Eric and Lonnie set course
to change the world.
11/05/2005 — Global warming is a vital issue
to many people. But how many of us would undertake
an unprecedented - not to mention, risky summer
crossing of the Arctic Ocean in order to stop
it? Veteran explorers Lonnie and Eric are
doing just that.
Early in the morning of May 10, Eric Larsen
and Lonnie Dupre took one last look behind
them, and set off slowly to the north, toward
the North Pole and beyond, across the treacherous
Arctic Ocean. They left the Arctic coast of
Russia, and resigned themselves to the fact
that they will not see land again for at least
three months.
Ahead of them lie more than 1,200 miles of
unsupported travel, in which they will paddle,
ski, gaff hook, man haul and slog their way
across one of the most inhospitable environments
on Earth. If they succeed, they will be the
first people ever to complete a summer crossing
of the Arctic Ocean, but their expedition
means more to them than doing something that
nobody has ever achieved before.
Lonnie and Eric chose to partner with Greenpeace
for this trek, with the hope of bringing attention
to the changes the Arctic region is undergoing
as a result of global warming. We leapt at
the chance to team up with these two extraordinary
men, and Project Thin Ice 2005 was born.
Two and a half years of planning had led
to this point, culminating in a challenging
final few days of travel from Moscow to their
departure point at Cape Arctichesky on the
Siberian coast. Finally, after emotional phone
calls back to their loved ones in the US,
Eric and Lonnie loaded up their gear and set
off into a dangerous and uncertain summer.
Meet Lonnie and Eric
Neither Lonnie, 44, nor Eric 33, is any stranger
to risky expeditions. A dog musher, whitewater
canoe guide, back country ranger, competitive
cyclist and educator, Eric has adventured
throughout the American West, Alaska and the
Canadian Arctic, and in 2002 he completed
a 700-mile dog sled expedition in the Canadian
subarctic. Lonnie has traversed more than
13,500 miles throughout the high Arctic regions
of northeastern Russia, Lapland, Alaska, Canada
and Greenland. He has led five major Arctic
expeditions and participated in six.
In 1992, Lonnie led a 3,059-mile, 185-day
trek across the Canadian Arctic, the first
west-to-east crossing of the Northwest Passage
via dog sled and ski. In 2001, Lonnie and
Australian teammate, John Hoelscher, completed
the first circumnavigation of Greenland using
dog sleds in winter and kayaks in summer.
It was during this expedition that Lonnie
got the idea for the One World Expedition,
a journey through the Arctic to expose the
impacts of global warming.
“We came to a place where the map (dated
1982) showed that two glaciers should be jutting
out a mile to sea,” says Lonnie. “Not only
were the glaciers no longer there, they had
receded about a mile inland.”
The team has taken with them all of their
food and gear - 325 pounds worth each - for
the entire expedition. Each man will consume
6,000 calories per day, so rations have been
carefully planned and calculated for weight,
calorie content and volume. And even 6,000
calories per day won't meet their energy needs:
each man expects to lose 20 pounds or more
on the expedition.
Arctic Hardships
The specks on ice are explorers Lonnie Dupre
and Eric Larsen, setting off on the first
ever unsupported summer crossing of the Arctic
Ocean in order to draw attention to global
warming.
There’s a good reason why no one has attempted
a summer crossing of the Arctic Ocean without
outside support before. The polar ice cap
will be melting, rendering the ice unstable,
dangerous and riddled with large expanses
of frigid open water. Areas of solid ice could
be covered with a thigh-deep layer of slush,
and areas of open water could be littered
with huge blocks of ice that hinder passage.
The Arctic is blanketed by thick fog for much
of the time in summer, limiting sight to as
little as 100 yards, making travel and navigation
difficult. Temperatures of 10 to 40 degrees
Fahrenheit combined with high humidity and
damp conditions lend themselves to hypothermia,a
debilitating and potentially deadly condition.
Much of Lonnie and Eric's time has been spent
pioneering new technologies and techniques
for handling such perilous conditions. They
have modified whitewater canoes so that the
canoes can be towed on solid ice or paddled
through open water. When faced with a mix
of open water and broken ice, they will use
a technique Lonnie pioneered in Greenland
that involves a gaff hook and brute strength
to haul themselves and their canoes through
the open water from ice floe to ice floe.
It is a perilous undertaking, to be sure,
but the importance of the message has inspired
Eric and Lonnie throughout their preparations,
and will be motivating them in the long weeks
and months ahead.
