Traversée de l’océan Arctique à ski : « C’était un moment magnifique quand ils sont arrivés lentement au bateau »

L’explorateur sud-africain Mike Horn, qui connaissait avec un compagnon des difficultés lors de la traversée de l’océan Arctique en ski en raison des effets du réchauffement climatique, a gagné le bateau qui devait  récupérer les deux hommes, l’expédition touchant à sa fin, a-t-on appris dimanche auprès des organisateurs.

Mike Horn et son acolyte norvégien Boerge Ousland, âgés respectivement de 53 et 57 ans, « ont atteint le Lance (le bateau). Ils en ont fini avec l’expédition à ski », a dit à l’AFP un porte-parole de l’équipe, Lars Ebbesen.

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Expedition update 44: At approximately midnight last night, Pangaea received a call from the Lance to announce that Mike, @borgeousland, @aleksandergamme and @polarbengt finally made it back to the boat safe & sound. We will be posting a more detailed update once we get more information, but for now it is time to let our two heroes get a well deserved rest and recover from the incredible feat they just accomplished! ?@etienneclaret

Une publication partagée par Mike Horn (@mikehornexplorer) le 7 Déc. 2019 à 9 :56 PST

Les deux hommes avaient quitté Nôme en Alaska par voilier le 25 août puis atteint la mer de glace le 12 septembre et se déplaçaient depuis à ski, en tirant des traîneaux chargés de vivres.

Ils avaient passé le Pôle Nord le 27 octobre.

Leurs rations s’épuisant lors de la dernière semaine, deux membres de l’équipage du Lance étaient venus à leur rencontre pour leur apporter du ravitaillement vendredi et ils ont terminé à quatre l’expédition.

« C’était un moment magnifique quand ils sont arrivés lentement au bateau », a confié M. Ebbesen.

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Expedition Update 39: Since there is a lot of information going around, I wanted to share with you our latest plan of action. As most of you know, the goal of this expedition was to be dropped off at 85deg north with my boat Pangaea (Alaska side), to cross the Arctic Ocean via the North Pole (90deg north), over onto the Norwegian side until we reached a satisfying position to be picked up by Pangaea. We estimated this position to be at approx. at 80deg north based on satellite images. This would have totalled up to approx. 1600km (in a straight-line) to cover from start to finish. As the expedition days, weeks and months went by, it became increasingly clear that @BorgeOusland and I were going to be short on food to cover the distance we originally anticipated. From the start of the expedition, our daily progress (av. 15km/day) was a lot less than we expected, mostly due to the surprisingly large amount of open water, bad weather, and negative ice drift pushing us back. Today, at the position where we currently find ourselves (82deg56’), we have covered just over 1300km in a straight-line, which means we would still have to walk another 300km if we wanted to reach Pangaea at 80deg…with 3 days food left, this would be impossible. So we had no other choice but to come up with an alternative pickup plan. Adamant to finish the expedition the same way we started (by boat), we found a Norwegian ice going vessel (Lance), larger than Pangaea, that was willing to help us out. As I write these lines, Lance is on its way to pick us up. We gave each other rendezvous at 82deg north, meaning we still have approx. 90km to cover with those 3 days of food left. Although it is a much better option than Pangaea, it is still going to be a very close call, but as I said yesterday, this is the adventure we signed up for! (On the image above you can see Lance attempted a first entry into the ice before getting stuck, obliging them to turn back and try another lead.) – ***more info on Facebook post*** – I understand that all this information is probably confusing, that is why my team will answer your questions in an Instagram live tomorrow. So prepare your questions and stay tuned!

Une publication partagée par Mike Horn (@mikehornexplorer) le 3 Déc. 2019 à 10 :19 PST

Selon le site de suivi maritime, MarineTraffic.com, le Lance, un brise-glace se situe sur le 82e parallèle nord dans des eaux norvégiennes de l’océan Arctique.

Il va désormais gagner les côtes norvégiennes, ce qui, selon M. Ebbesen peut prendre aussi bien « trois jours que trois semaines ».

L’expédition, qui devait durer deux mois, s’est finalement étalée sur 87 jours.

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Expedition Update 34: Safe to say that I’ve had easier weekends in my life as an explorer. After last week’s endless obstacles and difficulties, @borgeousland and I are grateful to start the new week with a fresh mindset. Today, despite our sores (as seen on this photo), we are feeling tired but unstoppable…we know the end is near, so now, we must gather up the strength we have left, and fight to get there. What better way to start the week than with a massive storm?! We therefore had no choice but to set camp and wait for the chaos to pass before we can confidently venture outside again. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise in some weird way…our bodies were really in need of some rest after the physical and emotion exhaustion we went through over the weekend. Although we have rarely been in such a bad storm, the bright and uplifting side is this! Finally the wind is in our favour pushing us towards the south, rather than back to the north. This good news certainly gave us an energy boost, and the confidence that maybe we will be able to end this expedition the way we have initially planned. This unexpected turn of events must be due to all the positive vibes you have been sending our way. @AnnikaHorn and @JessicaaHorn have been updating me with your messages of support and I can only admit that this has been giving us the kick of energy we needed. It is a hostile world up here…and the constant unstable conditions have made it quite clear that we are not welcome here. In some twisted way, I ask myself if nature has been taking it out on us because of the manner in which we humans have been treating and respecting our planet…one thing is certain, something is obviously not quite right. With just over one week of food rations left, we are carefully planning each and every next step. We are longing to get home, but there is no giving up…we are here to fight until the very end. Thank you all for your heart-warming support, we will be keeping you closely updated! #NorthPoleCrossing #Pole2Pole #MikeHorn

Une publication partagée par Mike Horn (@mikehornexplorer) le 25 Nov. 2019 à 6 :30 PST

« Nous savions que ce serait une expérience difficile dès le début, mais ce que nous avons vécu là-bas a été bien au-delà de notre imagination », a dit Mike Horn, cité dans un communiqué.

« Ils vont mieux que ce que nous pensions et maintenant, ils peuvent se reposer », a expliqué M. Ebbesen, soulagé.

A cause du changement climatique, la glace est plus fine que d’habitude et davantage susceptible de dériver, ce qui a compliqué l’expédition des deux hommes.