Journoud : the polar apprentice is back home

Published on 08.05.2010 - General Info

Journoud Rodolphe

On 9th April we went to find out how it was that a young man came to be interested in expeditions and hope to become one of the polar adventure greats one day. To do so, we spoke to a certain Rodolphe Journoud (a 28-year-old native of Lyon), who was setting out to cover the Last Degree to the North Pole. Now, safely back from his trek, he told us something about it.

During our first contact with Journoud, he was as clear as he was convinced and determined: while he wanted to 'do' the Last Degree -i.e. the hundred kilometres or so from the Russian temporary drifting Barneo base to the North Pole- it was only so that he could learn as much as possible about polar expeditions and how they work. And as he wanted to stack as much luck as possible on his side in doing so, he thought he might as well aim high. Which is why he approached one of the true greats of polar exploration, Borge Ousland, to act as his guide in this mini-adventure. Ousland agreed and the four of them (including two of Ousland's clients) set out about a month ago.

Last Friday, we had Rodolphe Journoud on the phone and his first words were as crystal-clear as they had been before he left:

Rodolphe Journoud: "I set out to learn -and I indeed learn a great deal. In fact, we were pretty lucky, because the drift was very strong this year and there wasn't a day when we didn't have to cross several channels of open water, either by using our sledges as rafts (ed: they were able to create a catamaran by lashing two sledges together), or by getting into our wetsuits, or by skiing across the gaps... But despite all that, we managed to reach the Pole. It was a wonderful experience..."

Explorapoles : Did you set out from Barneo ?

Rodolphe Journoud : "No, because the base is drifting all the time. And this year it shifted more than usual on account of the powerful drifting action I have just mentioned. No, we had to take one of Boyarsky's MI-8s instead and be dropped off not exactly at the Last Degree, 111 km from the North Pole, as is usual for polar tourists, but a little further away at around 150 kilometres. Just so we could do a little more..."

Explorapoles : What did you find were the main difficulties on this trek ?

Rodolphe Journoud : "Oddly enough, I wasn't bothered by the 'physical fatigue' aspect of the trek. Don't forget that we were only out on the ice for five days. And I can tell you that I was a bit frustrated that I wasn't pushed more, right to the limits of my physical strength. I would really have loved to have gone a bit further. But to answer your question, the hardest thing for me was managing the differences in temperature. You go from being hot when you're on the move, to cold when you stop -even when it's just a short break. It took me a few days to adapt to that. The last section of the trek was fairly tough going, too, because over the final 35 kilometres, the temperature was minus 35°C!"

Explorapoles : We don't often hear much about this aspect of polar trekking...

Rodolphe Journoud : "Going from making real physical effort to inaction is not as easy as it sounds. I came to realise -and this is one of the many positive lessons I learnt from this experience -that in this environment and the situations it creates, everything always has to be done very quickly. And you have to prepare for this down to the tiniest details so that things really can go fast. Setting up camp, pitching tents, dismantling equipment, the ease with which you are able to locate something on your sledge, etc. I had of course read a great deal about all this in advance, but actually doing it gave me a far greater insight into the reality of things..."

Explorapoles : Did everything go smoothly in the group ?

Rodolphe Journoud : "There were four of us, including two British tourists. I got on particularly well with Borge. He knew that I was there to learn as much as I could by working with him, and I think that he was pleased with the way I went about things. In any event, since we got back, we have been looking at the possibility of doing something together one day in the future. As for me, given that I have gone about things fairly professionally-especially in terms of dealing with twenty or so sponsors- I now feel that I am ready to move on to phase 2. This will involve putting together a team to try and achieve something major in the southern hemisphere (ed: Rodolphe isn't saying yet whether this might have something to do with the Antarctic) from winter 2010 onwards, provided our backers stick with us, of course..."

As Rodolphe has been guided by famous explorer Borge Ousland, we wrote to the Norwegian to ask him if he would accept to write few lines abouit his experience with the young Frenchamn. "Affirmative", said Borge. So here is what he wrote about Rodolphe : "What impressed me with Rudolphe was his stamina and willpower. In my opinion he got what it takes to be a polar explorer. He did his homework well, starting almost from scratch, training hard and trying to understand the does and donts of polar expeditions before he went. What he needs now is more experience, and the only way to get it is to get out there and spend days and months on skies and in a tent. He likes it, and that is always the most important. I think we will see more to Rudolphe in the years to come."