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AN IRISH DUO planning to become the first Irish team of explorers to reach the North Pole have been forced to turn back.
The two-person team of Clare O’Leary and Mike O’Shea said it became impossible to complete the challenge when their plan to share charter logistics with other teams fell apart. The team would have needed between €120,000 and €180,000 to continue the expedition.
Mike O’Shea said that the decision to turn back had been very difficult:
We never anticipated this turn of events. It’s very hard to explain how difficult it is to walk away from an expedition into which we have invested so much time, energy and money – especially when it feels like things are going well for us.
The team had been making good progress through one of the toughest parts of the trek to the North Pole.
“We had been moving well through one of the hardest sections in a period of uncharacteristic bad weather, but with our opportunity of shared resupplies removed we were left with no choice but to return to the start point,” said O’Shea. He said that the team expect to be picked up from their start point on 15 or 16 March.
The expedition was expected to have taken between fifty and sixty days through average daily temperatures of between minus-40 and minus-60 degrees Celsius.
Expeditions to the North Pole have a success rate of around 30 per cent. If O’Shea and O’Leary had made it, they would have been the first Irish expedition to make it to the remote Arctic point.
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Disappointed for them. Lot of preparation goes into these expeditions. Maybe next year…
Awe I am also very disappointed for them too after all the time ,effort and training never mind the expense of it all Next year they may be luckier
What is the point of this trip?
North Pole? :)
They were on a trek to the north pole.
Get some ice.
Ego trip.
They were on their way to an Irish themed pub at the north pole that was opened by two Russians last year. Its meant to be great crack! I was talking to a friend of mine from Newfoundland the other day, he was up there last week,”packed to the rafters” he said. They were belting out Luke Kelly and a crowd of eskimos were giving it “socks”. “F**king nightmare” trying to get a taxi out of the place!
How do you fill your day, Cairo? Any point to any of it?
Ciaro, if you don’t see the point of this expedition then I guess you may lead a very boring life, whats the point of anything?. You might as well stay in bed and just die and do nothing in your life.
You going to ask next whats the point of going into space?
agree and why is it news?
Terrible shame, this was her third attempt.
Ryanair do fly there but the drop off point is 50 miles east of the pole, so either an hour on a bus or a rather expensive taxi ride is required to get you to your destination. Should get a bit of change from 120k though!
How could one be East of the North Pole?
Heroic attempt by two inspirational Irish people.
First Irish team of explorers to reach North pole. Really? Can you not just fly there? Hmm, Get Ryanair to fly over and push them out with two parachutes and a flag. That’ll do the trick…
http://www.polarexplorers.com/expeditions/northpole-flights.shtml
Why walk? From $11,500… :-)
They’d probably leave you further from the North Pole than the start point for the expedition anyway.
from the north pole to the dole what a bummer
Dr Clare O’Leary. Back to the day job in Tip general. How do you fill your day?
Gladly not like yours posting 24/7 on the journal , sad man get a life
Seriously Michael will you get a life. You seem to spend your time asking people how they fill their day rather too often.
So near and yet so far !
They should have just gone to ‘Iceland’, some of their prices are very good value!
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