Product Description

On 28 May 2000, explorer David Hempleman-Adams took off from Spitzbergen in Norway on his record-breaking flight to the North Pole. His fragile wicker basket contained tanks of liquid oxygen to allow him to survive at high altitudes, an inflatable raft in case he crash-landed in the freezing Arctic Ocean, together with ten days of emergency rations. He knew that if he survived the week ahead, he would be the first man ever to have reached the North Pole by balloon. Hempleman-Adams had chosen to fly in a basket, rather than in the sophisticated enclosed capsule favoured by round-the-world balloonists today, in order to pay homage to three Swedes - Salomon Andree, Nils Strindberg and Knut Frankel - who in 1896 had also taken off for the Pole in their hot-air balloon. Only David knew the emotional significance of their expedition, which was characterized not only by extreme bravery and the determination to survive in extreme conditions but also by a tragic love affair that transcended both its period and its setting. For the Swedish explorers had been brought down by freezing fog three days into their polar attempt, and perished some time afterwards on the ice cap. Thirty-three years later, their bodies were discovered. Close to Strindberg's outstretched hand was the engagement ring of his fiance, in his pocket the locket she had given him for his birthday, and in their frail whalebone tent his last letter to his love. In this adventure book, David tells the extraordinary stories of both journeys, featuring drama from his own expedition, and original photographs and documents from the Swedish voyage.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #734135 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Review
The gruesome discovery of bodies on a remote island in the Arctic is an unexpected opening for a tale of ballooning exploits. But when David Hempleman-Adams, businessman and experienced adventurer, set out in 2000 to become the first balloonist to reach the North Pole, he was following in the tracks of an earlier heroic but misguided attempt. In 1897 Salomon August Andree and two companions had launched with the same ambitious goal. These earlier explorers had faith that draglines would allow them to steer their balloon towards its target, whereas Hempleman-Adams relied on a skilled meteorologist's manipulation of complex weather models. Instead of formal clothing - packed in the event of dinner with a previously unknown king - the modern explorer took an immersion suit in the event of an unscheduled encounter with icy water. This book tells of the audacity and the perseverance of both expeditions. Hempleman-Adams writes of his lonely struggle to succeed despite equipment failure, sleep deprivation and limited ballooning experience. In parallel, Robert Uhlig uses diaries, letters, scientific studies and an element of surmise to dramatise the few airborne days of the Andree expedition and the explorers' subsequent fight for survival on the ice: 'We have stopped here for the night on an open place. All around us is ice, ice in every direction. Hummocks, walls and fissures in the sea alternate with melted ice - it's all everlastingly the same,' reads one letter. Gripped by the two accounts, you find yourself willing success in both cases, while knowing that at most one can succeed. Armchair adventurers will revel in this story of determined men from different centuries with a common goal, while amateur scientists will be fascinated by the contrasting levels of technology used by the two expeditions. This is a compelling book about high-altitude adventure, life-threatening climatic conditions and the unpredictable whims of Fate. (Kirkus UK)

Synopsis
On 28 May 2000, explorer David Hempleman-Adams took off from Spitzbergen in Norway on his record-breaking flight to the North Pole. His fragile wicker basket contained tanks of liquid oxygen to allow him to survive at high altitudes, an inflatable raft in case he crash-landed in the freezing Arctic Ocean, together with ten days of emergency rations. He knew that if he survived the week ahead, he would be the first man ever to have reached the North Pole by balloon. Hempleman-Adams had chosen to fly in a basket, rather than in the sophisticated enclosed capsule favoured by round-the-world balloonists today, in order to pay homage to three Swedes - Salomon Andree, Nils Strindberg and Knut Frankel - who in 1896 had also taken off for the Pole in their hot-air balloon. Only David knew the emotional significance of their expedition, which was characterized not only by extreme bravery and the determination to survive in extreme conditions but also by a tragic love affair that transcended both its period and its setting. For the Swedish explorers had been brought down by freezing fog three days into their polar attempt, and perished some time afterwards on the ice cap.

Thirty-three years later, their bodies were discovered. Close to Strindberg's outstretched hand was the engagement ring of his fiance, in his pocket the locket she had given him for his birthday, and in their frail whalebone tent his last letter to his love. In this adventure book, David tells the extraordinary stories of both journeys, featuring drama from his own expedition, and original photographs and documents from the Swedish voyage.

From the Back Cover
On 28 May 2000, explorer David Hempleman-Adams took off from Spitzbergen in Norway on what would be a record-breaking flight to the North Pole. The contents of his balloon's fragile wicker basket included enough liquid oxygen to allow him to endure the high altitudes, an inflatable raft plus forty days worth of emergency rations. He knew that if he survived the week ahead he would be the first man ever to have reached the North Pole by balloon, but not the first to have tried.

Indeed, Hempleman-Adams's journey was of great emotional significance. That he chose to fly in a wicker basket, rather than in the hi-tech sealed capsule favoured by round-the-world balloonists today, was in homage to an earlier - and tragic -expedition. In 1897, three Swedes - Salomon Andr‚e, Nils Strindberg and Knut Frænkel - tried for the Pole but only days into their attempt freezing fog brought them down on the pack ice. Fighting off polar bears, loneliness, despair and the bitter cold, they managed to survive for three months. It would be thirty-three years before their bodies were found.

At the Mercy of the Winds tells the extraordinary, compelling stories of both journeys. Alone in the skies above the frozen and harshly beautiful landscape, David Hempleman-Adams battled against the elements to fulfil the dream of those pioneers a century earlier - to become the first man to balloon to the North Pole.