June 15 by noon CET they had to come in the only on the island of ward hunt cabin. The plane of airline “Bradley” was two free places for Malakhov and Weber, which were removed from the ward hunt, to deliver to Rezolyut Bay, and from thence to the mainland, where they were waited already by children, wives, journalists, good food, a soft bed and a hot shower. There, on the mainland, they expect Glory. They had done something they could not commit to anyone throughout the twentieth century, and hardly anyone will be able to make in this century. Polar night they reached the North pole and walk back. Without any support. Alone. On foot.
At least twice during the journey did they do what did to no Arctic traveler in the world. First, they started their route during the polar night, in the pitch dark. It was necessary to be able to overcome all the way to the pole and back to active melting of ice. Otherwise, they would have to call the helicopter to accept defeat.
second, none of the ski expedition did on the polar routes, depots of fuel and food. At Malakhov and Weber there was no other way. In order to reach the pole and get back on track, I had to carry 230 pounds of cargo each. With such baggage to pass the planned route through the ice and hummocks in the pitch dark in the wild cold was, of course, impossible. And they decided to do something that has never been done before. They went with a cargo of forty-four miles North of ward hunt and laid the first cache of food and fuel. Then forty-four miles and walked back. Rested and again went with the goods to the North. This time six miles. Laid the second warehouse. Then again ward hunt. And only after that, putting on the rest of the load, they went to the pole.
Malakhov and Weber already back, when the ice began to rapidly melt, more and more often they came across a hole in the ice. If they are faced with open water, they would have to call a helicopter. But it was a defeat, ruined four month the hardest way to the pole and back. And they decided to go, almost without stopping, without sleeping. Ice hummocks. They came to the starting point ward hunt in eight days. When I met them in the Northern canadian village of Rezolyut Bay, I was struck by two things: the first – Malakhov exhausted, the second his eyes burned with some strange inner light.
Much later, he told me that, as a doctor, do I noticed one oddity. After two months of continuous polar travel strained his sight, hearing, smell, but dulled taste: he could eat everything that was useful, regardless of, it’s delicious or not. The human body is exposed to SEB�� inherent but unused powers, become more perfect. Doctor Malakhov watched these biochemical transformation Malakhov – polar traveller. When after his return from the South pole he reached his native Ryazan and out of the way from the airport to be photographed in a birch grove, suddenly surprised to find that the acrid smell of birch SAP. No one standing nearby didn’t like the smell of this juice. He sensed the smell. Two weeks later, feelings have become the norm, but from nowhere came the longing for the North pole, for the extraordinary power which carried them as on wings.
the Great Fridtjof Nansen started on the pole in 1893 on the ship “FRAM” frozen in the ice, lived in the Arctic for three years.
the American Frederick cook, fifteen years later reached the pole by dog sled, spent on its Arctic journey a year and a half.
At some point, Nansen realized that his “FRAM” frozen in the ice, drifting past the pole. And then he made a hard decision: he broke up with his ship and the two with the strongest member of his team by the Hjalmar Johansen attempted on foot to reach this point. They are unable to make the journey, he was even too heavy for them: ridges and open water. They managed to reach one of the Islands of Franz Joseph Land and stood there for the winter. The more he is on the pole will not fall.
Great polar Explorer Roald Amundsen reach the North pole on the airship “Norway” together with the wonderful designer of this unit the Italian Umberto Nobile, after some time fell out with his partner. They didn’t want to see each other. But when Nobile crashed in the journey to the pole on the airship “Italia”, Amundsen did not hesitate flew from Spitsbergen to the North-East to save his enemy. Three hours later the plane he was flying crashed in the Barents sea.
Everything that made the Malakhov and Weber, in fact fit into one simple concept – at the end of the century, they returned to the polar journey, the formula inherent in it initially: Earth-pole-to-Ground. Abandoning the aircraft and support they deliberately put themselves on a par with the great travelers, Peary, Nansen, Amundsen and cook. They managed to put together a chain of times, tie the ends of the ages nineteenth and twentieth, reviving not only the formula of Arctic travel, but the social ideal of human that existed at the end of the Golden NINETEENTH century: an intellectual with trained muscles, able to do things in accordance with the notions of honor and duty.
Well-educated, superbly built, clever, Mikhail Malakhov admittedly – the most outstanding today polar Explorer in the world. He is one of the few in Russia the components of its real, not invented by scientists and journalists.
In the twenty-first century, the North pole became accessible to many. Not only the heroes-polar explorers, prominent individuals and well-trained teams. The pole went to the tourists. Price: the tour to the top of the Land costs twenty thousand euros. Willing to pay that kind of money for the opportunity to stand at the pole – abound. Wanting to get in there and do not have such sums – in many times more.
Once an American polar Explorer bill Steger reached the pole after days and severe transition on the ice. When his GPS Navigator issued a characteristic signal, proving that he is a pole, unfortunate stiger noticed a nearby Russian helicopter, which had been cleared beside a small football field, which (as it turned out) not quite sober “boys” from Krasnoyarsk polar played the match fairly in this matter. Stiger some time watched what was happening, he turned away and began to cry.
Yes, the pole became available to many, maybe even too many. But Shigeru just unlucky. The fact that unlike the South pole which is the earth covered with snow and ice, the North – not the firmament, and the ocean. The ice move it drifting. Something like the speed of a pedestrian. At the South pole you can leave stuck in the snow box and a year to come back, finding your flag still standing in the same spot. On the North it is impossible. After a year your box will move at a sufficiently large distance. Nansen proved the existence in these latitudes there are strong currents from East Siberia to the pole and from there to Greenland.
What does this mean? This means that the pole Nansen, cook’s pole, pole Amundsen, pole Malakhov and Weber, no one will ever be able to insult stupid tourist fun, a drunk cursing or thrown a cigarette butt. The poles took from this geographical point and drifting somewhere on the endless expanse of the Arctic. These personal top of the globe will remain forever pure and high, like deeds and thoughts to those who sought at different times from different countries and cities.
