Without doubt the riskiest adventure this season is being attempted by the Briton, Ben Saunders, who aims to conquer, solo, the long route between Cape Arktichevski and Ward Hunt in the Far North of Canada. This unaided trek of over 1800 km has only been completed successfully once; that was in Spring 2000, the Norwegian pair of Rune Gjeldnes and Torry Larsen reached Ward Hunt on 3rd June after 109 days out on the pack-ice. They also set out from Cape Arktichevski.

The renowned explorer, Borge Ousland, also attempted this feat in the Spring of 2001; he reached his goal on 23rd May after covering 1744 km. But he also picked up fresh supplies of food at the North Pole...

In 2001, Ben set out with the guide Pen Hadow from Cape Arktichevski. His aim was to reach the North Pole and become the youngest person in the world to manage this feat unassisted. Unfortunately, on 29th April, the two men had to abandon their quest after covering 574 km. It was simply too cold, there was too much wind and the pack-ice was too unstable for them to go on.