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On 1 July 2006, Lonnie Dupre and co-explorer Eric Larsen became
the first explorers ever to reach the North Pole in summer.
As they travelled 769km from Canada’s Ellesmere Island
to the Pole, Dupre and Larsen encountered a jumble of Arctic
pack ice alternating with patches of open sea. |
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Dupre and Larsen – whose 2005 attempt to cross the Arctic
was thwarted by the early arrival of summer - left Ellesmere
Island on 1 May 2006, crossing ice and sea on two specially
designed sleds that can be converted into sea kayaks. Throughout
their gruelling 62-day journey, Dupre sent regular reports drawing
attention to the threat posed to the Arctic by global warming.
“Scientists already predict that the Arctic will be ice
free in summer as early as 2030 – less than 25 years from
now,” he said. |
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Lonnie Dupre expressed particular concern for one of the region’s
most famous inhabitants - the polar bear - because the animal
is directly threatened by global warming. “As the ice
disappears, so will the polar bear, unless we all act now,”
he says. |
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Dupre’s determination to raise awareness of the risks
to the Arctic was one of the main reasons for his selection
as a Rolex Laureate in 2004. “This expedition has always
been more about exposing the dangers of global warming and the
plight of the polar bear than our physical journey,” he
said on reaching the Pole. With his website and through “Project
thin ice – Save the polar bear”, which is supported
by Greenpeace, he has helped inspire 200,000 people to join
the campaign to save the polar bear and the Arctic.
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