NORTH POLE SOLO 2002 EXPEDITION
Dave Mill

See also our comparative map of the Arctic expeditions of spring 2002

Thursday 23 May

After weeks of an extreme struggle against the elements - a fractured ice-floe, incessant leads of open water, bad weather, and, we should not forget, a solo adventure (on 13 May, it took Dave 3 hours to cover the final 600 metres of the day, which tells you the condition the ice was in) Scotsman Dave Mill decided to get himself picked up from the ice. It seems that the young adventurer had worked out that he would not reach the Pole in time.
His pick-up position on 19 May: 85° 42' N / 68° 58' W.

Saturday 4 May

Because of various technical problems and a recalcitrant stove, Dave Mill is the adventurer who, this year, is the furthest behind compared to the positions of other expeditions (see map).

He has had to fight against the storms and the drift that made him actually go backwards on more than one occasion. In his communiqué of April 15, Dave writes that during this expedition (he is on his third solo, unassisted attempt over the same course, an exploit that nobody up to now has managed, despite the increasing number of expeditions each year to the North Pole) he has spent more time in his tent resting or waiting for the conditions to improve than in advancing over the pack ice. That must be pretty frustrating.

© M&G North Pole Expedition

All the more frustrating as this man is on his own and that, for him, the risks and the dangers of such an adventure are much greater than for those who can help themselves along, if only for crossing the leads, for example. On Friday, 26 April he wrote: "The amount of energy being exerted leaves my body crying out for more calories than my daily food rations allow, and I would die for 2 huge steaks and several plates of chips."

Let's not forget that, last year (on 23 May 2001), the Japanese Hyoichi Khono - who also travelled solo - was found drowned under thin ice at the edge of a ridge (see the photograph opposite of the memorial built in his memory at Resolute Bay).

On April 28, following some rare and "dramatic" movements of the pack ice, Dave found himself alone on a sheet of ice and had to wait until it joined up with some ice that was drifting less quickly to enable him to continue on his way.On the 29th, he crossed the 84th degree, the first degree of the expedition, but he has had to make constant repairs to his boots, his ski fittings and his goggles.

In a word, the Scot needs great courage to go on. On 04 May, he had covered 142km since his new departure from Ward Hunt. Average: 5.9km per day… He still has 450km to go.

Friday 12 April

The Scot, who had to return to Ward Hunt due to a fault with his food heater, has been waiting for more than 7 days for the Twin Otter of First Air to come and re-supply him. The weather is lousy at present.

Monday 1 April

Dave Mill (who is on an unassisted solo attempt Ward Hunt -> North Pole) arrived at Ward Hunt on Tuesday 26 March. He left two days later on 28 March at noon. On the first day, he passed the Swedish camp, and the camp of Kho Swee Chiow from Singapore, who is travelling with Paul Landry.
First impressions: the pack ice is hummocked, he had to portage with his rucksack because alone, he could not get the sled across hummocks up to five metres high. It is cold -50°C !

Yesterday, 31 March, after 4 days (including one spent solving minor technical problems) he had travelled 16.5 km. Position on 31 March: 83° 12' N / 74° 07' W.