Gjeldnes Rune (Norway)
Gjeldnes Rune
© Gjeldnes Rune
Born 1971-05-20, in Surnadal, Norway, Rune Gjeldnes is a Norwegian adventurer holding the records of the longest ski journey without being resupplied and the longest ski journey. He is the only person to ski across the North Pole, the South Pole and Greenland without resuplies.
He completed his military education in 1992, where he met fellow adventurer Torry Larsen. Gjeldnes served in the Norwegian Naval Special Operations Command until 1997 and from 1999 to 2000.
His two greatest achievements in the polar world are: Arctic Ocean 2000 (crossing of the Arctic Ocean without resuplies) and The Longest March (Crossing of Antarctica from Queen Maud Land, over the Pole, and on to Terra Nova Bay).
Major Achievements
- 1994: he participated in the Greenland Umanaq - Isertoq expedition.
- 1996: he succeded on the G2 Expedition in 1996.
- 1996: Together with Torry Larsen, Rune Gjeldnes travelled across Greenland in 1996.
- 1997: he planned and completed the "Arctic Ocean 2000" expeditionâa 109-day, 2100 km tripâbecoming the first to cross the Arctic Ocean without resupplies.
- 1998: he reached the North Pole with David Hempleman-Adams on April 28 1998.
- 1998: the "Year of Adventure" for Rune, with six different expeditions around the world (North Pole expeditions, crossed Baffin Island innorthern Canada, climbed Mt Aconcagua(6,959 m/22,831 ft), etc.).
- 2006: he completed "The Longest March", a three-month 4800 kilometers solo ski trek across the South Pole region, becoming the first person to cross that area alone without being resupplied. His route went from Queen Maud Land, over the Pole, and on to Terra Nova Bay. The final couple of weeks of the journey had to be made on foot, as Gjeldnes had lost one of his mountain skis off his sled, this before having to descend a glacier of 2000 m (about 6500 ft) a.s.l. in order to reach his destination. The expedition had a scientific element as Gjeldnes took regular blood samples of himself to be used in studies of the human immune system under extreme conditions.
