Save the Poles

From 09.11.2009 to 30.01.2010 - Status: success

The three poles in one year

Polar explorer Eric Larsen has set himself a challenge of some size: to reach the three poles (North, South and Everest) in under 365 days.

For the past dozen years, Eric Larsen has crisscrossed the globe leading expeditions and journeys to the furthest-flung corners of the world; he is an explorer, long-distance runner, lecturer, outdoor educator and trainer of sledge-dogs. Some may recall his multiple attempts (2005, 2006) to cross the Arctic pack-ice in summer, accompanied by his friend Lonnie Dupré in particular. (See his CV on our site).

This time around, he is again setting the bar very high (something that has become customary with polar explorers) by attempting to reach the three Poles in less than a year. The final schedule for this triple attempt has not yet been published, but doubtless he will use the northern winter (southern summer) to reach the South Pole, then tackle the North Pole next (northern) spring, before aiming to scale Everest final in May-June of next year. No other plausible timetable could be envisaged over such a short period of time. This is a challenge that has never been achieved.

Larsen has set himself three main aims: to succeed in completing a feat that has never been done before, to promote clean energy and put forward viable strategies for cutting carbon emissions, and to make an educational film.

In a few days' time, he leaves for Patriot Hills to work as a professional guide for ANI with the logistics backup of ALE. He has two clients: the Canadian Liu Dong Sheng and Irishman William Hanlon. They intend to take about fifty days to reach the South Pole.