An interview with Tyler Fish and John Huston, North Pole '09 Expedition

I recently interviewed John Huston and Tyler Fish about their expedition to the North Pole in 2009 and the launch of their new book, Forward.

Here is an excerpt from the interview:

Tyler Fish, North Pole '09

It was the first American unsupported and unsupplied trip to the North Pole. Writing about it felt like another whole expedition, they said. John Huston and Tyler Fish just released their book Forward and the book (available for purchase at $40.00 on the expedition website) is already acclaimed by readers. Jim Paulson interviewed the skiers/authors for ExplorersWeb.

Jim: It's been two years since the North Pole. What have you been doing since?

Tyler: I've focused on my most important jobs: being a father and husband, and staffing director for Outward Bound, and local ski coach.

John: Writing the book, speaking, guiding, consulting, and working part time in real estate.

Jim: Talk about the process of writing the book? Any challenges?

John Huston, North Pole '09

John: It took us more than six months to feel ready to start writing. Right after the expedition we were too close to the experience and needed to let it breathe a bit. The entire writing process was much more involved and time consuming than we anticipated. It felt like another whole expedition, only without the singleness of focus that comes with being on the ice. It took a lot of whittling down and tweaking to get the narrative to the final product. All in all the process provided perfect closure to the whole expedition experience. We’re closer than ever and we’re happy that we put our experience on paper.

Tyler: Of course there's compromise any time you mix real life and expedition life. That’s hard for everyone involved. John and I have grown closer through the book project. We've thought a lot, encouraged each other, and laughed a lot.

Read the full interview at ExlorersWeb.

Forward, the First American Unsupported Expedition to the North Pole

Forward is their story. Over a period of nearly two months, John and Tyler skied more than 500 miles, hauling sleds that contained everything they needed to survive. They maneuvered their 300-pound loads through punishing rubble fields and swam across stretches of open water. To fuel their bodies and fight back the cold, each consumed more than 7,000 calories per day, downing deep-fried bacon, chunks of butter, and fat-laden pemmican stew.

Richly illustrated with photos, maps, and charts, Forward takes readers across the ice and into the lives of both men, revealing how and why they attempted their unsupported trek to the Pole. The authors describe the details of their journey: the preparations, the daily routines, the personal struggles, and more. This fascinating narrative also interweaves the science of polar travel with the rich history of past explorers, men like Amundsen and Shackleton, who inspired John and Tyler to push themselves to the limits of human endurance.

Available for Pre-order now. Get your copy.

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Vagabond - polar yacht and logistics for expeditions

I started following the adventures of Vagabond and owners, Eric Brossier and France Pinczon du Sel, several years ago after reading about them on a news site. I've had a desire to set sail to the polar sea for most of my adult life and their adventures are a balm to my landlocked soul.

A truly inspiring project and lifestyle. Vagabond, crew and guests have sailed to virtually every corner of the northern polar sea - they've even started a family onboard Vagabond. I stop by their site daily as a reminder that dreaming big is the only way to go.

[Find out more at the Vagabond website]

Vagabond is an expedition yacht designed to sail in icy waters. Since 2000, she is a unique support of this type, a real floating base camp for scientists (collaboration with adventurers or artists, fond of polar regions.

Polar bear warning system

I spent a lot of time last year, when I was prepping for my trip to Baffin, to devise a system for warning when a polar bear was in camp. I setup a simple tripwire system with bells attached to alert when a bear was close. This system was lightweight and easy to setup, but if I fell into a deep sleep I doubt it would be enough to wake me up. Thankfully this was never tested.

Eric and Sarah McNair-Landy, Pittarak Expeditions, have devised a really ingenious system that will definitely wake everyone up and send the bear running.

Check out the video below from Pittarak: Northwest Passage Expedition 2011

05. How we protect against polar bears from Pittarak Expeditions on Vimeo.