In Amundsen's Footsteps

The aim of the expedition is to retrace Roald Amundsen’s 700 mile sledging route that he made from Herschel Island to Eagle in 1905. Nobody has successfully made this journey since Amundsen, but Tim, Wayne, Graham and Earl has the experience to make it. 

Tim has been sledging in both Norway and Alaska since 2006 for distances as long as 650 miles, staying out for 35 days. Wayne Hall, a highly experienced musher and dog handler who is providing all the dogs and sledges for the expedition. Graham Burke, a New Zealander who is the third member of the sledging team. And finally, Earl Rolf who is the fourth member of the expedition. Earl will be running supplies on the Alaskan side of the border with his snow machine. 

The expedition will take place in February and March 2016 in one of the coldest and most remote wildernesses left on the planet. There will be three sledges with 22 dogs, and it will take approximately 30 days to complete the journey.

When Amundsen made the journey in 1905 he was able to buy and trade for supplies as the north of Canada and Alaska was well serviced with trading trails and cabins. Today they are virtually nonexistent. The expedition team will make a comparative report between Amundsen’s and its own journey. They will also be linking schools in Alaska, Canada, Norway and the UK to carry out historical, geographical and environmental projects around the expedition. A further aim is to use the expedition as an educational tool to help raise awareness of global warming and its impact on the Arctic.

The team will initially sledge 100 miles from Eagle to Dawson to get to the Dempster highway then truck 350 miles to Inuvik and fly to Herschel Island where the replication of Amundsen’s journey will start.

Follow their blog for more up to date information or have a look at their live tracking page to see where they are.