Saturday, April 30, 2005
Keep on thinking happy thoughts
A team of five adventurers reached the Notth Pole on Tuesday in 36 days 22 hours. They had traveled with a pack of 16 Eskimo huskies nearly 500 miles starting from the northernmost point of Ellesmere Island, near Greenland. Their goal was to show that Robert Peary may have been telling the truth when he claimed to have completed a similar 37-day dogsled run in 1909, becoming the first person to reach the Pole. Peary's account was disputed, and some skeptics questioned whether such a speed was possible. Since then, many expeditions have tried to duplicate the feat, but none had come closer than 42 days until now.
I saw a video on the news that showed the team navigating around frozen water and ice blocks the size of cars that were constantly shifting at incredible speeds. The dogs were straining in their harnesses to pull a huge sled over even larger boulders that were bobbing up and down like boats in rough seas, and the humans were pushing hard to prevent the sled from tipping over. It was amazing that anyone could be doing that for several weeks straight, but one member of the team was Matty McNair, a 53-year old woman and mother of two. When she was interviewed on television, she said simply that yes, it was tough and she was exhausted and aching all over, but "you just have to keep on thinking happy thoughts." Those are truly words to live by.
McNair leading the team through rough ice. Click on above picture for a larger image.
- posted by Woofwoof @ 8:07 AM
Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home
<< Home
