Help me WIN on Facebook!

I’m back from the North Pole and I can’t wait to tell you all about it, but I’d like to do it in a really amazing way! I’d like to be able to share my entire experience with you through explore magazine! Yes, I have been accepted as a finalist to explore magazines Top 30 under 30 contest. I am actually one of the Top 5 and I am currently sitting in second place! I’m really thrilled about this and the only way I can WIN is with your help!

1st: Go to http://www.facebook.com/exploremag and like the page! (Hit the “LIKE” button close to the top of the page)

2nd: After you’ve completed step 1, go to http://ht.ly/4T3kK and click on my picture (I’m in the red wind suit standing at the North Pole). This will open my picture larger and on the left side side of my picture (in the black area) will be a like button. Please “LIKE” it!

You must do these steps in order. The “LIKE” button will not show up unless you “LIKE” explore’s page first.

Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out!

Ryan has arrived at the North Pole!

At 7:20 am Thursday April 28th, Ryan Malfara and his team finally reached their goal, the Magnetic north pole. High on adrenaline and pure excitement they enjoyed and cherished the moment.
They haven been camping out there ever since, awaiting the arrival of their “pick-up” plane, which was a tricky endevour with the uncontrollable weather conditions. But the good news is that I have word, that they are on their way back to resolute bay to catch the early flight tomorrow morning out to Ottawa – at which point I will see Ryan at approx. 4:50 pm. I am counting the minutes!
Then on Sunday morning we will be heading out to GRAIL SPRINGS for a 1 week rejuvenation retreat, where I will be hosting a Delicious Week of Knowledge and Ryan will get the chance to rest is very tired feet and very cold body.

From here on in, Ryan will most likely be updating his blog, letting you know about his experience. Sharing stories, insights and I am sure, so much more!
Thank you for all your support!

A Note from Ryan and 38 Miles to go!

I was thrilled when I got an email last night that was entitled…”Message from Ryan”. I have been waiting for one of these since her first started. I got my very own private message from Ryan which made me miss him even more, but I also got another one which is to you, his readers, friends, family and support! I thought I would share his letter so you could see not only how good Ryan’s penmanship is (despite his freezing hands) but also to know that he is alright and thinking of you!

Over the next 2 days the two teams have to cover 38 Miles to make it to the official magnetic north pole. This can be done, they have already covered over 290 miles, so this is nothing by comparison. A walk in the very very cold park!

I know by now, the teams and Ryan especially, are just eager to get to the end, to come home and warm up. It has been a very long and cold month. But I think more than anything everyone is excited to share their, stories and their pictures. I know that I can’t wait to see what Ryan has experiences over the last four weeks!

The last leg was very long, with a few rocky bumps along the way and another wind storm, but nothing like the one on leg # 2. They hit a patchy area where communications were lost, but leave it to Ryan to make sure that all got sorted out. He was resourceful and found a way to make sure his phone call went through to give their approximate coordinates along with their daily update:

“Ryan Malfara, who handles Team Internationals comms however had the “wit of mind” to use one of our other contact numbers through to our Checkpoint Team, (and got through) still sitting at the top of Bathurst Island who relayed an approx position to us, which showed them as having done 18 nautical miles and still in the tracks of Slugs. This shows that they are both making determined efforts to make the KCI Checkpoint for the final push for home.”

So they have just left Checkpoint #3. Ryan’s team came in a little later than expected…but all in good time.

More than Halfway!

Aerial view of the Polar Racers as the checkpoint team passes over them!

Great news! Ryan has crossed over checkpoint # 2 and is now more than halfway there. They have covered most of their distance by now and they will all be arriving at the magnetic North Pole by the end of next week.

See the distance and time difference between the two teams here!

The days are getting longer and even slightly warmer, (-20) instead of (-40). That is a pretty big difference when you are talking relatively!

Ryan’s team made it into Checkpoint # 2 late on Tuesday night. They were slowed down a bit by Ryan’s sore foot. He is alright, and pulling through with every ounce of strength that he’s got in him. Thanks to his good nutrition, he will be just fine! In fact I found it interesting when it was posted on the Polar Race website about what the racers are eating – which is great for people to know just what is consumed during the long hard days of this race.

Here is what the racers are eating...
People often ask what the racers eat during the day?

The answer is a day bag which typically weighs between 0.5-0.7kg each and normally contains most of the following, which gives them sufficient calories (~2500) to see out the day.

* Dried fruit
* Banana chips
* Biscuits (mix of sweet and savory)
* Cheese
* Flapjack
* Nutri-Grain bar
* Mixed nuts
* Chocolate
* Dry meat stick and dry salami
* Sweets
* Brownie bar

This was especially interesting for me to see as Ryan’s nutritionist and fiance - as these items are nothing compared to the super nutrition that Ryan is eating! I just wish I could have provided the same food for all the racers!

Here is what RYAN IS EATING!

Making Tracks… after 3 days of being still!

That’s Ryan in the middle!

I don’t know if you heard, but the weather conditions were so bad up North that both teams were hunkered down for 3 days. The winds were blowing so fast “40 knots” and it was so cold, that the teams had no choice but to stay warm and stay put!

Not happy with this news, I couldn’t get my head around what Ryan would be doing with himself without moving for 3 days. So I wrote curious email to his best friend and mentor Raymond Aaron who did this race 4 years ago.

Marni: What do you think they are doing in their tents? I imagine things are getting rather dull – not much to do. Any thoughts? are they sleeping, talking, having fun…??
I can only imagine just how “stir crazy” Ryan is going right now being so still!

Raymond: Dear Marni …

They are likely bored to tears in their tent. They have already videotaped each other and written in their journal. That took an hour or so. That still left the majority of two whole days. Not a pleasant thought. However, MUCH more pleasant than being in that extreme cold with very high winds. Jock told me that in those conditions flesh freezes in 30 seconds. So, they are safe and happy inside. And, I can totally assure you that they are peeing and pooping VERY fast. LOL.

Marni: Wow, I can’t even imagine. Is it warm enough in there? Food supply going to be okay?
They will most likely move their CP 2 closer…right? as they still have so much longer to go?

Raymond: It is definitely warm enough. they have sufficient food. they will NOT have sufficient fuel to keep both burners going for two days in the tent but they
know that and they will sometimes have the burners on and sometimes snuggle inside their sleeping bags. They do have sufficient food as Jock requires them to take three days’ extra. The issue is really boredom. CP2 will not move. They still have to cover the same distance, they just are delayed two days.

This is where I got kind of sad. As not only am I dying to see Ryan at this point, I miss him so much. I am also due to pick Ryan up on April 30th in Ottawa as I am hosting a Retreat in Bancroft the following day and Ryan is supposed to come with me, so that we can have a relaxing and rejuvenating week together so he can recover and heal. There is no other way! He has to get there on the 30th – so please send out your good thoughts and motivation to him by commenting below.

The good news is that as of this morning, the update delighted me to say that they are making tracks again and on their way to checkpoint # 2!!!

Report on the weather!

Update from April 14th

“The teams made the effort and what more can you ask but in the dreadful conditions they all soon decided that it is best to be safe.

We had a gusts of over 40 knots in Resolute today so I was keenly (and with some apprehension) waiting news from our teams. I was delighted with their behaviour as both had attempted to travel and made some distance but called it a day before it became dangerous.”

Absolutely the right thing to do!”

Update from April 15th

“With the winds still gusting up to 35 knots and blowing snow no one moved today!

With the weather set to improve steadily from tomorrow we are all hoping for better things. As one team said on the satellite phone. “We are becoming stir crazy but know there is nothing we can do” (for sure this came from Ryan)

The intention if the weather improves as predicted is to move the CP team tomorrow afternoon to await the teams’ arrival.”

As you can see from the Map Below – they are moving closer to the end!

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Ryan arrived at Checkpoint #1 and is moving on…

Update by Marni Wasserman

Ryan safely arrived in first place to checkpoint #1. His team, “The Internationals” have been trekking for 1 week, and they have finally arrived for a 24 hour rest period. I was expecting an email from him at any point over the weekend, but to my surprise I had the pleasure of actually speaking to Ryan…an unexpected but much needed phone call connection. Ryan was handed the phone and allowed to make a brief call to me, this was better than any email!

Ryan told me just how cold it truly is up there ( I don’t think words can describe) and everything he is experiencing, is so far beyond anything he had imagined. He sounded great despite his frozen lips (which I could barely make out at first) and his longing to hear my voice, but I think our phone conversation rejuvenated him and set him forth to continue the race with strength and confidence!

Ryan’s team also had their first polar bear sighting. After recognizing that the giant white frosty and hungry bear was not a threat, they were in complete amazement of just how “cool” it was to see a real live polar bear on his own turf. I am hoping for incredible videos and photos to follow up with!

If you haven’t been following along, I am going to provide you with some updates below of what the last week has looked like!

But to find out all the updates, track Ryan’s progress (the red bubble) and see more videos please visit the POLAR RACE 2011 website!

Checkpoints

Published: Monday, 11th April 2011 07:30

With all teams now in, the chance was taken to repair and mend equipment and rest weary bodies with a hoped for start of 09.00(local time) on Monday, which would be bang on schedule.

In Resolute we are at the moment anxiously examine the synoptic charts, as after the Start we intend to move the Checkpoint Team. However we may have “blowing snow” conditions at Cator Harbour the location of CP2 which may preclude this. In which case Tony is “readying himself” to skidoo to Polaris to pick up Danny who must be on a Tuesday flight back to the UK.

We have been asked by a number of people what we mean by “checkpoints” and how they apply to the Polar Race.

To read more on this post from today click here…

First Leg Winners at Polaris

Published: Sunday, 10th April 2011 08:00

Obviously spurred on by the chasing pack, Team Internationals (Ryan Malfara, Lee Swan and Rob Platt) were first into the Polaris checkpoint late yesterday afternoon at 16.52 taking advantage of the beautiful conditions with a light following wind.

The three of them were naturally jubilant about arriving first into Polaris.

They were followed exactly one hour later at 17.52 by the Slugs (Rob MacAllister, Lucy Maizels and Jo Winchcombe) who had been spurred on by siting a Polar bear which was thankfully going in the opposite direction to them!

The Polaris they all will be arriving at now is very different from the one still in existence even only 7 years ago. The Polaris site, then the Polaris mine also included probably the most northerly swimming pool in the world. Not as “far out” as you would think as of course the biggest concern in Arctic communities is fire and at least here was a source of water as well as a recreational facility for the miners!

The building where the ore was stored had reputedly the largest roof in Canada and with a red maple leaf on it could be seen from 20 miles away.

The mine however is now no more. It has all been taken apart and dumped down the old mine shafts and the land returned to its virgin state. Only the air strip remains.

On the Start Line for The Blue Ice Trophy

Published: Tuesday, 5th April 2011 22:30

At 08.30 local time the contestants left the South Camp Inn where they had enjoyed some exceptional food courtesy of cook, Randy, and made their way to the Co-op, where we had laid out the Start Line for the 5th Polar Race. Organiser Jock Wishart read out a weather report $mdash; it is a cold -34 degrees — followed by a “strident” rendition of the poem “The Quitter” by Robert Service.

There was a few tears shed as the racers said their goodbyes, confident in their abilities but still a trifle apprehensive about the coming weeks.

At 09.11 precisely, Jock “fired” the start gun and they were off in the race for the Blue Ice Trophy.

Watch Ryan cross the start line!

See Ryan in his tent during their training in Resolute Bay – this was before the race had begun!

See what it looks like where Ryan is trekking and how their mini expedition was…again this was before the race!

A night in the cold

Last night we had our first night in the cold. It was definitely very cold. Me and my team mates made the mistake of not using the fleece lining, thinking it would be too warm, we were wrong!

We spent the night freezing! A good lesson to learn soon in this experience. The race organizers have been good to update www.polarrace.com, make sure you look there also for updates.

We start in a few days … I’ll be trying my best to share as much as I can between now and then!

Arrived in Resolute

Yesterday we finally arrived in Resolute! I’m so thrilled to finally be here. Thankfully our second attempt at getting here worked and we did arrive. Again we had a couple of stops to make along the way, first in Hall Beach, then in Arctic Bay and finally Resolute.

The weather has been great, nothing I haven’t experienced before in Toronto, Calgary or Halifax. It’s really quite nice. I mean it’s still -20 here, but there is just a really nice calmness about it. It’s not the bone chilling we have in Toronto. I’ll be honest and say I would really like to experience a wildly cold day, but for the getting ready, this is nice!

Today we went out on cross country skis. This is the first time I’ve been on skis basically in my life. I’ll be honest I went downhill skiing once in grade 6, but I don’t think that really counts. Out we went and I had so much fun. I do have to say I was really good. I felt really confident and was able to go quite fast. I think this is a result of the great training I had from Dr. Chris and from Scott keeping me balanced.

Tonight we are going to camp outside foe the first time. They tell us it’s going to be the worst night we will experience. I don’t think it’s going to be that bad.

My food and snacks are waiting to be used later this week. But ShaSha Bread saved me while traveling up here, it was a great snack. I’, holding on to the rest, especially the Goconuts until we begin.

Thanks for the comments, please keep them coming!

Stuck in Iqaluit

Today we were supposed to arrive in Resolute in order to start our race training. First Air had other plans though!

We left Ottawa bright and early at 6:00am in order to catch our first flight to Iqaluit, NU. As a frequent flyer I was actually quite impressed with First Air. We flew a 737 and I don’t think I’ve ever sat in economy and had so much leg room. Mind you I was in the exit row, but from what I could see all the rows were the same. The plane was about half full, leaving lots of extra room.

Landing in Iqaluit was quite an eye opener. It really is quite different up here. I don’t know if I can quite explain it, it’s a combination of up-in-coming city and small town community from 30 years ago all wrapped up onto one. To get the right picture, you might just have to wait until I get home and you’ll see what I mean in my pictures.

In Iqaluit we had a couple hour layer over, in which we used to take a walk around town and take in the different lifestyle. In my opinion, way too disconnected! My team mates are noticing that I am probably going to have technology withdrawal during the race.

From Iqaluit we were scheduled to fly to Arctic Bay and then on to Resolute. However we had a little bit too much weight and had to make a refueling stop in Hall Beach. During our quick “15 min.” stop the ground crew opened up one of the engines. This was our first sign that something was up. 4 hours later First Air finally let us know that we would not be continuing our journey. Instead they would be bringing a new plane in for us and flying us back to Iqaluit. Apparently this is the closest place they could safely land at night that had hotel rooms to accommodate us.

Tomorrow morning we will hopefully be on our way to Resolute where we can start our training. I will say that the benefit of today is that we had a lot of time to spend chatting and really got to know our team mates, competitors and race organizers. What an amazing group I have the privilege of going through this experience with! I am so excited.

Hopefully I’ll be able to update you again before I start the race, but if not Marni definitely will so be sure to check back! Thank you for your comments, please keep them coming.

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I’m off …

Monday I head off to Resolute Bay to start my journey north. The race officially begins on April 4th and you will be able to see my progress (i.e. where I am) on the map below! My team name is called “The Internationals”. Please leave a comment to let me know your watching, my fiance Marni will send me these comments while I am on the race, I would love to hear from you!

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