London, UK - Thurs 1 May 1997
Polar explorer David Hempleman-Adams was last night waiting to catch a flight back home to England
after pulling out of his trek to the North Pole.
The Swindon-based businessman, together with his Norwegian partner, Rune Gjeldnes, had been walking for 37 days
across the frozen Arctic Ocean and had covered 124 miles of the 496-mile distance between Ward Hunt
Island and the North Pole when Gjeldnes'sledge snapped in half.
Although they could have continued had a fresh sledge been delivered by air supply, Hempleman-Adams
was determined that the trip should be unsupported or nothing, and therefore faced no alternative
but to radio for help.
Speaking from base camp at Resolute Bay last night, Hempleman-Adams said: "Rune's sledge had
developed a crack within five days of leaving for the Pole. Each night we'd be mending it with wire and hoping
and hoping that the sledge would hold out, but we'd just climbed over one of the remaining ice pressure ridges when
the bottom of Rune's sledge just gave way completely.
"We both believe in unsupported polar travel, so we knew that our attempt was over. It is incredibly frustrating
because we were just one day behind our schedule, having overcome the worst of the conditions, both in terms of
temperatures, darkness and pressure ridges and ice rubble.
"I'm not saying the rest would have been easy, but we felt strong and fit, had suffered from no physical nor mental
problems, and were picking up speed. By our estimation we would have reached the North Pole in 28 days time. The fact that we still had 37 days of food rations, and 40 days of fuel meant that we could have been delayed even further and still made it, but the sledge put an end to to it all."
If Hempleman-Adams, 40, had succeeded he would have become the first man in history to have ever reached both the North and South Pole unsupported, and climbed the highest mountain in each of the world's seven continents.
Instead, he and Gjeldnes become more victims of the High Arctic, following the failed attempt by 21 year-old Briton Alan Bywater, who fell through the ice last month and whose life was saved by Hempleman-Adams and Gjeldnes, who nursed and fed him, and called for assistance.
Hempleman-Adams, however, will return in a bullish mood. Back in 1989, he failed to reach the North Pole, unsupported and solo, after cracking two ribs and then having to sit out a ten day storm with dwindling rations before being saved. This time, he feels, he has at least laid those memories to rest.
"The difference is that I know that we would have reached the North Pole this time, had it not been for the sledge. It was just one of those things, but both mentally, and physically, we were more than meeting the challenge."
Apart from making the headlines after saving Bywater, Hempleman-Adams was also awarded the prestigious Livingstone Medal by the Scottish Royal Geographic Society in his absence.
He is already vowing to return to return to the Arctic next year. "we're definitely going to finish the job," he says. "We'll be back next year knowing that we can reach the Pole. We'll just have to make sure we have a strong enough sledge next time."
First, however, he will be re-joining his family back in Lacock, Wiltshire (UK), later this week. "I'm sorry to be coming home in such circumstances," he added. "But at least I'll be seeing my wife and three daughters very soon. I'm looking forward to some much-needed love, a nice hot meal, and a pint."
For a copy of all previous reports from the British Norwegian North Geographic Pole Expedition e-mail connect@dial.pipex.com
About the writer
Ian Stafford is a prolific writer, journalist and broadcaster. A former Chief Sports Reporter of The Mail on Sunday, he was voted National Sports Reporter of the Year in 1990, and Magazine Sports Writer of the year in 1995, as well as collecting a commendation for his work in 1994.
He has presented and reported on a number of television and radio shows, and writes for a host of national and international newspapers and magazines. He has also written three books: "The Winning Mind," with Steve Backley, a sports psychology book, "Born to be King," a biography of Prince Naseem Hamed; and "Ice Man," the autobiographical adventures of David Hempleman-Adams. He lives in Kent with his family.
