I have a good friend (Clint) that has the same sense of exploration and adventure as I do. We’ve gone on many an exploration and someday we’d like to finish one of the several documentations that we’ve started; if not on film or paper then at least in our minds. He’s an excellent writer and I’m an excellent videographer so we’ll make a good match.

We’ve never even come close to even THINKING about what two explorer/adventurists are doing right now. The first ever winter (that means dark in the North Pole) trek to the North Pole is currently being attempted by Børge Ousland and Mike Horn. They are about halfway there as of today!

Mike and Børge have to deal with bitter cold, ice drifts, freezing winds and even [1] close encounters with polar bears [ousland.no]! They’ll also have to deal with each other as the [2] National Geographic write-up [nationalgeographic.com] about the adventure explains. They’ve had to swim, sometimes several times a day, through ice cold water to span the gaps of ice. (Don’t worry; they have special water-proof suits that keep them completely dry. But still!!! Can you imagine swimming in the frigid waters of the arctic…in the dark? Watch [3] this video [ousland.no] of Børge Ousland, the first person to do this, and then imagine doing it at night.)

These two are no strangers to adventure. Mike Horn has trekked through the Amazon jungle, circumnavigated the globe along the equator and around the Arctic Circle. And he did it all alone! Børge Ousland has had his share of solo adventures, too. It’s only their extreme sense of responsibility to their wives and children that they decided they’d better use the buddy-system on this one. Ya’ think?

You can follow the daily adventure on two different blog sites. They both have satellite phones and they’re sending back daily journals that are published on their sites. [4] Mike Horn’s version [mikehornnorthpole.com] includes some interesting statistics such as days into the journey, days left and number of days of food supply left.

[5] Børge Ousland’s version has some very good, descriptive first-hand accounts and are logged on a daily basis. It’s not too late to get caught up and then follow their journey the rest of the way. I’m hoping they make it safely; there is still plenty of time for plenty of things to go wrong. When they make it it will be amazing! Absolutely nuts, but amazing!