Arctic adventurers are feeling the impacts of geopolitical tensions. The closure of a base camp run by Russians, essential to several expeditions, forced Vincent Colliard to put aside his dream of reaching the North Pole on skis.
For his part, runner Patrick Charlebois hopes that the organizers of the North Pole marathon, in which he was to participate in April, will find another way to transport participants to the site.
Originally, Barneo was a scientific base that the Soviets set up every year on the ice floe near the North Pole. For about 25 years, Barneo has served as a base camp for Arctic tourists and adventurers.
A Swedish billionaire, Frederik Paulsen, acquired the base camp in 2018, but kept the Russian staff, experts specializing in building and running a base under these very particular conditions.
The camp did not open in 2018 due to a conflict between this Russian team and Ukrainian pilots. The pandemic prevented the base from opening in 2020 and 2021, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine hindered a reopening in 2022.
This year, the Norwegian government did not grant work permits to the 35 Russian experts essential to the opening of the camp. And this week, the Norwegian authorities refused to authorize the flights which were to connect the base to the Norwegian territory of Svalbard, links essential to the project.
The Norwegian Civil Aviation Administration explained that these flights would have a far too high environmental impact in this very fragile region, already struggling with the consequences of climate change.
Vincent Colliard wonders about the reasons given. “In my humble opinion, it’s more about geopolitical tensions. »
He hoped to reach the North Pole from Ward Hunt Island, north of Ellesmere Island, solo, an expedition like the one his wife Caroline Côté recently accomplished in record time in Antarctic.
At the North Pole, he was to take a charter flight to Barneo Base and then to civilization.
“I was preparing all my equipment in Montreal without having confirmation of the opening of the Barneo base, he says. I figured I would still have to get to Resolute Bay with all my gear to be able to catch the last charter flight to Ward Hunt on March 17 or 18. I had calculated that it would take that to reach the North Pole before April 28, the date the Barneo base was scheduled to close. »
In Resolute Bay, in the island of Cornwallis, he still had no confirmation about the opening of Barneo. He had to make a heartbreaking decision: to return to Montreal because it was too risky to leave without the assurance of going through Barneo on the way back.
Leaving his expedition was heartbreaking, financially (he put US$30,000 into it) and personally.
“I spend some time with Caroline who is going to guide an expedition to Greenland. Me, I just turned down an opportunity to guide in Svalbard because I’m too confused in my head, I really need to do a good reset. »
This could mean an expedition to Antarctica at the end of 2024.
Patrick Charlebois still hopes to do his marathon around the North Pole this year. According to the original plan, the participants were to set up base camp at Barneo in April and then take a helicopter to the North Pole.
The organizers first tried to appeal to the Norwegian government, without success. They are now examining the possibility of finding an icebreaker to get close to the pole and hold the event as planned.
“They asked if there was any interest on our side because we are still talking about more time to get to us, says Mr. Charlebois. I raised my hand: by all means, I want to go to the North Pole. »
Commercial companies run icebreaker cruises to the North Pole, but these usually take place in the summer. These cruises are often fully booked months in advance and can cost between $48,000 and $70,000 CAD.
The original marathon project, via Barneo, cost just under C$27,000. It will be postponed to 2024 if these last-minute efforts do not work.
“We are a little surprised because it was done at the last minute, says Patrick Charlebois. That’s what’s flat. But I continue my training as planned. »
