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Track
their progress on the map
Route
map across the Arctic OceanSee our comparative map of the other Arctic expeditions this Spring 2002.
The
Compaq Pole II team is indeed arriving at YOU ARE ALL OF COURSE MORE THAN WELCOME…
Not
to be missed - next Tuesday or Wednesday, 07 or 08 May, in our
new VIDEO page - the pictures of the Belgian Television
News broadcasting the arrival of the two men and their first post-adventure
interviews and - in about a fortnight's time - the photographic gallery
of our expedition (at least 80 captioned photographs).
Friday 4pm. From Monday May 6th on, our following of the "Other Expeditions / Live" will be updated. With a series of setbacks in the progress of the people who set out from Ward Hunt. Friday
10 am. Here
are the audio files. There are three of them as we were cut off and
have not had time to edit them. Friday 9.30 am. Finally, they called. The audio will be ready in an hour. The events that have occurred since the last satellite phone call (Iridium). The final hours of a grand adventure. Friday
9 a.m.
Finally, at around 4 p.m. the team of Compaq Pole II was picked up
from the ice. Then they headed for Chelyushkin, where they arrived
at around 8.30 p.m. There, the pilots wanted to stop and rest before
flying to Khatanga - they were too tired because of their intensive
activity over the last few days. So the whole team reached the town
of Khatanga this morning at 6.30 a.m. (12.30 local time).
We hope to have more news later in the day, and while you wait, the most ardent readers will take the time to look at the document that we are publishing today about the highlights of the expedition. AS
REQUESTED BY MANY VISITORS,
Even though we are in the English version of the website, we have
decided to publish the translation of the French version just as it
is with the audio tracks (in French, for the most part) attached.
Thursday 9.30 a.m. In order to allow those of you that have the time to experience the toings and froings of this difficult recovery more fully, we are today publishing the satellite slots (Iridium) as they reached us. Either from David, who is currently (9.30 a.m.) on his way to the Compaq Pole II camp, or from the Hubert-Dansercoer duo. The first audio tracks attached are the first that we received this morning. 1.
HQ, 5.55 am : Alain explains that David is in Stredny but
that the pilots are not in complete agreement about the forthcoming
flight, for the operation is risky. 2.
HQ, 9.30 am :: David Gladsteen explains that he has just landed
at Cape Arktichewski and that it he is therefore on his way to the
expedition's camp. 3.
HQ, 10 am : Alain rings HQ to announce the good news. One
can hear in his voice that he is experiencing an important moment
of the expedition. 4.
HQ, 10.33 am : David calls from the chopper but the conversation
is inaudible. We are publishing it nevertheless because of the atmosphere
it imparts and to give an idea of the din in an MI 8 during flight. 5.
HQ, 11 am : HQ calls Alain to get his first impressions at
one of the key moments of his expedition. He is a little bit bitter…
In an hour or so, it will be Dixie's turn to tell us what's bothering
him. 6.
HQ, 12.55 am
: Alain calls HQ to tell us that the choppers are refuelling and that,
after this operation, they will only have ninety minutes more flying
time to reach the place where they both are waiting. 7.
HQ, 1 p.m
: David in turn calls HQ from the place where the two choppers have
put down to refuel. He gives his impressions about the journey and
about the spectacle unfolding before his eyes during this part of
the flight. 8.
HQ, 1.35 pm
: Dixie calls HQ to give us his first impressions (in Flemish) about
this huge adventure. 9.
HQ, 3.13 pm : Alain Hubert calls to inform us the helicopter
is no longer in the area and that a strong wind is pushing them towards
the North. He is afraid that the machine might be unable to locate
them.
Wednesday 5 p.m. HQ has just learned that David (the cameraman) arrived at Stredny around 1 p.m. and is waiting for the helicopter to arrive from Barneo. The pick-up of Compaq Pole II should take place tonight.
Monday 4pm : Latest news The
Russian pilots on standby at Stredny with the Antonov 2 are now demanding
from St. Petersburg - before going to look for the two men on the
ice - satellite maps of the pack ice showing the state of the Monday, 10pm: No, they haven't left Khatanga, the operation has been postponed. Setback at Khatanga (sorry for all the contradictory toings and froings of these bits of information): we have just learned, via Cerpolex/Khatanga, that the Russians require the presence of two helicopters at Khatanga for them to be able to go to look for our two men on the ice. This is so that they can have a machine on the ground as standby, in case a rescue operation should be required in the immediate future. That's how things stand this morning. No news about the arrival of an additional MI 8 at Khatanga… Alain and Dixie are of course furious. Support team left Khatanga… As envisaged (what a miracle!), the cameraman was able to leave aboard the MI 8 chopper from Khatanga to Tchelyouschkine at 7 o'clock this morning. The
expedition of Eric Philips and Jon Muir (whose wife is Belgian) is
very close to its goal - they only have another 51km to cover to reach
the North Pole (see our comparative "Other
Expeditions" map, as well as the latest
news on their website). This will be the first conquest of the
Pole this spring.
To
display the previous follow up pages, click on the related week
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Sunday 5 May : Return confirmed
