Norwegian adventurer assists blind Irishman to the South Pole.
17/02/2009 //
Mr. Inge Solheim, a 35 year old from Otta, Norway, was part of a 3-man team that reached the South Pole on 27 January. Both his team mates are Irish and one of them, Mark Pollock, is blind.
The trio was one out of six teams that took part in the very first Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole race. The race had been staged to mark that it is nearly one hundred years since the last South Pole race, between Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and Englishman Robert Falcon Scott. Contrary to Amundsen’s approach in 1911, when dogs pulled the sleighs, all teams had to carry their own supplies by pulling sleighs across the waste lands.
The race was initially planned to start on New Years Day, but was slightly delayed due to extreme weather conditions. The Irish/Norwegian team, named South Flag, came in fourth.
Mark Pollock has stated that he wanted to participate in the Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole race to mark that it is 10 years since he lost his eyesight.