January 16, 2009
John Huston and Tyler Fish were interviewed by WCCO television while training in Northern Minnesota.
Duluth, MN
Reporting Heather Brown
WCCO News
Click here to view the accompanying video.
If Tyler Fish and John Huston are worried about what's ahead, you'd never know it. The two friends are about as cool as the place they're headed: the North Pole. Fish and Huston are taking on what one polar veteran called "the hardest trek in the world."
They'll ski and swim, unsupported, from Ellesmere Island, Canada, to the North Pole. The trip is 475 miles and, they hope, 55 days long. If they complete it, Fish and Huston be the first Americans to do so.
"We're doing it because we really challenging ourselves," said Fish, an Ely native. "When you challenge yourself, you are aware of more and you are living life to the fullest."
They'll start the trip at the end of March, when temperatures up north can reach 60 below zero. By the end of the trip, they'll see close to 24 hours of sunlight and temperatures closer to 10 degrees above zero.The two will pull 500 pounds of gear on sleds. On ice, they'll cross-country ski. On open water, they'll put on dry suits to swim. One of the biggest challenges of the Arctic Ocean is that the ice constantly moves and open water seeps through.
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