Storms and drifting ice but James finally makes it to the North Pole

Storms and drifting ice but James finally makes it to the North Pole

30 April 2014

DRAMATIC storms, drifting ice and chasms of open water stood in the way of 15 year-old James Carton’s attempt to become the youngest person to walk unaided to the North Pole.

James and his dad Niall, who are from Newcastle, set off for the pole earlier this month and were hoping months of hard training would enable them to reach the pole within two weeks.

Both were excited about the trip, which banker Niall, who is currently based in Moscow, has previously undertaken alone. They were hoping that completing the adventure would put James, who turned 15 in December, into the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest person to complete the challenge.

But they could never have anticipated the events that would unfold, with ice drifts dragging them further and further away from the North Pole no matter how hard they skied.

Their online blog, which details their daily progress as part of a larger team, starts out full of hope with clear skies enabling good progress on some days, while stormy days spent chatting under cover of canvas seemed unlikely to thwart their overall effort.

However, towards the end of their journey, when they are within a few short miles of the pole, persistently bad weather put stumbling block after stumbling block in their path.

On April 19, the penultimate day of the challenge, Niall and James slowly struggled against headwinds to make it to within five miles of their goal.

Due to their limited progress, they camped for the night and woke up to find they were caught on the polar treadmill and had drifted 10 miles away.

“They have been giving each day their all, but despite their best efforts they keep encountering road blocks that make reaching the North Pole a frustrating carrot dangling just out of reach,” their blog says.

“Today, they phoned in further south than yesterday, the result of a strong negative drift.

“After trying to pass a lead all day they finally found a spot where it has recently pinched closed and they were planning to head out at 10 or 11pm to once again give the Pole another try.

“It is all very unpredictable, exciting and precisely what makes the North Pole unlike any other expedition on the planet.”

James’ grandmother, Helena Carton, who lives in Newcastle, followed the boys’ progress throughout their trip and said they skied twice the distance they had expected due to the drifts of ice pulling them backwards.

“They had expected to ski for 60 miles but ended up covering 120 miles,” she said.

“On Friday last they were just five miles away and thought they would rest but when they woke up they found they were nine miles away and the ocean opened up in front of them so the last three miles to the North Pole was open Arctic water.

“They were going in circles trying to find a path but in the end they had to be airlifted by helicopter to the North Pole for photographs.

“Although they have not broken the record, it was still an amazing experience for them.

“They are of course a bit disappointed with how things turned out but that is the nature of a polar expedition. On the positive side, because the ice opened up into the sea they saw seals which was amazing.

“We only learnt later that where there are seals, polar bears are not far away, which is a frightening thought.”