05/03 to 18/04
19/04 to 05/05
05/05 to 02/06

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Introduction


http://polenord.ft-valence.net

Week of 03 to 10 June

Tuesday 13 June / 10am : At this moment in time, the two Frenchmen have not yet reached Resolute Bay, but we know that the Canadian chopper that had accepted the mission had put down at their base camp without any difficulty and that they finally received assistance yesterday evening.

On the other hand, we have some information about last Saturday's Twin flight; it was, by all accounts something of an epic! Because when executing the first TOUCH AND GO, the plane's windows smashed into smithereens because of some large pieces of ice that crashed violently into the propellers. And, what's more, when the machine got back to Eureka, there was a powerful storm blowing over the region and the pilot was flying practically blind at the moment of touchdown. It was a miracle that the landing ended up OK. One has to say that the Canadian pilots that carry out these operations are past masters of this type of manoeuvre.

Our following of this expedition comes to an end with this latest communiqué..

Sunday 11 June / 6 pm : Yesterday, Saturday 10 June, the Twin of First Air made a renewed attempt to go and look for the two Frenchmen who were still on the ice cap - there was a favourable weather window.
Alas! Although the Twin reached the area in good conditions, no landing could be made. What happened was that in circumstances such as these, and especially on terrain such as this, the Twin always executes several TOUCH AND GO manoeuvres before definitively landing on the ice; this means that the plane makes several landing manoeuvres by touching the surface with its skis as for the real thing but without definitively reducing its speed. This allows it to test the actual landing conditions.
Yesterday, the Twin made 7 attempts to land! But the ice was clearly too soft - the skis were going in for more than 70 centimetres. No question of landing in such conditions. One can imagine the disappointment of Arnaud and Rodolphe who on seven occasions saw the plane appearing to land, but each time immediately taking off again!


Today, Sunday 11 June, the small French team was seriously worried about the two men's fate. The final solution available for them was recourse to a helicopter powerful enough to make the return trip..


Thanks to the skills of Resolute's weatherman and the kindness of the Canadians who have a military base at the extreme north of Ellesmere Island - Alert - and who agreed to go to the aid of the two men, a chopper finally left this afternoon for the Frenchmen's camp.

They should by now be back at Resolute.

09 June / 8 pm : Yesterday evening, Thursday, everything was ready for the Twin Otter that was going to look for Arnaud and Rodolphe to take off from Resolute Bay. There was a 12-hour good weather window and despite some extremely intense solar activity of the kind to prevent all radio communication between the planes, the Twin took off all the same.

Friday June 9th, 9pm
WE HAVE JUST RECEIVED
PRESS RELEASE FROM RESOLUTE BAY
click here

After the traditional refuelling stop at Eureka, the Twin set off for the rendezvous area marked out by the two Frenchmen - or rather marked out by Rodolphe because Arnaud, for his part, was still unable to walk.


But a quarter of an hour before arriving, the pilot and his crew were caught up in a dense fog. The machine continued on its way nevertheless; it was thus that they were able briefly to fly over the camp set up by the two men without having a chance of landing..
No luck; before returning to Eureka, they were however able to jettison some food supplies, the ones that the men needed most. Apparently the parcel split open on hitting the ice, but Arnaud (who was much better) and Rodolphe were in any case able to save a bit of food. I bet that in the surprise packet there were some famous Terry's Cookies...

The trickiest thing about this rescue operation - which is far from over - is that for the time being the reigning temperatures over the ice cap are too positive - between + 2° and + 5°C. Which mean that the ice is melting more and more.

There is no great problem landing with a Twin on this type of surface - soft ice and wet snow. But taking off is a different story. The plane's skis get embedded and stick to the snow, preventing the plane from taking off over a short distance.
Having had the good fortune of landing and taking off at the North Pole (it was when the Belgian press went to collect the Hubert-Goetghebuer pair after their adventure to the North Pole in May 1994), I can tell you that, even in conditions that our polar experts describe as normal, landing and taking off over there makes your blood run cold…

So? When will they be back on dry land? Nobody knows. For the next weather window that could allow for contemplation of the operation is expected only in 4 or 5 days time. And in the meantime, the ice will be melting, melting and melting…

07 June : Yesterday afternoon at approximately 85°08'N and 71°00'W. When the two men continued on their way notwithstanding, Arnaud Tortel, who was advancing a fair distance ahead of his companion Rodolphe, had a serious fall while crossing a hummock, because of exhaustion, no doubt. Pulled by its weight, his sledge hit his head causing cerebral concussion. When, a few minutes later, Rodolphe reached him, Arnaud was still in a semi-unconscious state. He was rambling and had blood on his face.

Once he had finally regained his senses, Arnaud was obliged to report that the situation, without being too calamitous, was however serious; he had a wicked sprain in the knee and a bent rib. Rodolphe immediately switched on the Argos beacon. And started to seek out a favourable landing area for the rescuers.

Things were however not quite as bad as they seemed because that same evening, Arnaud was able to reassure his loved-ones at Dieulefit by telling them that, even if he couldn't walk any longer, he was still able to look after himself: acupuncture and knee bandages. He had also been able to join up with Christian de Marliave (Cercles polaires Expéditions) who was looking after the expedition's logistics. "It hurts him when he talks", Christian told us this afternoon, "but Arnaud knows how to deal with such situations…."

This incident unfortunately brought the French expedition to an end.; it only remains to hope that the weather quickly improves. Because, for the time being, even if Rodolphe discovers a suitable strip of ice to enable a Twin Otter coming from Resolute Bay to land, no plane could come to their rescue because of the whiteout that has been reigning over the Arctic ice for several days. And the two men cannot wait for too long as they are getting short on rations…


06 June : We know however that Arnaud and Rodolphe are on the verge of giving up. They would be incapable of continuing their expedition, both on account of the breaking ice and the chaotic, indeed impassable terrain.

Proof: each day, the two men fall at least twice into the water. That is of course more serious when the ambient temperature is around - 40°C. But even so, having to walk in wet clothes when it is freezing facilitates neither somersaults nor movement in general.

However, they must do so more and more each day. As there are still more than 150 km to cover in conditions that will only get worse, it is almost certain that Arnaud and Rodolphe will shortly be asking Resolute to send the Twin.

In this case, the expedition would therefore, in terms of bare results, be a failure. If however one talks in terms of a mental-physical bonding between the pair, on the other hand - and on this subject we won't have to wait for confirmation before talking about it - this trek will in the eyes of all remain a very fine feat.

All of this should of course soon be confirmed. But we fear that the website will no longer be supplied…

A host of lessons of all kinds can naturally be learnt from the polar experiences of this spring 2000. We have asked Hubert to write a few lines on this.

While waiting for what he has to say, what we can already say is that the Hubert-Dansercoer pair, which is going to attempt, in 2002, a still more difficult adventure (a journey of more than 1,000 km) - should be setting off for the ice far earlier in the year than was the case with the Norwegians who, it must be said, went to the limits. That should situate the beginning of the Belgian expedition towards the middle of January 2002.

02 June : Since 31 May, no further contact with the French expedition.