The Five Stages of
Pole to Pole
STAGE 1: ARCTIC
760km Ice Trek
North Pole to Ward Hunt Island, Canada (83°N)
Departing the Norwegian ice town of Longyearbyen on 2 April 2011, the four-man team airlifted to Russian Arctic base, Barneo, aboard Russian Antonov 74 jet, then via Mil 8 helicopter direct to North Pole. Team departed North Pole noon 2 April 2011.
40 day trek on foot, each man dragging kayaks.
Resupply at 86°N via Twin Otter aircraft ex-Resolute, Canada.
Expedition leader carries Magnum 44 in case of Polar Bear attack.
Kayaks used to cross leads (breaks in the ice).
Airlift from Ward Hunt Island to northern-most road at Radisson, Quebec.
Four man team: Pat Farmer, Eric Phillips (Expedition Leader), Jose M. Naranjo (Camera), Clark Carter (Satellite Video Uplink)
Stage 2: CANADA TO PANAMA
11 744km Road Run
From Radisson, Quebec, via USA, Mexico, Central America to Southern Panama.
Starting at the most northern road in Quebec, Pat runs through Canada to Montreal and Ottawa then down the USA’s East Coast through NY, DC, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Houston, entering Mexico at Matamoros. Pat runs through Central America until the road ends soon after crossing the Panama Canal.
15 person team: Pat Farmer, Bernie Farmer (Logistics Leader), Katie Walsh (Fitness Coach), Medical Nurse, TV Crew x 2 with satellite television internet uplink. 3 x motor homes.
Stage 3: DARIEN JUNGLE
250km Jungle Trek
Southern Panama to Northern Colombia.
The Darien Gap is a hideout for drug and gun runners, bandits and insurgents. An armed security team will escort Pat and TV crew through 250km of jungle.
Twenty-four man team: Pat Farmer, Local guide – Expedition Leader, 2 man camera and satellite team, 20 man armed security entourage.
Stage 4: SOUTH AMERICA
9693km Road Run
Northern Colombia to Tierra Del Fuego (The End of the Earth)
From Northern Columbia, Pat runs South through Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina, reaching Ushuaia, the world’s southern-most city. Airlift backwards, North, to Punta Arenas, the air hub to Antarctica. Fly to Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica.
6 person team: Pat Farmer, Bernie Farmer (Logistics Leader), Katie Walsh (Fitness Coach) Medical Nurse, TV Crew x 2 with satellite television internet uplink.
3 x motor homes.
Stage 5: ANTARTICA
900km Ice Trek
Antarctica; Ronne Ice Shelf to South Pole.
Trek across the ice to the South Pole. Presenting vastly different challenges to Arctic trekking, the final leg of Pat’s journey engages the dangers of crevasses, exhaustion and approaching winter.
Four man team: Pat Farmer, Eric Phillips (Expedition Leader), Jose M. Naranjo (Camera), Clark Carter (Satellite Video Uplink)
“I did the run to help the Red Cross improve sanitation and water supplies. So far I’ve raised $100,000. A person dies every 15 seconds due to poor sanitation. I’d think about that. My legs hurt and I had a long way to run, but if I wanted to I could quit and go back to a normal life. Many people can’t just quit their lives.” Pat Farmer, 2012
“There was not one easy day. Yes, there were great experiences and lovely people, but I worked for every step I took and some days I felt like nature was out to test me. I ran through water up to my knees in Mexico and at altitude with cars belching black smoke into my face in Ecuador. But I just pushed on because that was the mindset I was in.”
The Greatest True Adventure Book of the Decade
OWN THE STORY
The incredible story of Pat Farmer's inspiring run from the North Pole to the South Pole.
In January 2012, Pat Farmer accomplished one of the greatest feats in human history. He'd arrived at the South Pole after the longest and arguably most dangerous run ever made, a physical and mental triumph that put him in the company of the world's greatest adventurers—Sir Edmund Hillary, Robert Falcon Scott, and Thor Heyerdahl.
