Another Arctic balloon just got popped
I've only just picked up on the news that ski expeditions to the North Pole have been canned for the third year in a row, reports ExplorersWeb. Putting aside the obvious environmental factors - reduced pollution and disruption to Arctic wildlife - this is a huge blow for the planned 2021 expeditions. Right now there's a backlog of teams that has accumulated over the last three years and this logjam is getting bigger.
The obvious answer would be to increase the number of teams allowed on the ice, but Barneo, the floating ice station built every year by the Russians, can only support a relatively small number of explorers.
Add in the annual price hike for the journey and it would be fair to say that many people will either cancel their planned journeys, or find themselves priced out of the expedition game.
