Mission which Fiennes failed to complete
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
THIS IS TAKEN FROM THE ITN WEBSITE 26/03/01
Two British explorers were making their final preparations for an attempt to become the first people to cross the frozen Bering Sea by a land vehicle.
The expedition is actually a practice run for an even greater challenge when the men plan to drive continuously from New York to London, crossing the Bering Sea for what would be a second time.
Celebrated explorers Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Richard Creasey have both tried and failed to make the crossing, Fiennes in a Land Rover which sank and Creasey in a Ford.
The Ice Challenger team are using a unique vehicle, Snowbird 5, which has tracks to negotiate ice and claws to claw its way back up on to ice floes should the ice break.
Based on the "piste-basher" snowmobiles, Snowbird 5 has been modified to improve its buoyancy and to enable it to move through icy water.
Snowbird 5 is being flown direct to Nome in Alaska where the team will then drive 170 miles through treacherous No Hope Pass to reach the shores of the Bering Sea at an Innuit village called Wales.
The 56-mile stretch of sea between Siberia and Alaska is only frozen for a few weeks of the year when temperatures drop to minus 70 degrees Celsius.
Even when frozen, the ice is not completely static and the team fear they could end up in the water surrounded by huge chunks of broken ice.
If disaster strikes, the team will abandon Snowbird 5, remove sledges packed with enough emergency supplies for up to six days and wait on the ice to be rescued by helicopter.
Once they start the crossing they will not be able to stop otherwise they would be swept towards the North Pole as the ice is moving north at three miles per hour.
The team has agreed to carry the flag of the prestigious Explorers Club of New York on the epic journey.
Two British explorers were making their final preparations for an attempt to become the first people to cross the frozen Bering Sea by a land vehicle.
The expedition is actually a practice run for an even greater challenge when the men plan to drive continuously from New York to London, crossing the Bering Sea for what would be a second time.
Celebrated explorers Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Richard Creasey have both tried and failed to make the crossing, Fiennes in a Land Rover which sank and Creasey in a Ford.
The Ice Challenger team are using a unique vehicle, Snowbird 5, which has tracks to negotiate ice and claws to claw its way back up on to ice floes should the ice break.
Based on the "piste-basher" snowmobiles, Snowbird 5 has been modified to improve its buoyancy and to enable it to move through icy water.
Snowbird 5 is being flown direct to Nome in Alaska where the team will then drive 170 miles through treacherous No Hope Pass to reach the shores of the Bering Sea at an Innuit village called Wales.
The 56-mile stretch of sea between Siberia and Alaska is only frozen for a few weeks of the year when temperatures drop to minus 70 degrees Celsius.
Even when frozen, the ice is not completely static and the team fear they could end up in the water surrounded by huge chunks of broken ice.
If disaster strikes, the team will abandon Snowbird 5, remove sledges packed with enough emergency supplies for up to six days and wait on the ice to be rescued by helicopter.
Once they start the crossing they will not be able to stop otherwise they would be swept towards the North Pole as the ice is moving north at three miles per hour.
The team has agreed to carry the flag of the prestigious Explorers Club of New York on the epic journey.
