Following are some parts of the diary of Emil Grimsson from the Race to the Magnetic Pole
April 22nd 2007
….Today is Sunday and I can hardly believe we came here Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were mostly spent sitting lectures with the walkers and doing test drives. The test drives were very successful but it is clear that people need to get experience in driving in snow and we needed to go pretty low in air to clear some situations. It is also clear that big bolder fields can become very difficult for us to pass. The information we have is that after Check Point 1 there is at least 40 km long bolder field up to 100 km wide. They will try to confirm this with a flight tomorrow.
Last two nights we have been sleeping on the ice, putting up the tent many times, training how to face polar bears and how to use a shoot gun. The group was divided into smaller groups with 3-4 people each. Each group had its own food, tent, cookers etc. and each person had to pull one sled/pulk with supplies. After the first night one of the TV crew had many words about that he could not see any valid reason why he should walk any further out on the ice and sleep again in a small tent in minus 40, since he would be travelling in a car. He was told that if something happened to the cars where they were not able to lend an airplane, they might have to walk at least 20-40 km to find a possible landing place. He answer that he did not intend to walk anywhere - they could just as well shoot him on the spot!
The TV crew that received training from Tony both in Austria and Norway seem to be very well prepared, know all the equipment and how to use it.
April 24th
The TV crew interviewed the local weather man, Wayne, but he is said to be really good in forecasting the weather. Hjalti, Grant and I had met this guy the day before and after talking to him we decided we should try to order/buy a satellite radar picture that would show us the ice conditions. He had told us we were a month to late, the ice was melting and it was dangerous. We talked to the local people and some hunters that told us that this was exaggerated. Anyway, this made things more serious and people more afraid that we might fall through the ice. Also the airplane that was supposed to leave fuel for us at Check Point 1 had got into some trouble and got damaged during landing somewhere north from here, so now we will have to carry fuel to get all the way. The pressure on me to come along has increased, so finally it was decided that I would come along on a snowmobile and potentially I and Halli will take turns driving it and the Land Cruiser. The plan has also been changed so instead of leaving a day earlier to look for routes through the bolder fields north of Check Point 1, the support team that is meant to set up Check Point 2 will travel with us or close to the cars. In the support team there is one doctor; one British guy and one local Inuit that works for Tony.
April 25th
The planned route was 655km from Resolute to the 1996 Magnetic Pole.
We left Resolute around 13:00 and the target was to drive to Bathurst Island. The TV presenters drove one car, Hjalti the other Hilux and Halli the Land Cruiser pulling the trailer. A last minute decision was to have the support team from Polar Challenge to join us; they were to set up camp at Check Point 2 for the people racing on the skies. Dr. Deirdre, Mark and Glyde all very experienced in these conditions would ad safety to our expedition. As they drove snow mobiles pulling special Inuit sleds with supplies I ended up travelling mostly with them.
The ice was rather smooth when we came a little away from Resolute and the cars drove fast in-between stopping for filming. We had problems keeping up on the snowmobiles due to the sleds the support team was pulling. The weather was really good and as long as the wind did not touch a bare skin it did not feel too cold. Sometimes it could get cold though, especially when we had to stop for longer period and wait for filming. It was decided to not to go all the way to Bathurst Island this day but instead to camp with the dog team approximately 30 km shorter, west of Truro Island. When we arrived at their camp, they where chasing a polar bear away on their snowmobiles with guns in their hands. The knuckles on the Land Cruiser had already bended badly and the knuckles in Hjaltis Hilux had also bended a bit. The knuckles of the other Hilux where still very straight but because we know that this could be a weak link we had made them extra strong before we left. I did not like the situation with the Land Cruiser so we decided to move the winch from the front and placed it on the trailer for the next day.
It was a big job to put up the camp site. All the equipment that was tightly fastened to the trailer, on top of the vehicles or inside them had to be freed. The support team set up the big tent and started immediately to melt snow for cooking dinner and warm drinks etc. After the first day I was starting to belong more to the support team than the car team, so I mostly helped them. Halli and Hjalti camped their own tent and took care of the cars.
We arrived at the campsite around 10 in the evening and ate dinner at around 2 am. Everyone had their own dog ball to eat from along with a spoon. Not everyone could be inside the big tent at the same time so people took turns. For dinner were usually some dried food that was placed into water and heated up. Dr. Deirdre took great care of us all, making sure there was enough to eat and drink.
I slept in the tent with Halli and Hjalti. The shoot gun was right outside the door and everyone had their peeing bottle ready if needed during the night. The first nights we set in the effort to warm up the tent with kerosene cookers before going to sleep but we soon stopped bothering. The sleeping bags were great. As there were unusually much of Polar bears around some people had their mind on this for the first nights.
April 26th
Next morning we woke up between 9 and 10 am. Deirdre, Mark and Clyde had already hot water ready for the oatmeal, day bags with cheese, candy and dried fruits and etc. We had camped right next to a large bolder field so there where many good places to hide to finish of the morning tasks. The weather was good so the TV crew decided to stay around for some time to film but the dog team took off. I used the time to study the route in front of us and took Clyde with me. We decided to take a considerable longer route to avoid what I at the time felt was very bad ice. This took us right by the start line east of Truro Island but the ski walkers that had left Resolute some days earlier where supposed to start from this point the following day. At around 14 we left and drove towards Bathurst and over it and camped in a small bay called Dundee Bight where we went to sleep early next morning.
The trip across Bathurst went very well, the route we had selected with the help of maps and advices from local people in Resolute turned out really good, much better and easier than the stories we had heard about it. When we drove into a valley called Polar Bear Pass, I got this breathtaking “Wow!” feeling. This was early in the night, beautiful weather; the sun was low and lighted up this wide fascinating valley. In the mountains on the other side there where some very special strong formations/sculptures.
During the training from Polar Challenge we had been taught to monitor others in the team, see if they were cold, if they were getting enough to drink and etc. Everyone was supposed to drink at least 3 litres of liquid each day due to how dry the air was and eating enough was very important. This night/morning I decided to go to sleep instead of waiting for dinner and Kenny was on me after this making sure I would eat breakfast and dinner. Those who where in the car had access to hot noodle soup during the days.
April 27th
We rouse again around noon after only a few hours of sleep and the film crew went straight on to film. The dog team was now far behind so we had time to spare. We had camped on the beach and since the moon was full the tide was high and the ice was a bit tricky where it connected with the cost. At one point while filming the TV presenters on the Hilux went into one of those pits and got really stuck.
Later this day we took of and headed for Helena Island less than 100 km away. We needed to drive almost straight north in a very long and narrow bay. The visibility was very limited and as we drove onto the ice I had this very strong feeling that we were driving upwards. Knowing with 99,9% certainty that this was my senses fooling me, I still could not help thinking that the current from the north had through the years pressured so much ice into this valley that it had formed a “bubble” that I was now driving on. This day the support team and I travelled mostly close to the cars. We where now getting into the area that the satellite picture we had received just before leaving, covered. As this valley had two very large bolder fields the satellite picture came in handy to find the best way through. As none of us had any experience of reading those radar pictures we were learning.
I remember people getting colder this day but then again a lot of time was spent waiting. I really admired the endless energy the presenters and the film crew had to try to make the best program possible.
We arrived at Helena Island late this night, but Polar Challenged had just set up campsite there Check Point 1. We thought we could make use of their facilities but it was solely meant for the people that were walking so we set up camp close by and we had once more a one very short night ahead of us.
April 28th
Now we had ahead of us going out onto the ocean north of Helena Island. This was the area where the pilots had told us that was unusually bad with pressure ridges and etc., it would be impossible for us to cross. The plan had been to allow one of us to fly with the plane that was to find a location for Check Point 2 to look at the conditions for our selves but weather had not allowed any flights into this area.
Based on the satellite picture we decided to drive west of Helena Island and try to reach an area with better ice approximately 110 km driving distance to the north. To shorten the way the cars decided to drive over the Island but they got into trouble with getting the presenters car out of a deep valley so instead of being ahead of us that were travelling on snowmobiles, they fell far behind us. We could not reach them with our VHF radios so finally we used the emergency Iridium phone to call them and ask for their location. They told us they were coming and told us to continue.
...Soon after this we ended up in situation that I though would be impossible for the vehicles. This was 20 to 200 cm thick ice, all broken up with sharp edges, frozen solid into even thicker ice with pressure ridges cutting our direction. On top of this was a hard snow that did not compress at all up to 1 meter thick. I doubted seriously if the cars would get enough flotation and traction to get through this snow, and I was sure this sharp ice would completely destroy the tires. I stopped the support team and returned back to the cars along with Glyde. One of the presenters asked me why my smile was gone, and I told them that I was really worried. He tried to encouraging me; we would have to get through this, the whole story was based on us getting to the Mag Pole. I could also see the worry in his face, this looked more serious than any of us had expected. Now we started a big struggle to try to find the best way through this. I went ahead, climbed up to the highest ice ridges to get a better overview. I did not have a gun so I had to be careful regarding the Polar bears, although the determination on getting through this was so strong in the beginning that I completely forgot about the bears. When the others told me that they had seen a Polar bear I started to be more careful and always carried the axe with me (not sure if it would help but it felt better!). I also used the axe to cut of the worsted ice edges. Halli and Hjalti did incredibly well when the cars edged their way through, over or in-between one obstacle after another. Hjalti went ahead and the Land Cruiser which was very heavily loaded followed, dancing on top of the ice edges. I waited for something serious to happen. As the Hilux had higher clearance they handled this better. In between we found some smoother areas and on one of those we camped very late this night.
April 29th
Next day the goal number 1, 2 and 3 was to get through this area. People were getting very tired especially the people in the big tent; they were the last ones to go to sleep and would normally wake up early to get breakfast ready. Kenny seamed to have endless amount of energy, despite him probably sleeping the least of all. When I asked him: “How do you do this?” he told me very simply: “you get trained to do this”.
The knuckles of the Land Cruiser were now very badly bended and I just waited for this to brake any minute. Halli had taken the lead one the Land Cruiser as Hjalti took the trailer. He edged the Land Cruiser very slowly through or over one obstacle after another. Hjalti struggled to follow and got it through on sheer determination, needing occasional help. The TV presenters where still learning the snow driving techniques and held behind most of the time. They told me that they had better got more training in driving the car on snow than pulling a pulk on the ice! In between they tried to take a different route by them self’s, sometimes succeeding but as they were still missing the final touch, they tended to drive too fast and hit a number of ice blocks really hard. At one of such occasions an ice block managed to hit the extra fuel tank and push it backwards destroying the rear shock absorber. Luckily they managed to hit the fuel pump and pumped all the fuel from this tank into the main tank. Halli and Hjalti temporarily fixed the oil tank and took one of the shock absorbers from the trailer and put under the Hilux. I continued to scan the area and look for ways through the ice well into the night, until we had about 4-5 km to go with one year old ice, according to the satellite pictures. One year ice indicated better ice to drive on. If we could make it through this area the odds for finishing the last 200-250 km to the Magnetic Pole became fairly good. Judging by the satellite photo the last 4-5 km had the oldest ice and potentially the worst. I asked Glyde to try to find way through this. I had noticed that Glyde had extremely good sense for the snow he always knew in which direction we where going just by looking at the snow and the ice. I had asked him before to find ways through but he did not select the best routes for the cars. But now he was he was starting to understand this better. He left for one hour, while the TV crew was doing some filming, and when he came back he told us that he had seen “good ice” from a distance. He believed there was a route through this that could work. From the few days we had been travelling together I had become very fond of Glyde but when he came back with that news, he was a star! Compared to what we had been fighting up till know, the way he took us was “good” and we got to the “good ice” in the middle of the night. It really felt great!
We then drove north-east on this good ice until it ended and there we camped early next day.
April 30th
We got very short sleep and were already up by 10 or 11 next morning. The TV crew wanted to spend the next 5 hours filming, but very little time had been spent filming while we were fighting through the bolder fields. Glyde and I took off and tried to find a way through the difficult ice ahead, but Hjalti and Halli helped the TV crew to set up the cars and the equipment for filming, using the winches, the chain saw etc. Glyde and I left on two snowmobiles without any camping equipment, I knew that we where in the middle of nowhere and if something happened it would be hard to survive without the camping equipment, but still I felt secure going with Glyde. With the help of the satellite photo, my GPS and Glydes senses we found a way through, not a good one but manageable. Soon after we got back to camp we all took off with the intention of getting as close to the Mag Pole before camping again, no filming should be made. We had close to 200 kilometres to cover.
We drove almost without a stop all the night. According to the satellite photo we should have a one year ice south of King Christian Island but this ice was not so good. We therefore decided to drive onto the island. When we got to the middle of the island we had some deep valleys cutting our path, forcing us to drive east down to the cost and drive north along the beach until we got out onto a fairly good ice driving north towards the next island. Soon after we got out onto the ice again we stopped to refuel. Then we saw a polar bear with two small cups (babies). We where on a flat ice but the polar bears were on the edge of the bolder field. The polar bear was curious and was sniffing into the air but kept the distance. We continued and decided to drive west of Thor Island and over the ocean towards a big peninsula called Noice Peninsula. The ice was very uneven but we managed to keep a speed of 25-30 km most of the time by pushing the suspension of the cars and the people inside had to take a lot of beating.
May 1st
We drove over the Noice Peninsula and this time we took the change and drove down steep slopes into the valleys. For the support team on the snowmobiles pulling the long wooden sleds behind them this was a challenge, as the sleds behind could hit them in the back if they did not go fast enough. At one time we freed the sleds and pushed them over the edge and led them slide into the one of the valley. One of the sleds was getting seriously tired and we wondered if it could hang on. Now it was decided not to stop until we would reach the Mag Pole. The TV presenters were leading when we got to the Mag pole early next morning, they were learning fast and becoming really capable snow drivers. At this point people were extremely tired, Hjalti had fallen a sleep a few times while driving, but he and Halli often had to work on fixing the trailer which was beginning to fall apart from all the beating. The whole team was almost too tired to celebrate reaching the Mag Pole and I guess some were wandering if we will be able to make it back safely? I must admit that I’m surprised how professional and how strong everyone has been, this has been very tough on everyone in so many ways but there is no week link.
After sleeping for only a few hours we broke camp, took group photos and headed of to Issachen. The ice was very rough but no serious obstacles. As the TV crew went on to film an old DC3 airplane that had crashed long time ago, we set up camp on the ice outside of Issachen.
We were getting very low on fuel. The plan was to get a fuel by a plane that would pick up part of the TV crew but no airplane had been able to land in Issachen for a long time (I think since sometime last year). Also Alun from Toyota GB was going to come and replace me on the return journey. The airplane was to arrive the following morning.
May 2nd
I slept for two hours and then went on to check for the airplane which was to land at 10am. I met Kenny, which I assume had not slept at all, but he had been out on the runway calling Resolute. Due to bad weather the plane was now scheduled to land at 2pm but we had been told that it might not be able to fly at all. Kenny had been told that there should be some fuel at the airport and that we would have to work something out. He had got Mark to help him to look for fuel and to clear the runway. Halli joined me to the runway and we started to help them clearing it. We very soon realized that doing this with shovels would take the four of us more than a day so we decided to focus on looking for the fuel and wait for the others to wake up and help with the shovelling. We found hundreds of barrels frozen in the snow, most of them market B2 aviation fuel but they all turned out empty. We knew we could survive with Jet A1 but we could not find any barrels with fuel in it. We found some diesel barrels but they were also empty except for one that was since 1974. We decided to look better and in one location we found a Komatsu ditcher and after reconnecting the battery and some other small repairs Halli got it going and took it to the airport to clear the runway.
When Hjalti woke up he went with Glyde to get a broken snowmobile we had left not far away the day before. After fixing the snowmobile, he started to replace the knuckles on the Land Cruiser and Halli joined him when he had finished clearing the runway.
It was still not possible to fly out of Resolute but they managed to get a flight from somewhere else to land in Issachen, with three barrels of Jet A1. With mixed feelings I left for Resolute along with the presenters. During the race this had become a great team with everyone working fantastically together so it was hard to say goodbye. I must admit that it was fantastic to take a shower and sleep in a normal bed when I got back to Resolute.
May 3rd
On the way back the car team said goodbye to the support team that went on and set up Check Point 2. Following the track back was considerable easier than to make it and more time was now used to film shoots that had been missed during the race. The team arrived back in Resolute late night the May 6th at which point each car driven just under 2000 km in this journey.