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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
Welcome home! Mark Roberts and his family and Shaune Adderley and his family at the Lynden Pindling International Airport on April 22nd, 2015.
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Nassau, Bahamas - Bahamian explorers Mark Roberts and Shaune Adderley returned safely home on April 22nd into the loving arms of family members. The two were successful in becoming the second and third Bahamians to plant the Bahamian Flag at the North Pole last Friday.
The trek was made under the guidance of an experienced team of New Zealanders, some of whom had previously been to the South Pole. After flying in to the continent, they skied or traveled by dogsled up to 12 hours a day over shifting ice for the 120 mile journey to the Pole. Average temperatures ranged from - 20 to - 40 and sometimes - 80 with wind chill.
"Our guides made sure we were monitoring ourselves for
temperature, positive outlook, and confidence, "said Roberts. "Along
with Julian who was the leader of the 'tourists' and our unspoken
leader, Byron, Tommy and Nancy made the trip!"
"Byron was skier, scout, trail blazer and did all of the cooking. Tommy,
owner of all the dogs, raced in the 2014 Iditerod and is one tough
Norwegian and very cool guy," said Roberts. "Nancy, a skier, scout, and trail blazer
took care of us ALL and would ask how we were doing 5 times a day,
making sure we drank our liter of water in the a.m., snacked during the
day, and ate all our food and drank another liter of water at night."
Although Roberts and Adderley carried a satellite radio with them in case of emergencies, they used texting as their main method of communication with home, sending messages and photos for posting on their Facebook page
Left to right: Mark Chapel, Mark Roberts, Alex McPike, Joann McPike, Julian McPike, and Shaune Adderley.
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As the saying goes, "getting there is only half the battle," and it was on their return from the Pole that they spent time in what they described as scary and possibly dangerous blizzard white-out conditions. Missing their flight due to the weather they waited out the storm at Barneo, an ice base camp sponsored by the Russian Geographical Society. "We were likely very safe," said Mark Roberts. "But your mind begins to plays tricks on you."
Roberts sent a message to The Bahamas saying, "Missing family, friends and country. We were rescued yesterday from ice patch we were on. Today we are in blizzard conditions, no planes can get us from Barneo. It is looking grim. The Russian base is friendly and we have barrack style tents, but still no showers. We really need the prayers and positive vibes of our nation to send us a clear bit of weather so we can return home safely."
Well all the prayers must have worked, as the next day their Facebook page reported, "Today we left Barneo at 1 pm in full sunshine on the Antonov 74 for a 2.5 hour flight to Longyearbyen for two hours to repack and shower then blast back to the airport for a 4 hr 20 minute flight to London."
Roberts and Adderley are now glad to be home and are feeling honoured to have completed one of the top twenty toughest challenges in the world. Quite impressive when Adderley had never even seen snow before!
"It was an amazing adventure, and we really want to thank Julian and Joann for the invitation and their faith in us to get the job done," said Mark Roberts.
"Julian is a real mountain man and when we did make it back to Barneo
and could sleep in the Russian tents that had cots and heat, he chose
to set up the tents we used on the ice and sleep outside in the blizzard
and -22 and 30 mph winds along with the guides. Tough guys next to us
Bahamian warmth seekers!"
When asked if he would do it again, Roberts said, "It was an amazing adventure, but there's no way!"
Pray for the safe return of our Bahamian North Pole Explorers
LISTEN to the phone interview with The Tribune HERE.
The Bahamian Flag Makes it to the Top of the World
Watch the Tourism Today video.
Guides Byron, Tommy and Nancy: "Along with Julian who was the leader of the 'tourists' and our unspoken leader, Byron, Tommy and Nancy made the trip!" said Roberts.
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Scenes from the north...
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