Feb 22, 2007 12:50 pm US/Central
Bancroft And Arneson Prepare For Polar Adventure
Minneapolis (AP) ―
-
-
Ann Bancroft and Liv Arneson (File)
CBS
Ann Bancroft was preparing this week for her latest trek through the one of the coldest places on earth to send a message about global warming.
The Minnesota polar explorer and her Norwegian co-adventurer, Liv Arneson, are headed next week to Canada's Ward Hunt Island, where they'll embark on a 530-mile-plus trip across the Arctic Ocean.
In 1986, Bancroft was the first woman to cross the North Pole, on an expedition led by fellow Minnesotan Will Steger. In 2001, Bancroft and Arnesen were the first women to ski across Antarctica. A planned trip to the North Pole two years ago was scuttled by international bureaucratic hangups.
The new trip will be a test of strength and will, as Bancroft, 51, and Arnesen, 53, drag a 200-pound supply sled for an estimated 75 days over craggy ice and through frigid waters.
On Wednesday, Bancroft was pushing a cart through the Shoreview Super Target, picking up dried soups and athletic tape for the first-aid kit. "That long on your feet, you kind of get a lot of blisters," she explained.
Bancroft and Arnesen will be calling in regular updates to school groups by satellite phone, and will try to post photos on the Internet. Bancroft said they want to show kids the effects of climate change in a part of the world "that's in real crisis," she said.
When Bancroft trekked over the North Pole with Ely-native Will Steger two decades ago, they didn't have to worry about swimming. This time, she and Arnesen will be forced to don waterproof suits that fit over their clothing and boots in order to get through spots where the ice has melted.
"The swimming has been incorporated because the ice is so crummy and we knew we were going to see a lot more open water than historically we have before," Bancroft said.
The explorers plan to arrive at the North Pole in 50 to 60 days, where they'll be re-supplied for another trek of about two weeks to the TARA, a French research vessel drifting in the Arctic pack ice.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
