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Press Room

Press Releases

02/09/2004

Alaskan Arctic Ocean is Last Stop For American Athlete Prior to Launching WorldWideLearn.com North Pole Solo 2004
Wave Vidmar checks performance of critical expedition equipment, makes final preparations to become first American to reach geographic North Pole - solo and unsupported

Oakland, California - February 9, 2004 - Wave Vidmar, lifelong adventurer and athlete, is just days away from leaving San Francisco International Airport and heading for Russia to launch his WorldWideLearn.com North Pole Solo 2004 expedition. (http://www.worldwidelearn.com/northpole). His historic quest-to walk, ski and swim over 660 miles across the constantly moving Polar ice is especially notable because Vidmar plans to pull off this tremendously difficult trek alone and without assistance and support. At the completion of his approximately 60-day expedition, Vidmar will become the first American ever to attempt and accomplish this extremely challenging feat, the third person ever to attain this goal, and the second person to reach the North Pole from the Russian side.

Vidmar has spent many months preparing his mind, body and spirit for this moment. One of the last steps in this process was his recent trip to the Arctic Ocean, specifically Barrow, Alaska (pop. 4,500). Barrow is the nation's northernmost community and home to one of the world's largest Eskimo settlements. Wave's mission objective: test his mettle and his equipment.

"Nearly every single person in Barrow warned me about the Polar bears," says Vidmar. "And most of them, including the Eskimo natives, thought I was quite adventurous to head out of town to camp alone for nearly a week. But it was essential to put my equipment to a true test. Fortunately, I didn't encounter a polar bear, but there was plenty of other wildlife, including an Arctic fox that seemed to be stalking me."

Each day, Vidmar rose early and began his testing in minus 37ºF with a wind-chill factor averaging minus 60ºF. His goal was to pull his sledge across the ice, walk with his ski poles, prepare meals, upload data from his PDA. In other words, do all of the things in this sub-zero climate that will be required on his North Pole trek. He stayed on Elson Lagoon for several days, and also took several day trips out onto the Chukchi Sea and trained on the pack ice. The only part of training he was not able to do was swim in the freezing ocean since his dry suit didn't arrive in time.

"The sun never rose, and I only had dusky light from late morning to about 3 p.m.," explains Vidmar. "It's amazing how quickly everything froze, even in my tent at night. This was not unexpected, but it required a different mind-set and methodologies to perform even simple tasks like eating food. I also learned which sleeping pads, gloves and clothing work best, as well as which foods to eat."

Most of Vidmar's equipment worked flawlessly. Those items that didn't perform as expected will be swapped out or adjusted before he leaves for Russia mid-February. Some of the products that made the grade and will be on the WorldWideLearn.com North Pole Solo 2004 expedition include:

• Energizer Lithium batteries (Eveready Battery Company Inc.)
• Gerber 400 Compact Sport multi-tool (Gerber Legendary Blades)
• JVC JY-HD10U high definition camcorder (JVC Company of America)
• Kobold Polar Surveyor wristwatch (Kobold Watch Company)
• Mountain Hardwear technical outerwear (Mountain Hardwear Inc.)
• Nikon Coolpix 3100 and 5400 cameras (Nikon Corporation)
• Princeton Tec Aurora and Yukon headlamps (Princeton Tec)
• Psolar BX full-face balaclava mask (Psolar Inc.)
• SanDisk memory cards (SanDisk Corporation)
• Saturn Suit one-piece fleece long underwear and jacket, (Outdoor Research)
• SealSkinz wind blocker gloves (Porvair International Ltd.)
• Sony TRV22 camcorder (Sony Corporation)

"Testing the performance of my equipment was the last major portion of preparation, and I have complete confidence that I won't be let down when I'm completely alone floating on the Arctic ice," says Vidmar. Vidmar is no stranger to extreme conditions after spending years climbing mountains. However, during this expedition, Vidmar expects to endure average temperatures of minus 30ºF, with lows around minus 60ºF. Factoring in wind-chill, temperatures can plunge to 150ºF below zero. He also faces encounters with the local denizens, including potential brushes with polar bears, as well as killer whales and sharks.

At the end of his equipment testing, Vidmar returned to Barrow, where he gave nearly a dozen presentations to the local schoolchildren. "I used to rank Seattle as America's friendliest city - Barrow now tops my list. The kids were great, and I hope that my drive and desire inspires them to follow their dreams. I'm not sure that the youngest students really fully understood the magnitude of what I'm about to undertake, but when I'm successful it's a moment they'll never forget."

With funding from World Wide Learn, provider of the world's largest directory of e-learning courses and online education resources, Vidmar is scheduled to leave San Francisco on February 17, 2004, arriving in Moscow to gather last-minute supplies before continuing on to Cape Artichevsky (81º16'N-95ºE) aboard a Russian MI-8 helicopter. [See map http://www.worldwidelearn.com/northpole/maps]

Vidmar will be staying in contact with the outside world via satellite phone, and will conduct live media interviews from the ice. Vidmar will also be able to send and receive email, images and short video clips, and will also be the first solo polar explorer to shoot high-definition video and compose music while at the Pole. Complete coverage of the expedition, including daily logs, will be webcast from http://www.worldwidelearn.com/northpole.

Vidmar's historic expedition continues to gain attention. Already, there are several television specials in the works to be aired in the U.S. and Europe. Vidmar also plans to inspire kids to achieve their own goals through the educational component of this expedition, with visits to schools and a traveling interactive museum exhibit in early planning stages.

For more information about Wave's expedition, see http://www.worldwidelearn.com/northpole.

About WorldWideLearn.com North Pole Solo 2004
WorldWideLearn.com North Pole Solo 2004 is the bid of lifelong adventurer and athlete Wave Vidmar to become the first American to reach the geographic North Pole - solo and unsupported. Vidmar's expedition officially kicked off December 2003 with key financial sponsorship from World Wide Learn. Nearly 40 additional sponsors are also supporting Vidmar's unprecedented expedition, including Adobe Systems, Cliff Bar, Dryers Grand Ice Cream, Early Winters, Energizer, Goode, Iron Horse Vineyards, Nike, Nikon, Reed's Sportshop, SanDisk, Scepter, 24-Hour Fitness, and others. Vidmar sets off mid-February 2004 and begins his 60-day odyssey walking, skiing and swimming 600 miles to the North Pole. More information about WorldWideLearn.com North Pole Solo 2004 can be found at www.worldwidelearn.com/northpole or www.northpolesolo.com

About World Wide Learn
Founded in 1998, and based in Calgary, Canada, World Wide Learn offers the world's largest independent directory of educational services, featuring informative resources as well as hundreds of e-learning courses in 247 subject categories. WorldWideLearn.com enables its users to quickly and easily locate effective e-learning courseware. The directory highlights free courses and tutorials, computer training, corporate training, post-secondary education, professional development, personal development, and continuing education. Some of World Wide Learn's leading university partners include Baker College, Capella University, Kaplan University, University of Phoenix and Walden University. More information about World Wide Learn can be found on the company's website at www.WorldWideLearn.com.