Arctic explorers call off expedition after treacherous conditions

[struggle4progress]

BY STEVENSON SWANSON

Chicago Tribune


NEW YORK - (KRT) - <snip>

Lonnie Dupre and Eric Larsen set out on May 10 from Cape Arctichesky in Siberia in an attempt to make the first-ever summer crossing of the Arctic Ocean, a 1,200-mile journey they expected would take four months.

But the early breakup of the ice forced the two men, who hauled two modified canoes with them, to spend an inordinate amount of time switching back and forth from traveling on cross-country skis to paddling across "leads," or sections of open ocean between ice floes. <snip>

The pair hoped not only to establish a new record in polar exploration but also to call attention to climate change, which has been blamed for melting glaciers and shrinking the ice caps at the top and bottom of the world. One of the sponsors of their expedition was the environmental group Greenpeace. <snip>

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