Although the North and South Poles have been reached overland all those decades ago, there is still a significant but small group of polar travellers who continue to push back boundaries in the polar regions. They are in most cases totally unknown outside of their own countries and are often forgotten in deference to those with powerful publicity teams. 

Every week, I hope to publish a new blog article to illustrate the remarkable expeditions of another modern polar great.

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ROLF BAE - Norway (January 9, 1975 – August 1, 2008)

The trend of Norwegians continues into Week Two. Rolf Bae was a mountaineer and polar traveller of international note before being killed on K2 in the summer of 2008.

He was married to fellow Norwegian and polar expert Cecilie Skog. Bae crossed the Antarctic in its entirety with Eirik Sønneland in 2000/1 in an epic 105 day 3800km expedition without resupply. The expedition began at the Norwegian Troll Base in Droning Maud Land and reached the South Pole after two months of travel. From here they continued on to reach the Scott Base on the Ross Sea coast. This expedition, despite its enormity and significance, has been routinely under-reported since. This wind-supported polar distance record was only broken in 2006 by Rune Gjeldnes.

On April 24th 2006 he, Skog and Per Borch reached the North Pole unsupported from the Canadian side. This 775km expedition was completed in a record 49 days.

Rolf Bae was killed in an avalanche on K2 in Pakistan, an accident which claimed the lives of eleven climbers in total.

Although the North and South Poles have been reached overland all those decades ago, there is still a significant but small group of polar travellers who continue to push back boundaries in the polar regions. They are in most cases totally unknown outside of their own countries and are often forgotten in deference to those with powerful publicity teams. 

Every week, I hope to publish a new blog article to illustrate the remarkable expeditions of another modern polar great.

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Rune Gjeldnes - Norway

Rune began his polar career in the mid-1990s having completed his military service in a specialist unit of the Norwegian Navy. His military training and upbringing in a nation completely immersed in cross-country skiing has allowed him to become a genuine pioneer and innovator of polar systems and equipment. His influence on sledge(pulka)-design has been instrumental.

His first major expedition was a mammoth 2900km length-wise crossing of Greenland in 1996 using para-sail support after he and Torry Larsen had been parachuted onto the ice. The use of modern-style wind support to improve daily progress was still in its infancy in the mid-1990s.

Gjeldnes' most significant polar expedition to date, one that ranks amongst the most difficult of all time, was the fully unsupported crossing of the Arctic Ocean in 2000 he undertook with long-term colleague Torry Larsen. This 2100km traverse from Russia to Canada via the North Pole was staggering in its sheer distance and technical demands. The pair were, despite their slick and well-practiced polar routine, in a degraded condition by the time they reached land after 109 days.

In a first expedition to the Antarctic, Rune completed the 'Longest March', a 2005/6 4800km wind-supported solo crossing. This smashed the previous distance record without resupply and took only 90 days despite periods of low-winds. He was delivered to his start point at Novo Base, run by the Russian ALCI organisation, by aircraft. On the opposite coast at McMurdo, Rune was picked up by zodiac boat and made his way back to civilisation on a cruise ship.

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This marks an important landmark in polar expeditions in the same league as the 2000 Arctic Ocean unsupported crossing (Gjeldnes and Larsen) and Matvey Shparo and Boris Smolin's North Pole winter success in 2008. 

This also confirms that distances in excess of 1,000 miles are possible in the unsupported (no resupply or power support) polar world. Only two have done so previously, the 2000 Arctic Ocean crossing (1,071 miles) and the Tiso Trans Greenland (1,374 miles).

The concept of an unsupported full crossing of the Antarctic, for example from Berkner Island to McMurdo Bay via the South Pole, is now entirely plausible.

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I'm in Snowdonia in North Wales over the weekend for some climbing and crevasse rescue practice. Ideal conditions, although I'm hoping the roads are passable for the drive up from the South Coast.

Enjoy the snow if you can!

The Pole has not been reached from the ocean since 1999 and their pace was particularly fast.