快猫短视频

When the European Space Agency wanted ground data to better understand the ice measurements it would be taking from its new CryoSat 2 satellite, it enlisted the help of the Belgian explorers Alain Hubert and Dixie Dansercoer. Their mission: walk 2000 kilometres across the ice from Siberia to Greenland via the North Pole, measuring snow cover along the way and ensuring they finish before the spring melt. The Belgians, who had previously crossed Antarctica together, delivered as asked, and were among the first to provide results for the ongoing . Alun Anderson talked to Dansercoer about ice, bears, the changing Arctic and the importance of chocolate

Was this the first time anyone had walked from Russia to Greenland?

Yes. We left Cape Arkticheskiy on 1 March and took 55 days to reach the North Pole and then another 51 days to Greenland. We were not so lucky with Mother Nature. We had only two or three days of sunshine and had to fight through storms all the way across. I try to make light of it, but it was an incredible challenge and incredibly hard.

Was it science or exploration?

We saw the crossing as a scientific mission. We are not pure scientists, but we can work in very difficult places. Every 40 kilometres we measured the thickness of the snow layer on top of the ice. Each time, we took readings at 5-metre intervals over a 500-metre distance and took digital photographs. We carried a special pole that slid through the snow until it hit the ice beneath. These measurements are important because the estimates of ice thickness made by satellite are affected by snow lying on top of it. Without data on the thickness of snow it is hard to make corrections to the satellite readings. Understanding the true thickness of the ice is essential to predict how it will melt and what will happen to the Arctic.

Were there any signs of the ice melting?

I have been going to the Arctic since 1994 and this was my third time to the North Pole. Over my short life as a polar explorer I have seen many changes. The ice is a floating layer and is pushed around by currents and winds which either break it up, making open water, or pile it up into pressure zones. These two obstacles are growing more and more common, meaning that the ice layer is thinner. The harder, multi-year ice is also becoming much rarer: with the rising summer temperatures not much of it survives any more, so you mostly see new ice.

What do you do when you hit open water?

We tie our sledges together with our skis and have a nice little catamaran to paddle over. We are the only explorers using this method, even though it is much quicker than walking around a lead in the ice. The ice is dynamic, it is really alive, and especially during storms you have to be very alert, you have to sense danger. But in our 106 days across the Arctic we didn鈥檛 fall in the water once. That makes me more proud even than reaching Greenland.

What do you fear?

Being asleep and an ice crack opens under your tent. It is a doom scenario. Or a polar bear knocking at the door when you are asleep. We had two very intense confrontations with bears. When you meet these animals in their own habitat they do not hesitate to come very close. We carry a Magnum .44 handgun but we have to scare them off without killing them.

How did you deal with them?

On the first encounter, we were sitting on the sledge drinking our tea when suddenly a polar bear came running. He approached us from downwind, sniffing us out. He came on until he was 2 metres from us. We had a hard time scaring him away. You have six bullets in the Magnum, so you know how many you can waste on just making a noise. The first one we fired in the air. But bears are used to moving ice and loud cracking sounds. The second one went near his paws to really make him feel the detonation. The third one was closer and had to be the one that scared him off.

On the second encounter I woke during the night; I鈥檇 sensed something in my sleep. We pitch the tent with the door facing downwind so it will face an approaching bear. I opened the door and there was a mother bear with two cubs. They walked towards the tent. Again we had to fire three shots before they left.

In 2002 we had other scary encounters. Once we were sitting on the sledges on the water, trying to paddle against the wind but being forced back to the original shoreline. There a huge bear was waiting for us standing on his hind legs.

What happens to your adrenalin levels?

I don鈥檛 think we are even human any more. It is only instinct that gets us to do what we need to do.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we are even human any more. Instinct gets us through鈥�

I guess you have your meals to look forward to?

Every day we eat exactly the same compressed food bars. It is a mental challenge, but I consider it a good thing as otherwise you spend your time thinking that the next day is going to be better. As long as the machine is well fed that should suffice. We have come up with a polar diet that contains 64 per cent fat. But during the day there is 200 grams of chocolate from a luxury Belgian maker. Being Belgians we cannot survive without it.

What was the best moment?

When we saw the mountains of Greenland 110 kilometres away. It was a grand moment, the most beautiful of the expedition. We had been through a sudden change of plan. We received images from the showing what was happening in the Robson Channel off Greenland, which we were going to cross. For the first time in history it was not frozen. It was incredible: chunks of ice measuring up to 150 kilometres were making their way out from the Arctic and down through open water in the channel. We would have walked straight into the devil鈥檚 hole. We changed our landing to a point further east at Cape Morris Jessup. We still had to flee the outskirts of this Arctic cancer, which was spreading very quickly. We were confronted by slush, open water and moving ice blocks.

How do you feel about the recent Russian claim to the North Pole and its oil wealth?

It is a very unhealthy sign of how everything is driven by money. The world economy is such an oppressive force and we are just its subjects. I would like to see an Arctic treaty, like that for the Antarctic, but it is just wishful thinking I guess. Our expedition is linked to many educational projects. We try to motivate as many people as possible. Everyone must stand on their spot on the globe and do what they can.

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