Video: Nat Geo Shares Earliest Archival Footage

Want to see the earliest archival video footage from National Geographic's extensive vault of films? The video below provides a glimpse of just that as it gives viewers a look at the 1903 Ziegler North Pole Expedition. The explorers that made up that team set out from Norway with plans to reach the North Pole. But, their ship got trapped in the ice and the group ended up stranded for a year. This video gives us a look at a bygone era in exploration and a sense of what it was like for that team as they set off into the unknown. Interesting stuff to be sure.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes Attempting New Adventure Record

Famed British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes is about to embark on yet another mission. This time the many who has been called "the greatest living explorer" hopes to become the first person to cross both polar ice caps and climb the Seven Summits. And thanks to his already long history of undertaking major expeditions, he is already well on his way to accomplishing this goal.

Thanks to previous adventures, Fiennes has already skied across both the Arctic and Antarctic. He has also climbed Everest, Kilimanjaro, and Mt. Elbrus as well. That leaves him with Carstensz Pyramid in New Guinea (Australasia), Mount Vinson in Antarctica, Aconcagua in Argentina (South America), and Denali in North America to complete the tallest peaks on each of the seven continents. He hopes to wrap up each of those mountains within the next year, giving him the distinction of being the only person to accomplish all of these feats.

The 72-year old explorer is undertaking this mission as part of the Global Reach Challenge, an endeavor he has undertaken in an attempt to raise funds for Marie Curie, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting those living with a terminal illness as well as their families. To date, Fiennes' efforts have raised more than £300,000 ($393,000).

First up on the hit list will be Carstensz Pyramid, with that expedition getting underway soon. He'll have to wait until December of this year to attempt Mt. Vinson however, as the austral winter will prevent that climb from happening any sooner. As the highest mountain outside of the Himalaya, Aconcagua will pose a serious challenge, but the ultimate test will likely come on Denali sometime early next summer. Considering Fiennes has already successfully climbed Everest, he shouldn't find Denali to be particularly daunting, but the combination of unpredictable weather and unique technical hurdles still makes it a difficult proposition.

Reaching the North and South Pole and also climbing the Seven Summits is often referred to as the Adventure Grand Slam or Explorer's Grand Slam. Obviously, this has been done by a number of people in the past, but no one has skied across the entire Arctic and Antarctic, via the North and South Poles, before. That will give the British adventurer a leg up on the competition, and set his achievement apart from most others. It should be interesting to follow along with his journey and watch his progress unfold.

Good luck Ran!

Cold War Politics at the North Pole

If you read this blog regularly, you probably saw my coverage of the North Pole exploration season this past spring. While there were no full-distance expeditions to the North Pole from either the Canadian or Russian side of the ice as there has been in years past, there was still plenty of drama to be had. That's because Norway and Russian got into a bit of a showdown over who gets access to the Arctic. The pissing match between those two countries turned into a bit of a political and logistical nightmare that resulted in some polar explorers, adventurers, and researchers being left in the lurch while attempting to travel to and from the Arctic this spring. And the fallout from this exchange could have long-lasting repercussions for the future.

I reported several times on the fact that flights to the Barneo Ice Camp – the temporary base built at 89ºN each year – were delayed coming out of Longyearbyen, in Svalbard, Norway because of security issues. Those flights are for massive Russian supply planes, which are used to shuttle gear and personnel too and from the Arctic. The aircraft typically fly from Russia to Norway, where they pick up passengers and supplies before proceeding on to Barneo. But this year, this procedure caused a stir when the transport planes carried a team of Chechen soldier who were on their way to the Arctic to conduct training exercises. Norwegian officials say that the Russians didn't inform them that these commandos would passing through their country, and in retaliation they revoked all of the flight permits, and changed the procedure for how the Russian jets come and go.

All of this was further compounded by the fact that the Barneo station had one of its most challenging years ever. Each year, a team of Russian engineers parachutes out onto the ice to build a temporary base that includes a 4000-foot (1220 meter) runway. That camp is then used to facilitate travel throughout the Arctic for a month or so. But this year, the landing strip had all kinds of issues, having to be rebuilt on multiple occasions and even forcing the relocation of the base at one point.

As you can imagine, all of this led to a tumultuous season at the North Pole this year, and will dramatically impact operations moving forward. Just exactly what happened, and how it will change travel in the Arctic in the future, is detailed in this article from Outside magazine. The story goes to great lengths to lay out the facts of what happened and the dispute that it has created between the Russians and the Norwegians. If you followed the events as they unfolded this past spring, or know the logistics of Arctic travel, you'll find it to be a good read.

It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out in the future. At the end of the Arctic season, the team that operates Barneo said that they would shift their logistical base back to Russia and travel through Franz Josef Land starting next year. That will work of course, but it means more hassle for the people coming and going from Barneo. Whether or not that has a real impact on travel at the top of the world remains to be seen.

Climber Sets New Speed Record for Climbing Seven Summits

Climbing the Seven Summits remains quite a milestone in the world of outdoor adventure, but those hoping to do so in record time now have an impressive new mark to try to beat. American climber and endurance athlete Colin O'Brady reached the summit of Denali in Alaska this past weekend, wrapping up his quest to climb the highest peaks on each of the seven continents, a feat he accomplished in just 132 days.

O'Brady's Seven Summits bid started this past January, when he traveled to Antarctica to climb Mt. Vinson. He followed that up with Aconcagua in South America, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Carstensz Pyramid in Oceania, Elbrus in Europe, Everest in Asia, and Denali in North America. Those last two mountains were summited just eight days apart. The previous record for climbing the Seven Summits was 134 days, set by Vern Tejas back in 2010.

The Seven Summits speed record isn't the only one that O'Brady is claiming. Between climbing all of those mountains, he also managed to ski to both the South and North Pole, reaching the former on January 10 and the latter on April 19. That has given him claims of completing the "Explorers Grand Slam" as well. But, both of those excursions were last degree ski expeditions and did not cover the full distances to either of the Poles. Colin is claiming a record of 139 days to finish his entire project, which beats the previous record of 192 days.

O'Brady wasn't just going after speed records in his adventurous start to 2016. He also was working to raise $1 million for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation as well. That organization is working to combat child obesity by inspiring kids to be more active and eat healthier too. Colin didn't quite hit that goal, raising about $15,772 instead, but for this important cause, every dollar counts.

Congrats to Colin on claiming the speed record for the Seven Summits. It seems like it will take a tremendous effort to by another climber to beat this mark.