[ FAQ & Interviews ]
Q & A: The Expedition
Q. What's an education company doing sponsoring an expedition to the North Pole?
A. You never know where learning, education and experience will take you! World Wide Learn applauds Wave's quest for knowledge and personal enrichment and by supporting his goals and inspiring expedition, we hope to inspire you to pursue your dreams.
Q. What route will the expedition take?
A. Wave will fly from San Francisco to Moscow and then board a Russian MI-8 helicopter for the last leg to Cape Artichevsky. From Cape Artichevsky he will then walk, ski and swim to the geographic north pole.
Q. How long will it take Wave to reach the North Pole?
A. Wave has allowed 60 days for the trek to the North Pole from Cape Artichevsky. He anticipates reaching the North Pole around April 30, 2004.
Q. How long does it take to train for an expedition like this?
A. Already an accomplished athlete, Wave's previous training activities include bicycling across America, training trips to Canada and Alaska, weight training, climbing, mountaineering, and other activities. For this expedition, Wave is training 2-10 hours a day, with activities like swimming for a mile underwater; and hauling a set of tires around his neighborhood.
Q. How many other solo unsupported have been successful? How many unsuccessful?
A. Only two other people have ever made it solo and unsupported, Børge Ousland (Norwegian) who completed the journey in April 1994 after 52 days on the ice and Pen Hadow (Great Britain) who finished in May 2003 after a 63 day trip.
Q. Has anyone planted a pole there?
A. There have been lots of poles planted at the geographic North Pole, however due to the floating arctic ice, then are not in correct position for very long, sometimes just a few minutes to several hours. Eventually all poles are embraced (eaten) by the ocean.
Q. If there are no roads and no road signs, and you're all by yourself, how do you navigate to find the North Pole?
A. There are several methods, the most accurate being GPS (Global Positioning Satellite system). Using a GPS unit you can find the North Pole within an accuracy of about 15 feet.
Q. How did they navigate years ago?
A. Other methods include using the sun, and a Sextant (a traditional instrument used for centuries, mostly by sea-faring navigators).
Q. Who made the first journey to the North Pole?
A. Both Robert Peary and James Cook are credited with reaching the pole, but by their own records and accounts its likely that neither men ever reached the pole (actually several hundred miles away). It would have to be the guy that reached the pole via a plane, or the snowmobile expedition in 1968, or the nuclear sub.
