Magnetic North Pole 2013

In 2013, Gareth and Richard participated in their first polar expedition together across the Arctic Sea ice from Resolute Bay in the Canadian High Arctic to the Magnetic North Pole.
This remarkable location marks the point on confluence of the Earth’s magnetic field out on the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean.

This expedition saw them cover the 23 day, 600km race pulling 70kg sleds in temperatures down to -60°C.
Howling Arctic winds, frequent snow storms and serious injury to an experience team member made this adventure a baptism of fire.
Often they were storm bound in their tents or skiing in white out conditions, where only the red figure in front marked where the ground and sky met.

Due to the weather delays, Gareth and Richard had to get some serious mileage under their belt to make their goal of reaching the Magnetic North Pole in time.
They had to travel 35km a day, which took between 13 to 15 hours, for 7 days hauling their heavy sleds in soft snow to make up for lost time.

However, the cold and difficult terrain were not the only threat on the ice.
One night they were woken by the unmistakable sound of a curious polar bear sniffing around their tent.
Too terrified to even move to reach for their gun, for fear it may alert the bear to their presence, they lay in their sleeping bag. Their hearts were pounding and when the bear finally wandered away, they were left counting their lucky stars.

They finally reached the Magnetic North Pole and were hooked on Polar expeditions, thus starting their desire to push themselves to the extremes of human endurance.