,525 --> 00:19:02,362
[background noise] Here’s
[inaudible] not for vegetarians.

340
00:19:02,362 --> 00:19:09,666
>> This right here is a blend
of bacon and cranberries.

341
00:19:09,666 --> 00:19:13,637
So the bacon was fried
up just to the point

342
00:19:13,637 --> 00:19:16,749
of producing all
that fat grease.

343
00:19:16,749 --> 00:19:18,146
Cranberries were thrown in.

344
00:19:18,146 --> 00:19:21,149
Poured in a blender and
blended to this consistency.

345
00:19:21,149 --> 00:19:26,121
Now when we get up to the
arctic, this will freeze solid

346
00:19:26,121 --> 00:19:28,827
and we’ll be able to chunk
that off with our knife and eat

347
00:19:28,827 --> 00:19:33,194
that almost as a snack
on the trail or throw it

348
00:19:33,194 --> 00:19:34,195
into our dinner at night.

349
00:19:34,195 --> 00:19:35,493
>> This process is
a fine balance

350
00:19:35,493 --> 00:19:39,804
between calculating each meal’s
caloric intake and exacting it

351
00:19:39,804 --> 00:19:42,368
against the precise
weight will be pulling.

352
00:19:42,368 --> 00:19:46,372
It’s a virtual science, and the
magic number should not exceed

353
00:19:46,372 --> 00:19:49,209
2.4 pounds of food each per day

354
00:19:49,209 --> 00:19:51,783
for caloric value
of around 7000.

355
00:19:51,783 --> 00:19:55,579
>> This is 1 pound every
5 days for up to 2 people.

356
00:19:55,579 --> 00:19:56,216
>> Um yeah.

357
00:19:56,216 --> 00:19:57,580
>> That’s not much.

358
00:19:57,580 --> 00:20:00,055
>> Let’s stick this
stuff back in here.

359
00:20:00,055 --> 00:20:01,122
>> [inaudible].

360
00:20:01,122 --> 00:20:03,454
>> Oh yeah.

361
00:20:03,454 --> 00:20:06,863
Very important stuff.

362
00:20:06,863 --> 00:20:07,524
Toilet paper.

363
00:20:07,524 --> 00:20:09,592
>> One sheet per day.

364
00:20:09,592 --> 00:20:11,264
>> One sheet per day, yeah.

365
00:20:11,264 --> 00:20:12,000
>> And we wash it.

366
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:12,529
[laughter]

367
00:20:12,529 --> 00:20:14,597
>> Balanced protein drinks.

368
00:20:14,597 --> 00:20:17,336
>> This is the powder.

369
00:20:17,336 --> 00:20:17,765
>> Yeah.

370
00:20:17,765 --> 00:20:21,538
>> Herbal Life protein shakes,
power bars, electrolytes, candy,

371
00:20:21,538 --> 00:20:23,847
and cereal are carefully
examined

372
00:20:23,847 --> 00:20:28,181
to meet the exacting criteria
of the unforgiving scale.

373
00:20:28,181 --> 00:20:28,743
>> Got 4 bars.

374
00:20:28,743 --> 00:20:30,920
>> This is 5 days’
worth of food.

375
00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:31,987
>> Yep.

376
00:20:31,987 --> 00:20:37,827
>> Two people, one mission,
30 kilos, 30 pounds.

377
00:20:37,827 --> 00:20:39,862
>> Keith is a strict
numbers cruncher.

378
00:20:39,862 --> 00:20:40,457
>> It’s heavy.

379
00:20:40,457 --> 00:20:41,656
A little heavy.

380
00:20:41,656 --> 00:20:44,031
>> I am so used to
carrying extra camera weight

381
00:20:44,031 --> 00:20:46,595
that I’m somewhat
looser in the approach,

382
00:20:46,595 --> 00:20:49,399
but I know that out there
on the ice, after a few days

383
00:20:49,399 --> 00:20:52,700
of intense effort, I’ll be
cursing the extra butter.

384
00:20:52,700 --> 00:20:57,308
>> This is 4, 8, 12, 16, days.

385
00:20:57,308 --> 00:20:57,804
>> Right.

386
00:20:57,804 --> 00:21:02,379
>> Rick has arranged for us to
invite the elders to dinner.

387
00:21:02,379 --> 00:21:05,283
This turned out to be a
great, thoughtful gesture.

388
00:21:05,283 --> 00:21:08,517
[foreign language speaking]
The elders bless our dinner

389
00:21:08,517 --> 00:21:09,683
and share with us the manner

390
00:21:09,683 --> 00:21:13,158
in which climate change
is affecting their lives.

391
00:21:13,158 --> 00:21:13,819
>> [foreign language]

392
00:21:13,819 --> 00:21:18,900
>> Over the years it just
became smaller, smaller,

393
00:21:18,900 --> 00:21:19,693
and smaller and [inaudible].

394
00:21:19,693 --> 00:21:25,874
>> It takes 500 square miles
to feed 1 person in the arctic,

395
00:21:25,874 --> 00:21:27,502
excessive carbon emissions

396
00:21:27,502 --> 00:21:30,703
in our cities are leading
[inaudible] to poverty.

397
00:21:30,703 --> 00:21:32,771
Their culture endangered,

398
00:21:32,771 --> 00:21:35,213
they truly put a face
to global warming.

399
00:21:35,213 --> 00:21:35,916
>> [foreign language].

400
00:21:35,916 --> 00:21:41,020
>> After dinner, the
elders sign the polar flag

401
00:21:41,020 --> 00:21:44,056
that will be flying on top
of our tent every night,

402
00:21:44,056 --> 00:21:46,389
and they blessed our trip.

403
00:21:46,389 --> 00:21:49,963
Outside, the sun is
hanging low on the horizon,

404
00:21:49,963 --> 00:21:52,493
casting a pink glow on
the frigid landscape.

405
00:21:52,493 --> 00:21:56,200
Keith and I decide that
tomorrow we will ski

406
00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,104
and test our gear one last
time before departure,

407
00:21:59,104 --> 00:22:01,832
including our blogging
technology,

408
00:22:01,832 --> 00:22:04,109
an iridium satellite
phone, and an HP iPAQ.

409
00:22:04,109 --> 00:22:09,741
We will sleep on the ice,
preferably near a pack of dogs

410
00:22:09,741 --> 00:22:13,018
to provide dearly
warning for the bears.

411
00:22:13,018 --> 00:22:15,955
One was sighted outside
the hotel just 3 days ago.

412
00:22:15,955 --> 00:22:24,161
March 21, 2009, another day
going over the pack list

413
00:22:24,161 --> 00:22:26,824
and shedding a few more
pounds off the loads.

414
00:22:26,824 --> 00:22:28,264
>> How much is your
weight, Keith?

415
00:22:28,264 --> 00:22:31,828
>> I’m not too sure yet.

416
00:22:31,828 --> 00:22:36,942
It was a balmy 35
degrees below last night.

417
00:22:36,942 --> 00:22:38,241
It’s still quite icy out there.

418
00:22:38,241 --> 00:22:39,407
>> I’ve got a good friend here.

419
00:22:39,407 --> 00:22:43,245
>> We’re going to be
friends, you and I, aren’t we?

420
00:22:43,245 --> 00:22:46,579
That’s my personal
kit right here.

421
00:22:46,579 --> 00:22:48,184
Keith has got about the same.

422
00:22:48,184 --> 00:22:53,255
Camera equipment and GPS, iron
batteries, easy [inaudible],

423
00:22:53,255 --> 00:22:55,092
which is a killer item.

424
00:22:55,092 --> 00:22:57,490
>> In the tent, it
goes like this,

425
00:22:57,490 --> 00:23:01,791
and this is more
comfortable than most sofas.

426
00:23:01,791 --> 00:23:03,298
>>The cold kit here.

427
00:23:03,298 --> 00:23:07,302
For the colder days
and then this one here

428
00:23:07,302 --> 00:23:10,139
for the warmer days.

429
00:23:10,139 --> 00:23:11,008
>> Sauce.

430
00:23:11,008 --> 00:23:12,174
>> Underwear.

431
00:23:12,174 --> 00:23:14,672
Not many of them,
as you can tell,

432
00:23:14,672 --> 00:23:15,772
for a month and a half or so.

433
00:23:15,772 --> 00:23:22,415
Face gear, head gear,
glasses, the iPod of course,

434
00:23:22,415 --> 00:23:24,483
and then the base layers.

435
00:23:24,483 --> 00:23:25,319
The boots.

436
00:23:25,319 --> 00:23:26,882
Those are important.

437
00:23:26,882 --> 00:23:29,521
Quite a few pairs of gloves.

438
00:23:29,521 --> 00:23:31,655
One starter vest.

439
00:23:31,655 --> 00:23:33,261
Over mitts.

440
00:23:33,261 --> 00:23:35,428
Inner layer for the boots.

441
00:23:35,428 --> 00:23:40,367
Water and thermos and then
finally of course the sledge.

442
00:23:40,367 --> 00:23:43,601
>> We’re waiting for Keith’s
sledge to arrive in Resolute

443
00:23:43,601 --> 00:23:44,866
as it did not make it on time

444
00:23:44,866 --> 00:23:47,869
for the scheduled
flight on the way in.

445
00:23:47,869 --> 00:23:51,212
Fingers cross that it
arrives today by cargo,

446
00:23:51,212 --> 00:23:54,083
otherwise we’ll lose a day.

447
00:23:54,876 --> 00:23:57,713
[music] There are always
rich encounters in Resolute.

448
00:23:57,713 --> 00:24:01,056
People, who like us, wait
for the go ahead on their way

449
00:24:01,056 --> 00:24:03,124
to make their dream come true.

450
00:24:03,124 --> 00:24:04,984
Take Tuck [phonetic]and
Catlin for instance,

451
00:24:04,984 --> 00:24:08,195
who have crossed the
Chinese Gobi Desert on foot,

452
00:24:08,195 --> 00:24:09,956
over 4000 kilometers
in 6 months.

453
00:24:09,956 --> 00:24:13,332
Or Miguel [phonetic], who
is [inaudible] departure

454
00:24:13,332 --> 00:24:16,500
for a solo trip from
the South Camp Inn

455
00:24:16,500 --> 00:24:19,668
to the magnetic 1996 North Pole.

456
00:24:19,668 --> 00:24:29,216
[ Foreign Language ]

457
00:24:38,654 --> 00:24:42,393
>> Gobi refers to the type of
desert that it is as opposed

458
00:24:42,393 --> 00:24:44,263
to its geographic location.

459
00:24:44,263 --> 00:24:47,729
So there’s a lot of Gobi
Deserts around the world.

460
00:24:47,729 --> 00:24:50,302
[inaudible] happens to be the
largest of the Gobi Deserts,

461
00:24:50,302 --> 00:24:52,733
so people will tend to
call it the Gobi Desert.

462
00:24:52,733 --> 00:24:55,373
>> We started in the
middle of the Gobi Desert

463
00:24:55,373 --> 00:25:00,345
at plus 40 degrees Celsius,
and as we moved east

464
00:25:00,345 --> 00:25:02,974
through the winter, it got
colder and colder throughout,

465
00:25:02,974 --> 00:25:06,152
averaging about minus
35 for a 2-month period.

466
00:25:06,152 --> 00:25:08,650
>> How does this compare
to this weather here?

467
00:25:08,650 --> 00:25:11,289
>> This feels considerably
colder,

468
00:25:11,289 --> 00:25:15,690
I think minus 35 is quite
different to minus 40.

469
00:25:15,690 --> 00:25:19,099
I mean minus 40 and below
is quite a big jump.

470
00:25:19,099 --> 00:25:22,234
For some reason it feels
considerably [inaudible]

471
00:25:22,234 --> 00:25:25,897
and much stronger winds and
the windshield is a lot worse

472
00:25:25,897 --> 00:25:26,700
than what we have in China.

473
00:25:26,700 --> 00:25:29,868
>> And we walked from the
[inaudible] to the great wall

474
00:25:29,868 --> 00:25:31,474
and we walked right
out across it and then

475
00:25:31,474 --> 00:25:33,178
up over the Qinling
mountain range,

476
00:25:33,178 --> 00:25:34,774
which again is just a
massive mountain range

477
00:25:34,774 --> 00:25:37,347
in northern China, and
then headed out all the way

478
00:25:37,347 --> 00:25:38,348
across to Northern Korea.

479
00:25:38,348 --> 00:25:39,746
>> How long did it
take you to do this?

480
00:25:39,746 --> 00:25:43,122
>> That took about us about 6
months give or take a few days.

481
00:25:43,122 --> 00:25:50,053
>> 167 days it took us
with only 3 days off.

482
00:25:50,053 --> 00:25:50,855
A long time.

483
00:25:50,855 --> 00:25:51,394
>> 1, 2, 3.

484
00:25:51,394 --> 00:25:54,024
>> Final packing of the sledges.

485
00:25:54,024 --> 00:25:58,236
They weigh in at 190 pounds,
including fuel, which is better

486
00:25:58,236 --> 00:25:59,666
than I had anticipated.

487
00:25:59,666 --> 00:26:06,508
[ Background Noise ]

488
00:26:06,508 --> 00:26:07,674
>> About 160.

489
00:26:07,674 --> 00:26:09,709
>> We have confirmation,
weather pending,

490
00:26:09,709 --> 00:26:13,944
that we’ll be wheels off
at 7 a.m. T minus 10 hours.

491
00:26:13,944 --> 00:26:14,581
>> Oh, I know why.

492
00:26:14,581 --> 00:26:15,110
>> What’s that?

493
00:26:15,110 --> 00:26:21,291
Because you got your
extra food in there.

494
00:26:21,291 --> 00:26:21,885
>> Yeah, right.

495
00:26:21,885 --> 00:26:22,721
Toilet paper.

496
00:26:22,721 --> 00:26:23,590
>> Toilet paper, yeah.

497
00:26:23,590 --> 00:26:28,925
>> All right, we’re T minus 11
hours now, so after 8 months

498
00:26:28,925 --> 00:26:34,270
of waiting and planning
and suspense and, you know,

499
00:26:34,270 --> 00:26:36,272
whether sponsors will
come through or not

500
00:26:36,272 --> 00:26:38,803
and all the training
and everything else,

501
00:26:38,803 --> 00:26:42,136
and if weather permits and
everything goes according

502
00:26:42,136 --> 00:26:46,513
to plan, of course, which in
these parts, often doesn’t,

503
00:26:46,513 --> 00:26:50,385
but right now anyhow, we’re
leaving tomorrow morning at 7.

504
00:26:50,385 --> 00:26:51,650
It’s 8 o’clock now,

505
00:26:51,650 --> 00:26:54,686
so the evening [inaudible]
7 a.m. tomorrow.

506
00:26:54,686 --> 00:26:56,820
>> And could I just
ask [inaudible].

507
00:26:56,820 --> 00:27:02,264
For me, [inaudible] camera, but
why have you chosen to do this?

508
00:27:02,264 --> 00:27:03,860
>> Well, other than
the, you know,

509
00:27:03,860 --> 00:27:08,799
the obvious answers are it’s
the centennial of Peary’s reach

510
00:27:08,799 --> 00:27:11,207
of the North Pole in 1909.

511
00:27:11,207 --> 00:27:13,133
It’s clear that there
won’t be a bicentennial

512
00:27:13,133 --> 00:27:16,443
because the ice is just
changing so rapidly.

513
00:27:16,443 --> 00:27:19,809
It’s melting so quickly,
and it still gets very cold

514
00:27:19,809 --> 00:27:23,714
in the winter, but it just warms
up very rapidly and then all

515
00:27:23,714 --> 00:27:24,451
of a sudden it’s gone,

516
00:27:24,451 --> 00:27:28,114
and anytime soon it will be
gone in the summer months.

517
00:27:28,114 --> 00:27:33,327
But I think the underlying story
of any those arctic stories,

518
00:27:33,327 --> 00:27:36,562
and I think anyone who travels
in these parts would know is

519
00:27:36,562 --> 00:27:40,532
that you, part of those
trips is also just trying

520
00:27:40,532 --> 00:27:41,434
to find yourself in the process.

521
00:27:41,434 --> 00:27:46,571
So, it’s a, a kind of adventure,
and it’s of a climate message,

522
00:27:46,571 --> 00:27:49,607
and at the end of the day,
it’s a personal journey.

523
00:27:49,607 --> 00:27:56,075
>> What are you expecting to get
out of it as a personal journey?

524
00:27:56,075 --> 00:27:59,386
>> Um, well, hopefully
not frostbite anywhere,

525
00:27:59,386 --> 00:28:06,954
but piece I think,
what I like especially

526
00:28:06,954 --> 00:28:13,267
about those long solitary days
walking is the meditation,

527
00:28:13,267 --> 00:28:16,666
just to be in a mental
space that’s just your own

528
00:28:16,666 --> 00:28:20,032
in communion with nature
and feeding your soul

529
00:28:20,032 --> 00:28:24,410
in that process where you are
seeking to soak up everything

530
00:28:24,410 --> 00:28:27,875
that surrounds you and the
beauty and the uniqueness

531
00:28:27,875 --> 00:28:32,748
of that situation,
and by virtue of that,

532
00:28:32,748 --> 00:28:39,622
I think one feels pretty
unique in that moment

533
00:28:39,622 --> 00:28:43,824
as well, so that’s the idea.

534
00:28:43,824 --> 00:28:44,254
[music]

535
00:28:44,254 --> 00:28:44,958
>> You’re off tomorrow?

536
00:28:44,958 --> 00:28:46,190
>> We go tomorrow, yeah.

537
00:28:46,190 --> 00:28:46,761
>> How many?

538
00:28:46,761 --> 00:28:47,498
How many hour?

539
00:28:47,498 --> 00:28:48,258
>> Ah, 7.

540
00:28:48,258 --> 00:28:49,698
>> Seven o’clock?

541
00:28:49,698 --> 00:28:50,369
>> Seven o’clock.

542
00:28:50,369 --> 00:28:54,835
Yeah, we leave tomorrow
morning at 7 and uh.

543
00:28:54,835 --> 00:29:04,207
[ Music ]

544
00:29:22,895 --> 00:29:25,832
>> Our 6 a.m. weather
report comes in negative.

545
00:29:25,832 --> 00:29:30,001
Our team on the ice reports
low vis, and we’re back to bed

546
00:29:30,001 --> 00:29:31,805
until an 8 a.m. update.

547
00:29:31,805 --> 00:29:32,376
>> All right.

548
00:29:32,376 --> 00:29:34,411
Beautiful downtown Resolute.

549
00:29:34,411 --> 00:29:36,744
This is the South Camp Inn.

550
00:29:36,744 --> 00:29:38,845
They’re giving us a sendoff.

551
00:29:38,845 --> 00:29:42,079
Huh, you’re giving us a sendoff.

552
00:29:42,079 --> 00:29:42,551
Oh yeah.

553
00:29:42,551 --> 00:29:45,686
>> At 9:30, Steve
[inaudible] calls asking us

554
00:29:45,686 --> 00:29:46,390
if we’re ready to go.

555
00:29:46,390 --> 00:29:49,492
Like 2 bats out of purgatory,
Keith and I are on the go.

556
00:29:49,492 --> 00:29:51,890
>> Here we are in the van,
first step of process,

557
00:29:51,890 --> 00:29:54,893
getting out to the airport.

558
00:29:54,893 --> 00:29:56,290
>> Reality sets in on the way,

559
00:29:56,290 --> 00:29:59,997
and we both contemplate
our impending experience.

560
00:29:59,997 --> 00:30:04,034
Our friends at the South Camp
Inn give us a solemn blessing,

561
00:30:04,034 --> 00:30:05,805
and we ride in silence
to the airport.

562
00:30:05,805 --> 00:30:09,775
>> This is a good place for
doing a bit of thinking,

563
00:30:09,775 --> 00:30:14,516
personal thinking, and I love,
I love this space up here

564
00:30:14,516 --> 00:30:18,619
and then go back to
UKA with new ideals

565
00:30:18,619 --> 00:30:22,150
and [inaudible] for
the next year.

566
00:30:22,150 --> 00:30:23,019
>> [inaudible].

567
00:30:23,019 --> 00:30:26,693
>> Thank you mate.

568
00:30:26,693 --> 00:30:31,357
[ Background Noise ]

569
00:30:31,357 --> 00:30:33,128
>> March 24, 2009.

570
00:30:33,128 --> 00:30:37,198
Troy and Kevin, our pilots,
great us by the hangar.

571
00:30:37,198 --> 00:30:38,331
>> Hello.

572
00:30:38,331 --> 00:30:38,836
>> Hey.

573
00:30:38,836 --> 00:30:40,267
>> I just had a little
conversation with Troy.

574
00:30:40,267 --> 00:30:43,138
The weather has been steadily
improving throughout the day.

575
00:30:43,138 --> 00:30:46,207
The wind has shifted around the
southwest and blowing out front.

576
00:30:46,207 --> 00:30:48,978
That kept us from
flying away yesterday

577
00:30:48,978 --> 00:30:51,145
up north over the pole.

578
00:30:51,145 --> 00:30:51,816
>> So we’re going?

579
00:30:51,816 --> 00:30:52,487
>> So, it’s good news.

580
00:30:52,487 --> 00:30:53,114
Yeah we’re going.

581
00:30:53,114 --> 00:30:53,818
It’s all loaded up.

582
00:30:53,818 --> 00:30:54,588
There’s nothing in there.

583
00:30:54,588 --> 00:30:55,721
I just did a double check
of all of our equipment

584
00:30:55,721 --> 00:30:58,152
in the corner there, and
if it’s not on the plane,

585
00:30:58,152 --> 00:30:59,725
I don’t know where it is.

586
00:30:59,725 --> 00:31:08,096
[ Background Noise ]

587
00:31:08,096 --> 00:31:08,898
>> I’m all ready [inaudible].

588
00:31:08,898 --> 00:31:09,503
>> You ready?

589
00:31:09,503 --> 00:31:10,065
>> All ready?

590
00:31:10,065 --> 00:31:11,231
>> Yeah. All ready.

591
00:31:11,231 --> 00:31:11,901
>> All right, mate.

592
00:31:11,901 --> 00:31:16,070
I’ll see you on the other side.

593
00:31:16,070 --> 00:31:16,708
>> [inaudible]

594
00:31:16,708 --> 00:31:19,205
>> There’s a safety
card in the back.

595
00:31:19,205 --> 00:31:22,912
It’ll tell you about
no smoking as well.

596
00:31:22,912 --> 00:31:23,484
>> [inaudible]

597
00:31:23,484 --> 00:31:24,144
>> In here with us.

598
00:31:24,144 --> 00:31:29,116
And about 2-1/2 hours to Eureka.

599
00:31:29,116 --> 00:31:29,688
>> Excited?

600
00:31:29,688 --> 00:31:31,590
>> Always a little bit of
nervous energy on this,

601
00:31:31,590 --> 00:31:36,387
on the start of something
like this,

602
00:31:36,387 --> 00:31:37,497
but [inaudible] moving
out there.

603
00:31:37,497 --> 00:31:47,232
[ Background Noise and Music ]

604
00:33:01,271 --> 00:33:05,714
>> Two and a half hours and we
land in Eureka for refueling.

605
00:33:05,714 --> 00:33:11,984
[ Background Noise ]

606
00:33:11,984 --> 00:33:12,886
>> Is this it?

607
00:33:12,886 --> 00:33:14,449
Eureka.

608
00:33:14,449 --> 00:33:16,285
>> Here we come.

609
00:33:16,285 --> 00:33:17,627
One more stop.

610
00:33:17,627 --> 00:33:18,353
Stepping out of the plane,

611
00:33:18,353 --> 00:33:22,423
the minus 43 Celsius
temperature is a stern reminder

612
00:33:22,423 --> 00:33:24,458
of what lies ahead.

613
00:33:24,458 --> 00:33:31,706
A slight breeze, and that air
stings like a fist of needle.

614
00:33:31,706 --> 00:33:33,939
[background noise] A seam of
the fuel pump malfunctions,

615
00:33:33,939 --> 00:33:36,612
and Keith and I,
both giddy and cold,

616
00:33:36,612 --> 00:33:39,275
run around the runway
to keep warm.

617
00:33:39,275 --> 00:33:42,410
>> How many missions have you
flown to the North Pole, Troy?

618
00:33:42,410 --> 00:33:46,721
>> Ah, you know, I would say
probably about a half a dozen.

619
00:33:46,721 --> 00:33:49,889
>> What do you like
about this region?

620
00:33:51,055 --> 00:33:56,489
>> Actually, this is probably
the best part of the planet.

621
00:33:56,489 --> 00:34:00,328
Yeah. It’s unspoiled,
picturesque,

622
00:34:00,328 --> 00:34:04,002
and yeah, totally remote.

623
00:34:04,002 --> 00:34:06,707
>> We’re not going today,
so got to run out a little,

624
00:34:06,707 --> 00:34:11,140
got to run out a
little steam, stay warm.

625
00:34:11,140 --> 00:34:14,474
Possibly a little
frustration in there, but hey,

626
00:34:14,474 --> 00:34:18,686
we’ll have plenty
of time on the ice.

627
00:34:18,686 --> 00:34:23,691
>> Well, the weather closed in
on the ice, so we’re in Eureka.

628
00:34:23,691 --> 00:34:26,991
We’re about to take off,
and now we’re going to have

629
00:34:26,991 --> 00:34:30,258
to wait a couple of hours
and see what happens

630
00:34:30,258 --> 00:34:34,097
and perhaps stay overnight
here, which could spell trouble.

631
00:34:34,097 --> 00:34:37,166
Sometimes you’re overnight, and
then it becomes over 2 nights,

632
00:34:37,166 --> 00:34:39,706
and over 3 nights,
and over 4 nights.

633
00:34:39,706 --> 00:34:42,643
>> Well, the weather went
out at the resupply point,

634
00:34:42,643 --> 00:34:50,816
and basically fogged in, so we
can hold for a couple hours,

635
00:34:50,816 --> 00:34:56,855
and then we’ll be out
a duty day by then,

636
00:34:56,855 --> 00:34:58,219
and we’ll have to
wait for tomorrow.

637
00:34:58,219 --> 00:35:01,519
So possibly, we’ll end
up overnighting here.

638
00:35:01,519 --> 00:35:05,226
Or else having to
go back to Resolute.

639
00:35:05,424 --> 00:35:09,196
>> The last bastion of civility
before heading to the ice,

640
00:35:09,196 --> 00:35:10,802
Eureka, is a station battered

641
00:35:10,802 --> 00:35:13,838
by the merciless lashings
of the great north.

642
00:35:13,838 --> 00:35:17,039
The vehicles that make it there
know they’ve reached the end

643
00:35:17,039 --> 00:35:21,241
of the line and are resolved to
finish here without ceremony.

644
00:35:21,241 --> 00:35:24,640
The men who drive them
have stern faces shaped

645
00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:29,381
by their pioneering spirit as
with frontier towns of the past,

646
00:35:29,381 --> 00:35:31,416
people here are lured
by opportunity.

647
00:35:31,416 --> 00:35:35,321
But as the lines on their
faces deepen, they all seem

648
00:35:35,321 --> 00:35:39,962
to soften internally, moved by
the power of this harsh desert

649
00:35:39,962 --> 00:35:42,701
and surprised by the
answers that come to them

650
00:35:42,701 --> 00:35:46,298
from questions they
had not sought to ask.

651
00:35:46,298 --> 00:35:48,498
Eventually it would
seem everyone is forced

652
00:35:48,498 --> 00:35:54,174
to ponder the same question,
who am I and why am I here.

653
00:35:54,174 --> 00:35:57,012
In the white, stark
vastness of the great north,

654
00:35:57,012 --> 00:36:00,213
answers come easier
because there aren’t

655
00:36:00,213 --> 00:36:03,150
as many places to hide.

656
00:36:04,788 --> 00:36:09,387
[background noise] Out of
the cold, dinner is served.

657
00:36:09,387 --> 00:36:11,091
At our table, much
of the talk is

658
00:36:11,091 --> 00:36:13,929
about how multi-year
ice has become fleeting,

659
00:36:13,929 --> 00:36:17,328
systematically being
replaced by new ice.

660
00:36:17,328 --> 00:36:20,738
This confirms the scientific
data I know all too well,

661
00:36:20,738 --> 00:36:23,839
but it is interesting
and refreshing to hear it

662
00:36:23,839 --> 00:36:24,599
from their point of view.

663
00:36:24,599 --> 00:36:29,208
In fact, arctic multi-year
ice, ice that is 10 years old

664
00:36:29,208 --> 00:36:35,412
or more, went from 80%
twenty years ago to 3% today.

665
00:36:35,412 --> 00:36:39,019
New ice accounts for the fragile
conditions of the sea ice

666
00:36:39,019 --> 00:36:42,484
and how rapidly the arctic
summer ice can simply

667
00:36:42,484 --> 00:36:44,090
break entirely.

668
00:36:44,090 --> 00:36:45,927
It also factors why
in a short matter

669
00:36:45,927 --> 00:36:49,359
of time explorers will likely
no longer have a window

670
00:36:49,359 --> 00:36:53,165
to reach the pole as
we are attempting to.

671
00:36:53,165 --> 00:36:55,530
We will spend the night
here tonight and pray

672
00:36:55,530 --> 00:36:57,872
for our marching
orders in the morning.

673
00:36:57,872 --> 00:37:01,810
Next update is at 7
a.m. Hopefully, Sedna,

674
00:37:01,810 --> 00:37:05,143
the inward goddess of the
ice will be on our side.

675
00:37:05,143 --> 00:37:12,381
>> [background noise] I
think that’s finally it.

676
00:37:12,381 --> 00:37:13,250
>> [inaudible]

677
00:37:13,250 --> 00:37:15,516
>> You mean Eureka?

678
00:37:16,022 --> 00:37:17,826
>> I’m dropping to the ice.

679
00:37:17,826 --> 00:37:22,325
In about 2 hours we
should be on the back ice

680
00:37:22,325 --> 00:37:23,831
on our way to the North Pole.

681
00:37:23,831 --> 00:37:33,137
[ Music]

682
00:38:56,284 --> 00:38:57,086
>> [inaudible] on the ice.

683
00:38:57,086 --> 00:39:06,194
Troy is trying to get us a
nice pattern [inaudible].

684
00:39:06,657 --> 00:39:09,726
It’s not easy around
here because it’s filled

685
00:39:09,726 --> 00:39:10,594
with rubble [inaudible].

686
00:39:10,594 --> 00:39:20,142
[ Background Noise ]

687
00:39:43,032 --> 00:39:48,895
>> That’s what I call a
rock and roll landing.

688
00:39:48,895 --> 00:39:49,500
>> [inaudible]

689
00:39:49,500 --> 00:39:54,571
>> There’s no getting your
seat in the upright position

690
00:39:54,571 --> 00:40:00,676
and making sure your seatbelt
is fastened on these planes.

691
00:40:00,676 --> 00:40:02,314
This thing landed on
this really rough ice,

692
00:40:02,314 --> 00:40:03,084
and Troy is an ace pilot.

693
00:40:03,084 --> 00:40:03,910
He got us down here on the ice.

694
00:40:03,910 --> 00:40:04,954
We are officially on
the arctic sea ice

695
00:40:04,954 --> 00:40:05,747
about to begin our journey.

696
00:40:05,747 --> 00:40:06,649
>> It’s pretty exciting.

697
00:40:06,649 --> 00:40:11,587
[ Background Noise ]

698
00:40:11,587 --> 00:40:14,491
>> Like I said to another
group, welcome to nowhere.

699
00:40:14,491 --> 00:40:24,204
[ Music and Background Noise ]

700
00:40:25,403 --> 00:40:25,931
>> This is it.

701
00:40:25,931 --> 00:40:31,276
>> It’s like stepping on
the moon [background noise].

702
00:40:32,872 --> 00:40:37,480
>> We’re here, 86
degrees, about 300

703
00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:38,944
and some nautical miles
from the north pole.

704
00:40:38,944 --> 00:40:44,520
We’ve got about 34 days ahead
of us, and the journey begins.

705
00:40:44,520 --> 00:40:54,233
[ Music and Background Noise ]

706
00:41:33,601 --> 00:41:37,803
>> That was an awesome flight,
Troy, thank you so much.

707
00:41:37,803 --> 00:41:38,903
>> Well, best of luck, you know.

708
00:41:38,903 --> 00:41:41,509
Best of luck getting
to the pole.

709
00:41:41,509 --> 00:41:51,222
[ Music and Background Noise]

710
00:43:08,329 --> 00:43:11,662
>> These are the luxury
accommodations here

711
00:43:11,662 --> 00:43:12,300
at the Polar Inn.

712
00:43:12,300 --> 00:43:16,799
A little short on
amenities though.

713
00:43:16,799 --> 00:43:22,673
We called in for a shoe shine
but nobody picked up, so,

714
00:43:22,673 --> 00:43:29,713
there’s no late night snack.

715
00:43:29,713 --> 00:43:31,011
>> Yeah there is.

716
00:43:31,011 --> 00:43:31,681
>> Yeah? What is it?

717
00:43:31,681 --> 00:43:33,046
>> Leftover dinner [laughter].

718
00:43:33,046 --> 00:43:33,816
>> Yeah, frozen.

719
00:43:33,816 --> 00:43:34,717
>> Frozen.

720
00:43:34,717 --> 00:43:36,049
>> Yeah.

721
00:43:36,049 --> 00:43:36,653
>> No microwave.

722
00:43:36,653 --> 00:43:37,621
>> No microwave [background
noise].

723
00:43:37,621 --> 00:43:43,429
After a day on the trail, when
virtually every single stitch

724
00:43:43,429 --> 00:43:49,170
of item is wet, this is
what we use to dry it.

725
00:43:49,170 --> 00:43:51,205
This line right here.

726
00:43:51,205 --> 00:43:57,971
And this goes for long johns,
base layer, the second layer.

727
00:43:57,971 --> 00:43:59,543
>> Do you dry all that?

728
00:43:59,543 --> 00:44:02,008
>> Third layer [laughter],
fourth layer,

729
00:44:02,008 --> 00:44:02,711
fifth layer [laughter].

730
00:44:02,711 --> 00:44:09,685
So that’s going to be my
complaint to management,

731
00:44:09,685 --> 00:44:10,422
is I’m going to tell them

732
00:44:10,422 --> 00:44:12,622
to build a more,
more cabinet space.

733
00:44:12,622 --> 00:44:22,159
[ Background Noise ]

734
00:44:30,134 --> 00:44:31,640
>> What happened to the snow?

735
00:44:31,640 --> 00:44:41,178
[ Background Noise ]

736
00:44:44,917 --> 00:44:50,120
>> As you can see, the ice
frost inside the tent overnight.

737
00:44:50,120 --> 00:44:56,631
Um, we get the heat up with the
heaters in the evenings and then

738
00:44:56,631 --> 00:44:59,271
in the morning again,
but during the night,

739
00:44:59,271 --> 00:45:03,737
we’ve got to obviously turn
them down to save on fuel

740
00:45:03,737 --> 00:45:08,247
and the temperature drops
pretty considerably in the tent.

741
00:45:08,247 --> 00:45:12,042
And everything gets pretty
frosty, as you can see

742
00:45:12,042 --> 00:45:14,451
from all the stuff over here.

743
00:45:14,451 --> 00:45:23,459
This is what we get our water
from, the water reserve here.

744
00:45:23,459 --> 00:45:27,529
And this is our local chef here.

745
00:45:27,529 --> 00:45:27,992
>> Hey.

746
00:45:27,992 --> 00:45:29,696
>> Hey. I got some
breakfast brewing

747
00:45:29,696 --> 00:45:34,130
and getting it all figured
out here in the morning.

748
00:45:34,130 --> 00:45:35,339
>> That’s it, life in the tent.

749
00:45:35,339 --> 00:45:39,442
It’s a little tight,
not glorious,

750
00:45:39,442 --> 00:45:41,642
but the company is fine.

751
00:45:41,642 --> 00:45:46,207
[ Background Noise ]

752
00:45:46,207 --> 00:45:48,451
>> Second day, and
we are bushed.

753
00:45:48,451 --> 00:45:51,982
The ice is clumpy as we
negotiated a field of rubble

754
00:45:51,982 --> 00:45:53,654
that was pretty discouraging.

755
00:45:53,654 --> 00:46:03,191
[ Background Noise ]

756
00:46:34,726 --> 00:46:37,257
After 2 hours of
pulling our heavy sledges

757
00:46:37,257 --> 00:46:40,028
across these pressure
ridges the size of trucks,

758
00:46:40,028 --> 00:46:42,294
I looked up to see
the same landscape

759
00:46:42,294 --> 00:46:45,132
for miles in all directions.

760
00:46:45,132 --> 00:46:47,375
>> Well, this is day 3.

761
00:46:47,375 --> 00:46:50,775
It has been pretty cold so far.

762
00:46:50,775 --> 00:46:52,380
It’s sunny every day at least.

763
00:46:52,380 --> 00:46:53,239
That’s pretty good.

764
00:46:53,239 --> 00:46:57,914
But we’ve have between
minus 34 and minus 40.

765
00:46:57,914 --> 00:47:02,215
Both Keith and I have little
frost nips on our fingers.

766
00:47:02,215 --> 00:47:05,558
Like I said, it’s
been pretty chilly.

767
00:47:05,558 --> 00:47:07,593
On our third day, we
were trudging along

768
00:47:07,593 --> 00:47:10,289
and hopefully this will be,

769
00:47:10,289 --> 00:47:13,401
this will be a good
omen for the future.

770
00:47:13,401 --> 00:47:23,136
[ Music and Background Noise ]

771
00:47:34,982 --> 00:47:38,150
>> Like [inaudible] rock,
we pull our heavy sledges

772
00:47:38,150 --> 00:47:41,186
across this uneven
icy landscape,

773
00:47:41,186 --> 00:47:45,663
one step after the next,

774
00:47:45,663 --> 00:47:53,869
occasionally cursing
our decision

775
00:47:53,869 --> 00:47:56,102
to be here in the first place.

776
00:47:56,102 --> 00:47:57,070
>> Thirty-five north [laughter].

777
00:47:57,070 --> 00:47:58,609
>> Oh what the [beep].

778
00:47:58,609 --> 00:47:59,138
[laughter]

779
00:47:59,138 --> 00:47:59,709
>> [inaudible].

780
00:47:59,709 --> 00:48:01,579
>> It’s common for the first
few days of any expedition

781
00:48:01,579 --> 00:48:06,452
to be the hardest as you get
acclimated and enter a rhythm.

782
00:48:06,452 --> 00:48:08,146
We’re up for the
challenge and hoping

783
00:48:08,146 --> 00:48:10,346
that the temperatures
warm up a bit.

784
00:48:10,346 --> 00:48:14,988
Like nomads, trekking across the
white desert of another planet,

785
00:48:14,988 --> 00:48:18,761
we advance one laborious
step after the next.

786
00:48:18,761 --> 00:48:28,100
[ Music ]

787
00:48:57,062 --> 00:48:58,568
A gale grew from the west.

788
00:48:58,568 --> 00:49:03,100
Even 5 knots of wind lashes the
face like frozen razorblades.

789
00:49:03,100 --> 00:49:06,939
If indeed the human body has
100 million trillion cells

790
00:49:06,939 --> 00:49:10,074
in constant communication
with one another,

791
00:49:10,074 --> 00:49:13,748
then mine were all
screaming, I am cold.

792
00:49:13,748 --> 00:49:23,120
[ Music ]

793
00:49:32,865 --> 00:49:36,066
The cold temperatures
crystalize the water deposits,

794
00:49:36,066 --> 00:49:38,365
preventing them from
bonding with the ice.

795
00:49:38,365 --> 00:49:45,911
The result is like pulling the
200-pound sledge through sand.

796
00:49:45,911 --> 00:49:47,011
The terrain is never flat,

797
00:49:47,011 --> 00:49:50,113
even when hitting nice
pans, which has been rare.

798
00:49:50,113 --> 00:49:52,917
Mostly it has been rubble
fields which slow us down

799
00:49:52,917 --> 00:50:01,223
and can be quite discouraging
when they sprawl on for miles.

800
00:50:01,223 --> 00:50:04,533
[music] The mood varies
between euphoric and upbeat

801
00:50:04,533 --> 00:50:06,799
and frustrated and doubtful.

802
00:50:06,799 --> 00:50:16,171
[ Music ]

803
00:50:21,044 --> 00:50:23,584
Still, the arctic desert
reveals itself to us

804
00:50:23,584 --> 00:50:26,851
and all its majestic and
endless subtleties in the way

805
00:50:26,851 --> 00:50:29,755
that it only does to those
committing to traveling

806
00:50:29,755 --> 00:50:30,591
in its unforgiving realm.

807
00:50:30,591 --> 00:50:35,255
The luna vistas are
simply breathtaking.

808
00:50:35,255 --> 00:50:38,995
No life here and no sounds
but for the [inaudible] break

809
00:50:38,995 --> 00:50:43,494
of our feet on the ice and our
constant marching companion,

810
00:50:43,494 --> 00:50:49,236
the steady and heavy
rhythm of our breath.

811
00:50:49,236 --> 00:50:51,436
[music] The sun does not
rise above 15 degrees

812
00:50:51,436 --> 00:50:56,847
from the horizon at its apex
but no longer sets either.

813
00:50:56,847 --> 00:51:01,786
[ Music ]

814
00:51:01,786 --> 00:51:04,283
All this in the silent
and lonely universe

815
00:51:04,283 --> 00:51:08,023
of the intense effort
punctuated only by the sound

816
00:51:08,023 --> 00:51:11,290
of heavy breathing
and the endless sunset

817
00:51:11,290 --> 00:51:12,456
of the midnight son.

818
00:51:12,456 --> 00:51:22,169
[ Music and Background Noise ]

819
00:51:27,679 --> 00:51:31,111
>> Time to get up.

820
00:51:31,111 --> 00:51:32,145
[background noise]

821
00:51:32,145 --> 00:51:33,784
>> We started late
today as the wind

822
00:51:33,784 --> 00:51:37,447
from the south was
shaking the tent all night.

823
00:51:37,447 --> 00:51:39,350
Also, I think today is Sunday,

824
00:51:39,350 --> 00:51:43,760
and on that day we felt we
too could get some rest.

825
00:51:43,760 --> 00:51:51,801
>> Every morning [inaudible]
just grabbing stuff

826
00:51:51,801 --> 00:51:58,435
out of your sleeping bag and
hanging it on the line to dry

827
00:51:58,435 --> 00:52:03,208
so we can repeat that
process again the next day.

828
00:52:03,208 --> 00:52:06,783
>> We felt no rush in getting
beat up by the elements

829
00:52:06,783 --> 00:52:09,918
and we’re slow out of the tent.

830
00:52:09,918 --> 00:52:10,721
>> Um. Porridge.

831
00:52:10,721 --> 00:52:11,381
[background noise]

832
00:52:11,381 --> 00:52:18,388
>> Sesame seeds, oats.

833
00:52:19,125 --> 00:52:21,523
[background noise] We render
it with some Pemmican,

834
00:52:21,523 --> 00:52:26,363
which is basically just
bacon fat, bacon bits,

835
00:52:26,363 --> 00:52:30,003
and we’ve thrown in
cranberries just to spice it up.

836
00:52:30,003 --> 00:52:31,632
>> Lots of calories here.

837
00:52:31,632 --> 00:52:36,680
[ Background Noise ]

838
00:52:36,680 --> 00:52:39,639
To make up for what we’re
going to burn today.

839
00:52:39,639 --> 00:52:49,187
[ Background Noise ]

840
00:52:49,385 --> 00:52:49,989
>> Hey, hey, hey.

841
00:52:49,989 --> 00:52:54,796
Lovely day on the arctic
ocean here, 87 degrees north,

842
00:52:54,796 --> 00:53:00,032
3 more to go, 2 weeks in.

843
00:53:00,032 --> 00:53:06,533
>> That’s our loud
commentator for you.

844
00:53:06,533 --> 00:53:06,841
b

845
00:53:06,841 --> 00:53:08,304
>> Three hours in, we came
across our first lodge,

846
00:53:08,304 --> 00:53:12,671
open lead, and with it came the
black color of the arctic ocean,

847
00:53:12,671 --> 00:53:16,048
which of course is
constantly below our feet.

848
00:53:16,048 --> 00:53:19,017
[background noise]

849
00:53:19,017 --> 00:53:20,547
>> It’s all open water.

850
00:53:20,547 --> 00:53:22,955
That’s why we’re
seeing steam in there.

851
00:53:22,955 --> 00:53:28,224
It’s open from all the
way there and back here.

852
00:53:28,224 --> 00:53:30,127
About here, it looks
like it closes,

853
00:53:30,127 --> 00:53:32,096
so that’s what we’re
going to try

854
00:53:32,096 --> 00:53:35,132
and do is cross it over there.

855
00:53:35,132 --> 00:53:38,498
>> It was a complex system of
cracks in the ice generated

856
00:53:38,498 --> 00:53:41,567
by the awesome power
of currents and winds,

857
00:53:41,567 --> 00:53:43,976
and after following
its banks for a while,

858
00:53:43,976 --> 00:53:46,605
we finally found
a crossing point.

859
00:53:46,605 --> 00:53:51,114
>> Where a lead freshly forms,
it can actually undulate,

860
00:53:51,114 --> 00:53:54,084
rubberize, so it had some
flex, and we were okay

861
00:53:54,084 --> 00:53:55,614
with how much flex it had.

862
00:53:55,614 --> 00:54:00,354
[ Background Noise ]

863
00:54:00,354 --> 00:54:01,454
>> Looks good.

864
00:54:01,454 --> 00:54:11,101
[ Background Noise and Music ]

865
00:54:30,714 --> 00:54:33,452
>> Open leads and pressure
ridges are the biggest

866
00:54:33,452 --> 00:54:35,454
challenges to North
Pole travelers.

867
00:54:35,454 --> 00:54:45,134
[ Music and Background Noise ]

868
00:54:46,937 --> 00:54:50,304
We hurried as the environment
was rapidly changing

869
00:54:50,304 --> 00:54:51,470
and the lead widening.

870
00:54:51,470 --> 00:55:01,149
[ Music and Background Noise ]

871
00:55:31,409 --> 00:55:32,080
>> Cool.

872
00:55:32,080 --> 00:55:33,543
>> Yeah.

873
00:55:33,543 --> 00:55:34,247
>> Sounds good.

874
00:55:34,247 --> 00:55:36,711
>> Not so bad.

875
00:55:36,711 --> 00:55:37,580
>> Huh?

876
00:55:37,580 --> 00:55:38,152
>> Not so bad.

877
00:55:38,152 --> 00:55:40,418
I stopped there because I wanted

878
00:55:40,418 --> 00:55:44,960
to unclip my harness
just in case.

879
00:55:44,960 --> 00:55:45,862
You know, if you
go in the drink,

880
00:55:45,862 --> 00:55:53,662
you might not want all
this stuff attached to you.

881
00:55:53,662 --> 00:55:54,299
[background noise]

882
00:55:54,299 --> 00:55:57,566
>> By now, both Keith and I
have a number of frost bites.

883
00:55:57,566 --> 00:55:59,634
>> Getting better hopefully.

884
00:55:59,634 --> 00:56:02,208
>> One here and one there.

885
00:56:02,208 --> 00:56:04,914
>> This is certainly not
uncommon when travelling regions

886
00:56:04,914 --> 00:56:07,950
where men have no business
spending any amount of time in,

887
00:56:07,950 --> 00:56:11,481
but those nips have to
be carefully monitored

888
00:56:11,481 --> 00:56:12,987
or the risk could be loss.

889
00:56:12,987 --> 00:56:21,590
>> On day 16, got
arctic 2, Sebastian 8.

890
00:56:21,590 --> 00:56:26,198
>> This was another tough day.

891
00:56:26,198 --> 00:56:28,167
>> Brrrr.

892
00:56:28,167 --> 00:56:29,730
>> But it will change.

893
00:56:29,730 --> 00:56:31,599
We keep heading north.

894
00:56:31,599 --> 00:56:39,772
[ Background Noise ]

895
00:56:39,772 --> 00:56:42,983
We skied hard and for
the first time began

896
00:56:42,983 --> 00:56:44,513
to grow into our rhythm.

897
00:56:44,513 --> 00:56:45,778
We might have done
better mileage

898
00:56:45,778 --> 00:56:48,748
but for the many rubble areas
we’re still dealing with.

899
00:56:48,748 --> 00:56:52,355
This quantity of rubble and
pressure ridges is consistent

900
00:56:52,355 --> 00:56:55,689
with newly formed and
therefore weak ice.

901
00:56:55,689 --> 00:56:59,792
Multi-year ice, which is almost
all gone in the arctic sea,

902
00:56:59,792 --> 00:57:02,002
tends to be thicker
and smoother.

903
00:57:02,002 --> 00:57:03,762
It has more structural
integrity.

904
00:57:03,762 --> 00:57:07,832
It is amazing to consider
the awesome power of currents

905
00:57:07,832 --> 00:57:12,804
and winds crushing multi tons
chunk of solid ice like twigs

906
00:57:12,804 --> 00:57:15,378
and piling them on
top of one another

907
00:57:15,378 --> 00:57:17,578
like an auto salvage yard.

908
00:57:17,578 --> 00:57:27,125
[ Background Noise ]

909
00:57:36,134 --> 00:57:39,004
>> That is just unbelievable.

910
00:57:39,004 --> 00:57:39,731
This pressure ridge.

911
00:57:39,731 --> 00:57:42,139
Look at this right here.

912
00:57:44,406 --> 00:57:48,178
Look. [background noise] This
pressure ridge is being formed

913
00:57:48,178 --> 00:57:50,577
just as we speak.

914
00:57:50,577 --> 00:57:55,218
The forces are major
[inaudible] massive pieces

915
00:57:55,218 --> 00:58:00,751
of ice weighing just, I mean
the total [inaudible] billions

916
00:58:00,751 --> 00:58:05,327
and billions of tonsils of
ice being moved and crumbled.

917
00:58:05,327 --> 00:58:10,200
It’s really unbelievable,
extraordinary sight.

918
00:58:10,200 --> 00:58:12,631
>> Such is the power of nature.

919
00:58:12,631 --> 00:58:15,568
Our focus as a people
must be on harnessing

920
00:58:15,568 --> 00:58:17,702
that into renewable energy.

921
00:58:17,702 --> 00:58:27,117
[ Music ]

922
01:00:26,232 --> 01:00:26,793
>> [inaudible]

923
01:00:26,793 --> 01:00:28,498
>> I got the rope.

924
01:00:28,498 --> 01:00:29,928
>> Good. Excellent.

925
01:00:29,928 --> 01:00:30,632
Well done.

926
01:00:30,632 --> 01:00:36,869
[ Background Noise ]

927
01:00:36,869 --> 01:00:41,874
>> That’s not going to cross
the lead in the Arctic Ocean.

928
01:00:41,874 --> 01:00:47,153
>> Yeah, that’s a [inaudible]
creation [laughter].

929
01:00:47,781 --> 01:00:51,718
>> Not Cancun but
God [inaudible].

930
01:00:51,718 --> 01:00:52,951
>> Today was a grind.

931
01:00:52,951 --> 01:00:57,087
There were no gimmees, no
freebies, no mulligans.

932
01:00:57,087 --> 01:01:00,397
No this one’s on the
house or first ball in.

933
01:01:00,397 --> 01:01:02,993
Nothing but hard-earned
slow miles.

934
01:01:02,993 --> 01:01:06,997
>> We had essentially
a blizzard.

935
01:01:06,997 --> 01:01:09,637
>> The stress of the
cold was challenging.

936
01:01:09,637 --> 01:01:12,640
>> I had the good
fortune of fogging both

937
01:01:12,640 --> 01:01:13,541
of my goggles that day.

938
01:01:13,541 --> 01:01:16,039
>> We had temperatures
of minus 46 Fahrenheit.

939
01:01:16,039 --> 01:01:21,044
>> I was forced to relinquish
my position in the lead.

940
01:01:21,044 --> 01:01:22,319
>> You never know
what to expect.

941
01:01:22,319 --> 01:01:25,223
>> Once we got resupplied,
there was sort

942
01:01:25,223 --> 01:01:26,191
of a break in our rhythm.

943
01:01:26,191 --> 01:01:30,118
>> And our second ration of
15 days was a little short.

944
01:01:30,118 --> 01:01:32,296
>> Which gave us food shortages.

945
01:01:32,296 --> 01:01:35,332
>> Something out
there with someone

946
01:01:35,332 --> 01:01:36,663
when you’re both food stressed.

947
01:01:36,663 --> 01:01:38,764
>> We were hungry a lot.

948
01:01:38,764 --> 01:01:40,634
>> It’s what you
focus on so much.

949
01:01:40,634 --> 01:01:43,637
>> Keith was just
[inaudible] that day.

950
01:01:43,637 --> 01:01:44,968
>> It really pushed me mentally.

951
01:01:44,968 --> 01:01:46,035
>> What are you doing
here [inaudible].

952
01:01:46,035 --> 01:01:53,844
>> Just getting ready to send
a dispatch with our PDA unit

953
01:01:53,844 --> 01:01:57,287
and our iridium satellite phone.

954
01:01:57,287 --> 01:01:57,914
[background noise]

955
01:01:57,914 --> 01:02:00,147
>> This uplinks with the
satellites and we’re able

956
01:02:00,147 --> 01:02:03,788
to send images and text
messages and our position

957
01:02:03,788 --> 01:02:09,232
so that folks back at home can
virtually join our adventure.

958
01:02:09,695 --> 01:02:11,092
>> Hi, this is Sebastian
reporting

959
01:02:11,092 --> 01:02:14,832
from the Peary Centennial
North Pole expedition.

960
01:02:14,832 --> 01:02:15,469
I’m here with Keith.

961
01:02:15,469 --> 01:02:18,066
>> Happy Easter to those
that are celebrating.

962
01:02:18,066 --> 01:02:19,903
>> [inaudible] all
the well-wishers

963
01:02:19,903 --> 01:02:21,069
for my birthday, which is today.

964
01:02:21,069 --> 01:02:23,972
>> I’ll like to especially say
hello to my lovely wife, Stacy.

965
01:02:23,972 --> 01:02:25,644
>> It means a lot to
hear that from you.

966
01:02:25,644 --> 01:02:28,317
>> My son, Teagan, and all
of my family and friends.

967
01:02:28,317 --> 01:02:30,517
>> We’re beginning to
feel a little fatigued,

968
01:02:30,517 --> 01:02:33,685
and we’ve also cut
down on our weight

969
01:02:33,685 --> 01:02:35,323
by abandoning some of our food.

970
01:02:35,323 --> 01:02:38,657
We needed to cut down on weight,
otherwise we’re not going

971
01:02:38,657 --> 01:02:40,361
to make the pole in time.

972
01:02:40,361 --> 01:02:45,597
And Keith and I are both very
grateful for your attention

973
01:02:45,597 --> 01:02:47,897
and for keeping up
with the adventure.

974
01:02:47,897 --> 01:02:48,633
>> Over and out.

975
01:02:48,633 --> 01:02:57,136
[ Background Noise ]

976
01:02:57,136 --> 01:02:58,204
>> This is pretty remarkable.

977
01:02:58,204 --> 01:03:03,076
We’re witnessing one of nature’s
most extraordinary display

978
01:03:03,076 --> 01:03:03,681
of power here.

979
01:03:03,681 --> 01:03:07,916
This lead that’s been blocking
our way is actually closing,

980
01:03:07,916 --> 01:03:11,051
so the 2 plates are
coming together,

981
01:03:11,051 --> 01:03:14,493
and it’s in fact what is
creating these pressure ridges

982
01:03:14,493 --> 01:03:15,792
around here, but it looks

983
01:03:15,792 --> 01:03:18,629
like if we’re lucky this whole
lead is going to close up

984
01:03:18,629 --> 01:03:21,764
and we’re going to be
able to cross it over.

985
01:03:21,764 --> 01:03:31,136
[ Music ]

986
01:03:33,204 --> 01:03:33,776
>> [inaudible].

987
01:03:33,776 --> 01:03:39,683
>> The arctic terrain can be
unrelenting and unflinching.

988
01:03:39,683 --> 01:03:42,619
Yard by yard, we negotiated
the broken ice boulders.

989
01:03:42,619 --> 01:03:48,757
A mix of cruddy, powdery snow
swallowed up the sledge’s rails

990
01:03:48,757 --> 01:03:49,857
as it dragged [inaudible].

991
01:03:49,857 --> 01:03:53,224
Each section let another chaotic

992
01:03:53,224 --> 01:03:57,095
and random display
of nature’s forces.

993
01:03:58,932 --> 01:03:59,438
>> Yah.

994
01:03:59,438 --> 01:04:02,573
>> In this grand theater it is
hard not to feel insignificant.

995
01:04:02,573 --> 01:04:06,907
The purpose of our mission

996
01:04:06,907 --> 01:04:11,175
and its simplicity felt
all the more absurd.

997
01:04:11,175 --> 01:04:12,044
>> Nice job.

998
01:04:12,044 --> 01:04:12,615
>> [inaudible].

999
01:04:12,615 --> 01:04:21,624
[ Background Noise ]

1000
01:04:21,822 --> 01:04:23,428
>> Try and imagine a
giant crumble cake.

1001
01:04:23,428 --> 01:04:26,289
Throw it in the deep freeze
and now reduce your size

1002
01:04:26,289 --> 01:04:31,436
to about an inch, strap on some
skis, and decide to cross it.

1003
01:04:31,436 --> 01:04:34,471
Sometimes the best thing to do
is just to put one foot in front

1004
01:04:34,471 --> 01:04:37,739
of the other and move
forward without thinking.

1005
01:04:37,739 --> 01:04:43,645
[ Music ]

1006
01:04:43,645 --> 01:04:50,345
>> This is us after 14 hours
of travel, pretty exhausted.

1007
01:04:50,345 --> 01:04:53,787
We’re going into the
negative drift at this point,

1008
01:04:53,787 --> 01:04:56,559
so it feels like walking
on a conveyor belt.

1009
01:04:56,559 --> 01:04:59,892
Every mile we do we lose
about a tenth of that mile

1010
01:04:59,892 --> 01:05:02,059
to the drift pulling
us backwards.

1011
01:05:02,059 --> 01:05:06,998
>> We’re traveling on the Arctic
Ocean, so we spent 35 days

1012
01:05:06,998 --> 01:05:07,999
without touching land.

1013
01:05:07,999 --> 01:05:11,838
>> Plus there is no
point on the sea ice

1014
01:05:11,838 --> 01:05:14,940
where there’s an actual
geographic North Pole.

1015
01:05:14,940 --> 01:05:17,579
That night we realized that
we’d started drifting south.

1016
01:05:17,579 --> 01:05:20,648
>> That point is at the bottom
of the ocean and everything

1017
01:05:20,648 --> 01:05:22,452
above it is essentially
floating.

1018
01:05:22,452 --> 01:05:25,180
>> So the miles that we
were making, you know,

1019
01:05:25,180 --> 01:05:26,852
they were being taken away

1020
01:05:26,852 --> 01:05:29,921
from the sort of,
the arctic treadmill.

1021
01:05:29,921 --> 01:05:31,427
>> So we’re pretty exhausted.

1022
01:05:31,427 --> 01:05:34,430
The wind’s been whipping us
like [inaudible] all day.

1023
01:05:34,430 --> 01:05:39,964
It’s blowing about
25 knots right now.

1024
01:05:39,964 --> 01:05:42,395
And although the
temperature’s not that cold,

1025
01:05:42,395 --> 01:05:47,103
the wind is dropping
it by 20 or 30%,

1026
01:05:47,103 --> 01:05:50,370
so it’s about 25
degrees minus right now,

1027
01:05:50,370 --> 01:05:52,910
but it feels like
about 35 minus.

1028
01:05:52,910 --> 01:05:57,684
Although we’re happy to
be here, we’re pretty beat

1029
01:05:57,684 --> 01:06:00,455
up right now, right Keith?

1030
01:06:00,455 --> 01:06:01,182
>> I agree with that.

1031
01:06:01,182 --> 01:06:03,954
>> The drift was so strong
that day that we woke

1032
01:06:03,954 --> 01:06:06,527
up the next morning
behind the spot

1033
01:06:06,527 --> 01:06:09,223
that we had woken up
the morning prior.

1034
01:06:09,223 --> 01:06:15,569
>> From morning until evening,
hardly a word is exchanged.

1035
01:06:15,569 --> 01:06:16,570
The terrain was friendly

1036
01:06:16,570 --> 01:06:20,805
and relatively flat
and the scenery epic.

1037
01:06:20,805 --> 01:06:24,072
As each day rolls into the
next, there are no signs of life

1038
01:06:24,072 --> 01:06:28,076
to break the quiet
sanctity of our journey.

1039
01:06:28,076 --> 01:06:29,275
Not a bird.

1040
01:06:29,275 --> 01:06:29,715
Not a bug.

1041
01:06:29,715 --> 01:06:32,245
Not a plane high
above in the sky.

1042
01:06:32,245 --> 01:06:35,314
The feeling of solitude in this
white stillness [inaudible] some

1043
01:06:35,314 --> 01:06:40,725
screaming louder than despair,
but mostly I immerse myself

1044
01:06:40,725 --> 01:06:45,390
in complete communion with the
ice and feel at one with it.

1045
01:06:45,390 --> 01:06:49,998
One in 30 million species
inhabiting the earth, no more,

1046
01:06:49,998 --> 01:06:54,002
no less, and I get lost
in the unique privilege

1047
01:06:54,002 --> 01:06:58,511
of finding myself here,
nourishing my soul with the pure

1048
01:06:58,511 --> 01:07:01,779
and raw power of nature.

1049
01:07:01,779 --> 01:07:11,085
[ Music ]

1050
01:07:11,755 --> 01:07:15,693
We came upon an enormous
system of meltways frozen over,

1051
01:07:15,693 --> 01:07:18,091
remaining most likely
from the summer.

1052
01:07:18,091 --> 01:07:21,633
Huge waterways looking
like rivers stretching

1053
01:07:21,633 --> 01:07:23,932
for miles east and west.

1054
01:07:23,932 --> 01:07:28,200
It spells the ominous demise
of the artic summer ice.

1055
01:07:28,200 --> 01:07:30,807
Indeed, while it is
predicted to break entirely

1056
01:07:30,807 --> 01:07:33,876
in the summer period
by as early as 2013,

1057
01:07:33,876 --> 01:07:38,078
privately scientists fear it
might have happened last summer

1058
01:07:38,078 --> 01:07:40,750
and could any time hereafter.

1059
01:07:40,750 --> 01:07:45,382
[ Music ]

1060
01:07:45,382 --> 01:07:49,022
The broken ice in the summer
means the end of multi-year ice

1061
01:07:49,022 --> 01:07:51,860
and a rapid breakdown of
the structural integrity

1062
01:07:51,860 --> 01:07:55,490
of the sea ice regardless
of seasons,

1063
01:07:55,490 --> 01:07:59,769
but for us today it
was eerily beautiful.

1064
01:07:59,769 --> 01:08:09,075
[ Music ]

1065
01:09:06,559 --> 01:09:09,737
All cold environments are
challenging to shoot in,

1066
01:09:09,737 --> 01:09:13,103
but out here each opportunity
to shoot has to be measured

1067
01:09:13,103 --> 01:09:17,074
against one, the time to
stop, open the sledge,

1068
01:09:17,074 --> 01:09:19,208
and set the gear up, and two,

1069
01:09:19,208 --> 01:09:21,375
the cold that sets
in from stopping.

1070
01:09:21,375 --> 01:09:24,213
Consequently, shooting
is extremely challenging

1071
01:09:24,213 --> 01:09:26,215
and made all the more
frustrating for the fact

1072
01:09:26,215 --> 01:09:29,790
that there are quite literally
hundreds of shots daily

1073
01:09:29,790 --> 01:09:32,693
that cannot be captured
but to memory.

1074
01:09:32,693 --> 01:09:42,098
[ Music ]

1075
01:09:51,008 --> 01:09:53,505
Eerie and ominous
with a profound beauty

1076
01:09:53,505 --> 01:09:58,147
of the simplicity of void,
this lead spells the future

1077
01:09:58,147 --> 01:10:00,479
of the Arctic Ocean
as it breaks up,

1078
01:10:00,479 --> 01:10:02,547
its ice thickness
further threatened

1079
01:10:02,547 --> 01:10:08,454
by the exponential factors
of warm air and warmer water.

1080
01:10:09,290 --> 01:10:10,324
This lead was enormous.

1081
01:10:10,324 --> 01:10:14,559
Two miles across and its length
unclear as it stretched east

1082
01:10:14,559 --> 01:10:19,167
and west, well beyond
what the eyes could see.

1083
01:10:19,904 --> 01:10:23,974
The ice is rapidly changing,
and I wonder if generations

1084
01:10:23,974 --> 01:10:28,308
to come will have the chance
to do what we’re doing.

1085
01:10:28,308 --> 01:10:31,410
My one great privilege,
which will undoubtedly live

1086
01:10:31,410 --> 01:10:34,885
to be a great frustration
is that whilst witnessing

1087
01:10:34,885 --> 01:10:38,285
such unique signs, I know
that it is impossible

1088
01:10:38,285 --> 01:10:41,760
to capture its scale
and breadth on film.

1089
01:10:41,760 --> 01:10:51,165
[ Music ]

1090
01:10:52,496 --> 01:10:56,566
When the sky is overcast out
here, all manners of depth,

1091
01:10:56,566 --> 01:10:59,239
perspective, and
height disappear.

1092
01:10:59,239 --> 01:11:03,781
The pale shade that normally
gives the icy terrain its detail

1093
01:11:03,781 --> 01:11:05,080
is completely gone.

1094
01:11:05,080 --> 01:11:08,786
What remains is the seemingly
posturized ice blue color

1095
01:11:08,786 --> 01:11:12,582
of most pressure
ridges and pure white.

1096
01:11:12,582 --> 01:11:19,896
[ Background Noise ]

1097
01:11:19,896 --> 01:11:23,559
The morale was low as yet
another reality sunk in.

1098
01:11:23,559 --> 01:11:26,837
At the rate we’ve been going,
we’ll not make the pole on time

1099
01:11:26,837 --> 01:11:31,699
to exit through Barneo, so the
additional challenge is set,

1100
01:11:31,699 --> 01:11:33,668
the race against
the clock is on.

1101
01:11:33,668 --> 01:11:36,308
We need to average 12
nautical miles a day,

1102
01:11:36,308 --> 01:11:40,245
which we’ve not done so far
and not for lack of trying.

1103
01:11:40,245 --> 01:11:42,512
There are signs we’re
drifting south.

1104
01:11:42,512 --> 01:11:46,615
We lost a mile last night,
and by the time we wake up,

1105
01:11:46,615 --> 01:11:48,055
we’ll have lost another mile.

1106
01:11:48,055 --> 01:11:52,092
The drift is taking us
backwards, which is not unusual.

1107
01:11:52,092 --> 01:11:56,492
We’ll restrategize, but
for now, we’re dead tired

1108
01:11:56,492 --> 01:11:58,626
and we’ll seek sleep
for counsel.

1109
01:11:58,626 --> 01:12:07,007
[ Background Noise ]

1110
01:12:07,007 --> 01:12:08,768
>> I look forward to
frosty sleeping bag

1111
01:12:08,768 --> 01:12:12,574
out of its compressive bag.

1112
01:12:12,574 --> 01:12:22,121
[ Background Noise ]

1113
01:12:30,865 --> 01:12:35,794
>> I’m actually shivering right
now, so [background noise]

1114
01:12:35,794 --> 01:12:38,764
and I’m not fully cocooned.

1115
01:12:39,699 --> 01:12:42,844
>> All right.

1116
01:12:42,844 --> 01:12:43,769
Good night.

1117
01:12:43,769 --> 01:12:50,412
[ Music ]

1118
01:12:50,412 --> 01:12:53,646
>> I cannot help but think of
Peary, Henson, and the 4 Inuits

1119
01:12:53,646 --> 01:12:56,990
on their team and how after
reaching the pole on April 6,

1120
01:12:56,990 --> 01:13:01,928
1909, they then had to face
the unassisted return to land

1121
01:13:01,928 --> 01:13:03,524
for many more months
of journeying.

1122
01:13:03,524 --> 01:13:07,396
There were no satellite
phones, no blogs, no power bars,

1123
01:13:07,396 --> 01:13:11,466
no technology developed
fabrics, no nylon tents.

1124
01:13:11,466 --> 01:13:13,973
Just 6 brave men
facing the unknown

1125
01:13:13,973 --> 01:13:16,735
with no safety net
and no backup.

1126
01:13:16,735 --> 01:13:21,915
[ Music ]

1127
01:13:21,915 --> 01:13:23,983
The race for the
pole is still on.

1128
01:13:23,983 --> 01:13:26,645
We hope for good luck
in the terrain again

1129
01:13:26,645 --> 01:13:29,681
so we can maintain our speed.

1130
01:13:30,682 --> 01:13:31,716
We’ve been told categorically

1131
01:13:31,716 --> 01:13:35,522
that our flight off the ice
will be no later than the 26th

1132
01:13:35,522 --> 01:13:37,963
in the a.m. as Barneo closes.

1133
01:13:37,963 --> 01:13:41,230
Barneo used to close
later in May,

1134
01:13:41,230 --> 01:13:44,332
but the rising temperatures
have made this too precarious

1135
01:13:44,332 --> 01:13:47,533
for this floating station
servicing expeditions

1136
01:13:47,533 --> 01:13:50,404
and scientific research
on the ice for 4 weeks.

1137
01:13:50,404 --> 01:13:56,146
[background noise]
Yesterday I said that the ice

1138
01:13:56,146 --> 01:13:58,841
on the lead generally
doesn’t break at once.

1139
01:13:58,841 --> 01:14:02,317
Well, sometimes it does.

1140
01:14:02,317 --> 01:14:03,417
And today it did.

1141
01:14:03,417 --> 01:14:04,989
>> So we were investigating
something

1142
01:14:04,989 --> 01:14:08,058
that looked potentially
passable.

1143
01:14:08,058 --> 01:14:10,962
>> I took a chance on it because
I was trying to make time.

1144
01:14:10,962 --> 01:14:13,757
>> The only way to find
out is if you, you know,

1145
01:14:13,757 --> 01:14:16,495
take the initiative to
walk out there and see

1146
01:14:16,495 --> 01:14:18,629
if it’s going to
hold your weight.

1147
01:14:18,629 --> 01:14:21,401
>> We were trying to make
time and had a good start

1148
01:14:21,401 --> 01:14:24,272
until a small east-west
lead blocked our way.

1149
01:14:24,272 --> 01:14:27,440
A narrow sectioned looked
questionable but doable

1150
01:14:27,440 --> 01:14:30,476
as it was only about
10 feet wide.

1151
01:14:30,476 --> 01:14:32,950
Unhooked from the
sledge, stepped carefully

1152
01:14:32,950 --> 01:14:37,955
on the flexing ice, took
one large step forward,

1153
01:14:38,715 --> 01:14:40,254
and [inaudible].

1154
01:14:41,652 --> 01:14:44,621
The ice gave in from
under me and I slowly

1155
01:14:44,621 --> 01:14:49,494
but inescapably sunk to
my neck in arctic water.

1156
01:14:49,494 --> 01:14:51,331
It was fortunate that he
had loosened his skis.

1157
01:14:51,331 --> 01:14:54,103
>> I kicked them off and they
floated up to the surface.

1158
01:14:54,103 --> 01:14:56,435
>> It took about 2
paddle strokes to get

1159
01:14:56,435 --> 01:14:57,139
to the edge where I was.

1160
01:14:57,139 --> 01:15:01,076
>> I got to pull myself up
with Keith’s assistance.

1161
01:15:01,076 --> 01:15:03,805
>> Keith quickly threw me
a line and pulled me out,

1162
01:15:03,805 --> 01:15:07,984
which left me drifting in
negative 35 degrees Celsius.

1163
01:15:07,984 --> 01:15:10,382
It goes without saying that
getting down to your skivvies

1164
01:15:10,382 --> 01:15:14,188
under those conditions isn’t
anyone’s idea of a good time.

1165
01:15:14,188 --> 01:15:17,885
>> And I rolled into the snow,
at least the ice to absorb

1166
01:15:17,885 --> 01:15:19,953
as much of the moisture
as possible.

1167
01:15:19,953 --> 01:15:21,492
>> The powder snow is so dry

1168
01:15:21,492 --> 01:15:24,594
that when it hits the water
it acts like a sponge.

1169
01:15:24,594 --> 01:15:25,397
>> You know, it was unpleasant,

1170
01:15:25,397 --> 01:15:27,729
but it was a quick
moment in time.

1171
01:15:27,729 --> 01:15:29,830
>> There is no other
better remedy

1172
01:15:29,830 --> 01:15:32,172
for hypothermia than activity.

1173
01:15:32,172 --> 01:15:36,308
>> There are funner things to
do to be sure in the arctic

1174
01:15:36,308 --> 01:15:43,414
than to change and get naked
in those frigid temperatures.

1175
01:15:43,414 --> 01:15:45,680
>> One of the great lessons
of this environment is

1176
01:15:45,680 --> 01:15:49,585
that there are no timeouts,
no quitting, and no savior.

1177
01:15:49,585 --> 01:15:52,060
The mess you’re in
is your to clean,

1178
01:15:52,060 --> 01:15:55,558
and this responsibility
works anywhere.

1179
01:15:55,558 --> 01:16:03,566
[ Background Noise ]

1180
01:16:03,566 --> 01:16:06,469
With nothing but open space
in front of me, a motive

1181
01:16:06,469 --> 01:16:10,077
and skied hard, my legs
got sucked into the rhythm

1182
01:16:10,077 --> 01:16:12,343
and never complained nor
did Keith though I knew

1183
01:16:12,343 --> 01:16:17,008
that his hip bothered him, but
the day was set to put a mark

1184
01:16:17,008 --> 01:16:18,217
on our vanishing legacy.

1185
01:16:18,217 --> 01:16:21,748
Each hour that passed was
punctuated by the pleasing speed

1186
01:16:21,748 --> 01:16:24,850
that would define our last
traveling day and the looming

1187
01:16:24,850 --> 01:16:28,160
and steady creep of a
countdown that brought a mix

1188
01:16:28,160 --> 01:16:29,954
of relief and sadness.

1189
01:16:29,954 --> 01:16:33,595
The last few days have been
the toughest, but today,

1190
01:16:33,595 --> 01:16:35,025
in spite of the wind’s chill,

1191
01:16:35,025 --> 01:16:37,632
we’re eating miles
and feel unstoppable.

1192
01:16:37,632 --> 01:16:39,964
[background noise] As if

1193
01:16:42,967 --> 01:16:46,211
to teach us one more time the
meaning of the word respect,

1194
01:16:46,211 --> 01:16:50,006
the pack ice through a field
of junky, powdery blocks at us

1195
01:16:50,006 --> 01:16:53,416
and the clouds overtook the
sun to flatten out the detail

1196
01:16:53,416 --> 01:16:56,947
in the terrain one more time.

1197
01:16:56,947 --> 01:16:58,222
I was anxious pushing forward,

1198
01:16:58,222 --> 01:17:00,588
intent in reaching
our farthest north.

1199
01:17:00,588 --> 01:17:06,131
[ Background Noise ]

1200
01:17:06,131 --> 01:17:06,792
Then it all cleared.

1201
01:17:06,792 --> 01:17:12,533
The sky, the wind, the rubble,
and the end came abruptly,

1202
01:17:12,533 --> 01:17:15,239
systematic, and unapologetic.

1203
01:17:15,239 --> 01:17:18,539
Ahead of us and within
reach on a flat pan framed

1204
01:17:18,539 --> 01:17:21,938
by pressure ridges stood
my childhood dream.

1205
01:17:21,938 --> 01:17:25,546
The point that makes explorers
through the ages squint

1206
01:17:25,546 --> 01:17:27,911
with wonder does not
surrender easily.

1207
01:17:27,911 --> 01:17:40,725
I was determined, GPS in hand,
to see those numbers line up

1208
01:17:41,023 --> 01:17:51,274
and on Peary and his men and
where they stood 100 years ago.

1209
01:17:55,145 --> 01:17:59,040
>> 598. 599.

1210
01:17:59,040 --> 01:18:01,316
Zeros. This is it.

1211
01:18:01,316 --> 01:18:01,878
Right here.

1212
01:18:01,878 --> 01:18:02,615
This is it.

1213
01:18:02,615 --> 01:18:07,190
This is right, the
north pole, right here.

1214
01:18:07,190 --> 01:18:10,292
From this point forth,
no matter where you go,

1215
01:18:10,292 --> 01:18:14,725
no matter what direction
I go, I’m going south.

1216
01:18:14,725 --> 01:18:15,528
And here’s the other thing.

1217
01:18:15,528 --> 01:18:16,661
If I do this, let’s see,
uh [background noise].

1218
01:18:16,661 --> 01:18:17,167
All right.

1219
01:18:17,167 --> 01:18:17,959
And in doing this right now.

1220
01:18:17,959 --> 01:18:24,438
[ Background Noise ]

1221
01:18:24,438 --> 01:18:32,006
I [inaudible] through every
single time now on the planet.

1222
01:18:32,006 --> 01:18:32,511
This is it.

1223
01:18:32,511 --> 01:18:35,746
That’s the North
Pole right here.

1224
01:18:35,746 --> 01:18:37,384
The top of the world.

1225
01:18:37,384 --> 01:18:40,255
I made it.

1226
01:18:40,255 --> 01:18:41,147
It’s pretty exciting.

1227
01:18:41,147 --> 01:18:46,855
>> And then seconds, just
like that, it was gone.

1228
01:18:46,855 --> 01:18:49,363
That point from which
any step heads south,

1229
01:18:49,363 --> 01:18:53,631
the top of the world, where
all longitudinal lines blend

1230
01:18:53,631 --> 01:18:55,368
and all time zones meet,

1231
01:18:55,368 --> 01:18:57,932
where the world rotates
below your feet.

1232
01:18:57,932 --> 01:19:02,606
That point was mine for
one brief ethereal instant,

1233
01:19:02,606 --> 01:19:05,071
and then no more.

1234
01:19:05,071 --> 01:19:06,875
Beneath the crusty face mask,

1235
01:19:06,875 --> 01:19:08,810
and under my icy
rough [inaudible],

1236
01:19:08,810 --> 01:19:11,219
the breath I took filled
my heart with the essence

1237
01:19:11,219 --> 01:19:14,179
of purpose and a
mission accomplished.

1238
01:19:14,179 --> 01:19:17,753
For a while I stared in silence
at the field in front of me,

1239
01:19:17,753 --> 01:19:21,086
taking in the open,
unrestricted ice kingdom,

1240
01:19:21,086 --> 01:19:24,056
committing to memory its
vastness and the contours

1241
01:19:24,056 --> 01:19:26,564
of the mounds and
riches framing it.

1242
01:19:26,564 --> 01:19:29,566
Noting the way that the
sun defined the terrain,

1243
01:19:29,566 --> 01:19:31,866
feeling the wind
biting my left side.

1244
01:19:31,866 --> 01:19:35,572
I heard my heart pounding fresh
from the effort, tugging at me

1245
01:19:35,572 --> 01:19:39,279
with undecided trepidation,
not sure whether to weep

1246
01:19:39,279 --> 01:19:43,250
in relief or beg for more.

1247
01:19:44,075 --> 01:19:45,318
[music] Any moment
now the solemn

1248
01:19:45,318 --> 01:19:49,289
and suspended reality would be
broken by the distant flapping

1249
01:19:49,289 --> 01:19:55,152
of the helicopter’s rotors,
and the dream would end.

1250
01:19:55,152 --> 01:19:57,891
As Keith and I stood there
in the silence that had come

1251
01:19:57,891 --> 01:20:00,058
to characterize our
solitary travel,

1252
01:20:00,058 --> 01:20:02,896
I knew that this image
would define my experience

1253
01:20:02,896 --> 01:20:05,271
up here, and I relished it.

1254
01:20:05,271 --> 01:20:08,505
The north pole is so ephemeral,

1255
01:20:08,505 --> 01:20:12,476
so fleeting that it can
feel like an illusion.

1256
01:20:12,476 --> 01:20:16,777
While the pole itself is a
static geographical point

1257
01:20:16,777 --> 01:20:18,108
at the bottom of the ocean,

1258
01:20:18,108 --> 01:20:22,651
up here on the sea ice
constantly drifting, nothing is.

1259
01:20:22,651 --> 01:20:25,115
In fact, sometimes as
it happened to me then,

1260
01:20:25,115 --> 01:20:28,987
the dream feels more real,
and as the ice shifts,

1261
01:20:28,987 --> 01:20:31,527
unmoved by the human
desire to pierce its crust

1262
01:20:31,527 --> 01:20:35,795
with a marking post, what is
left is the image that we choose

1263
01:20:35,795 --> 01:20:40,229
to retain, and to me it will
be that open field staring me

1264
01:20:40,229 --> 01:20:44,771
in the eyes as if to say,
I’m leaving too, soon.

1265
01:20:44,771 --> 01:20:54,143
[ Music ]

1266
01:20:54,516 --> 01:20:58,586
In the distance the wind carries
the unmistakable flapping

1267
01:20:58,586 --> 01:21:00,456
of the MI8’s rotors.

1268
01:21:00,456 --> 01:21:04,625
Invisible at first, the heavy
craft appeared south of us.

1269
01:21:04,625 --> 01:21:14,096
[ Background Noise ]

1270
01:21:44,400 --> 01:21:47,634
I stared out of the porthole of
the helicopter as we lifted off

1271
01:21:47,634 --> 01:21:52,672
to Barneo, feeling real fondness
and nostalgia for this tough

1272
01:21:52,672 --> 01:21:54,574
and unforgiving environment.

1273
01:21:54,574 --> 01:21:59,414
We were leaving the pack ice,
its ridges, rubble fields,

1274
01:21:59,414 --> 01:22:03,550
and open leads, its frigid
humidity and freezing winds,

1275
01:22:03,550 --> 01:22:07,455
its cloud cover and zero
visibility, and its canvas

1276
01:22:07,455 --> 01:22:10,656
that challenges the human
spirit and pushes the limit

1277
01:22:10,656 --> 01:22:13,319
of its physical potential,
and a thought troubled me

1278
01:22:13,319 --> 01:22:17,729
as it slowly sunk in that I
would likely not be back here,

1279
01:22:17,729 --> 01:22:18,466
at least not like that.

1280
01:22:18,466 --> 01:22:23,867
[background noise]
Intense and epic,

1281
01:22:23,867 --> 01:22:25,869
the North Pole is one
tough, tough mission.

1282
01:22:25,869 --> 01:22:32,512
The legendary Reinhold Messner
said, Everest is very dangerous,

1283
01:22:32,512 --> 01:22:35,779
but crossing the North Pole,
which I attempted to do,

1284
01:22:35,779 --> 01:22:38,277
is 10 times more dangerous.

1285
01:22:38,277 --> 01:22:39,948
I knew flying away that
what I brought back

1286
01:22:39,948 --> 01:22:42,281
with me was an experience
that has marked me

1287
01:22:42,281 --> 01:22:44,425
and perhaps changed me for life.

1288
01:22:44,425 --> 01:22:49,826
[ Background Noise and Music ]

1289
01:22:49,826 --> 01:22:51,696
After 5 weeks of
this epic adventure,

1290
01:22:51,696 --> 01:22:55,128
I know that reentry
will be a challenge,

1291
01:22:55,128 --> 01:22:57,163
but all things do
come to an end,

1292
01:22:57,163 --> 01:23:02,508
and I could really
use a sandwich.

1293
01:23:02,508 --> 01:23:05,336
[music] I reflect on humans’
amazing ability to survive

1294
01:23:05,336 --> 01:23:10,043
in one of the harshest
environments on earth.

1295
01:23:10,043 --> 01:23:11,011
As the world celebrates
Earth Day,

1296
01:23:11,011 --> 01:23:15,114
I think of how important it is
to get out of this false sense

1297
01:23:15,114 --> 01:23:19,151
of security that we’ve
developed as city dwellers,

1298
01:23:19,151 --> 01:23:24,090
lulled away by the
convenience of technology,

1299
01:23:24,090 --> 01:23:34,133
for the responsibility
and the connection we have

1300
01:23:34,364 --> 01:23:38,708
to the land that hosts us.

1301
01:23:38,708 --> 01:23:39,435
Where does our garbage go?

1302
01:23:39,435 --> 01:23:40,039
We don’t know.

1303
01:23:40,039 --> 01:23:44,714
What is the true impact of
our electrical power source

1304
01:23:44,714 --> 01:23:45,550
and what is our consumption?

1305
01:23:45,550 --> 01:23:48,718
Indigenous cultures have an
innate sense of renewable

1306
01:23:48,718 --> 01:23:52,986
and sustainable living
because it is logical.

1307
01:23:52,986 --> 01:23:56,990
Western cultures
have mostly lost that

1308
01:23:56,990 --> 01:24:00,993
>> And I hope that
this experience

1309
01:24:00,993 --> 01:24:05,734
in the arctic raises
people’s awareness

1310
01:24:05,734 --> 01:24:07,396
of how fragile this is,

1311
01:24:07,396 --> 01:24:10,366
and while the arctic is
melting away, our societies,

1312
01:24:10,366 --> 01:24:13,610
our governments, and our
economies are all vying

1313
01:24:13,610 --> 01:24:16,943
to exploit its resources made
more available and accessible

1314
01:24:16,943 --> 01:24:19,110
because of the melting
and in such way

1315
01:24:19,110 --> 01:24:24,918
of perpetuating a cycle, which
was the genesis for the undoing

1316
01:24:24,918 --> 01:24:28,954
of this environment
to begin with.

1317
01:24:28,954 --> 01:24:29,856
It’s a profound link.

1318
01:24:29,856 --> 01:24:34,663
It’s one of the multiple
links that tie us

1319
01:24:34,663 --> 01:24:37,392
to this natural order, and
every weakening of any link

1320
01:24:37,392 --> 01:24:39,635
in that chain puts everything
in jeopardy, everything except

1321
01:24:39,635 --> 01:24:42,264
of course for nature or for
the world, which carries

1322
01:24:42,264 --> 01:24:43,100
on in the way that it will.

1323
01:24:43,100 --> 01:24:46,202
Ultimately, this is not
about protecting the planet.

1324
01:24:46,202 --> 01:24:46,939
Ultimately, this is really

1325
01:24:46,939 --> 01:24:48,743
about protecting
ourselves from ourselves.

1326
01:24:48,743 --> 01:24:52,472
[ Music ]

1327
01:24:52,472 --> 01:24:55,749
With each steps into the white
vastness of the Artic Sea,

1328
01:24:55,749 --> 01:25:00,084
I am reminded of how small
and vulnerable we really are,

1329
01:25:00,084 --> 01:25:00,919
and confronted with the mirror

1330
01:25:00,919 --> 01:25:05,485
of my own footprint while the
snow drifts govern my tracks,

1331
01:25:05,485 --> 01:25:09,697
I know that I too would soon
drown in the tears of the earth

1332
01:25:09,697 --> 01:25:12,359
as its ice melts and
floods our cities,

1333
01:25:12,359 --> 01:25:15,395
forcing on us the reckoning
of an order that we lost.

1334
01:25:15,395 --> 01:25:20,575
I am left to ponder in amazement
at the power of the nature

1335
01:25:20,575 --> 01:25:21,609
that surrounds us

1336
01:25:21,609 --> 01:25:23,809
and to appreciate the
freedom we are afforded

1337
01:25:23,809 --> 01:25:27,407
to journey unrestricted
through it.

1338
01:25:27,407 --> 01:25:29,716
What an adventure.