Barneo, the camp on the sea ice near the North Pole that was going to operate this spring for the first time since 2018, has been canceled.
Galya Morrell, who wrote recently about Barneo’s controversial comeback by routing through Russia, broke the news. “The runway is still not in place, and it’s April 11,” she told ExplorersWeb.
Polar guide Eric Phillips, who decided not to run tours to Barneo this year because of the uncertainty, confirmed the news. “The ice broke up badly, and there is no time left to rebuild,” he said.
Before this last-minute cancelation, Barneo — a Swiss-owned but Russian-operated camp 100km from the Geographic North Pole — had planned some big events for its revival year. These included a stratospheric parachute jump from 10,000m above the North Pole.
Later today, guide Eric Larsen — who was leading a tour to Barneo and is currently in Russia — wrote a note on Instagram that stopped short of giving up entirely: “We almost left yesterday. So close. But another bad weather forecast and report from near the North Pole grounded our flight. It is what it is. At this point, I’m fairly detached emotionally from the many obstacles in our path.”
