The RAF Regiment Unsupported Expedition To The Geographic North Pole
“People perhaps, still exist who believe that it is of no importance to explore the unknown regions….Man wants to know, and when he ceases to do so, he is no longer Man” Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian Polar explorer
In March 2009, members of the RAF Regiment will attempt to ski unsupported, to the Geographic North Pole. The expedition attempt the classic route starting at Ward Hunt Island, heading north, following the 75° of longitude, a journey started of 416 nautical miles (770 km) - excluding any negative drift caused by pack ice - and aiming to complete the journey in 60 to 65 days. The four-man expedition will be unsupported and will require individuals to pull a sled weighing in the region of 2501b. The expedition will be an extreme test of everything that we expect form members of the RAF Regiment: strength, intelligence, endurance, courage, mental toughness and technical skills.
Volunteers are required to join the expedition, both as potential members of the Ice Team, and as the Support Team that will be an integral part of the expedition; those under the age of 20 years old are specifically encouraged. During the preparatory phase, the Support team that will be an integral part of the expedition, together with the ski party and will also act as reserves. Once skiing has started, the Support Team will closely follow the skier’s progress, provide communication support, weather updates, Media support (including updating the website) and provide the essential reach-back required by the ski party. This will be a significant task in itself, since daily satellite communications between the expedition and the Support Team will generate a huge amount of information that we will want to share with a large audience. Part of the Support Team will be deployed to Resolute Bay, Canada; others will operate from the UK.
Volunteers under the age of 20 years of age are specifically encouraged to. Requests for an Application Form to be a member of the expedition should be made direct to:
- Sqn Ldr M J Stowers - OC II Sqn RAF Regt, RAF Honington - RAFMail@HON2Sqn-OC
- Sqn Ldr RL Morgan - OCRTS(A), RAF Honington - RAFMail@HONTrgWg-RTSA OC