Here's a short video of the Icebird Kitesled in action during a training run in Australia's Snowy Mountains. Check it out!! Incredible!!
Kitesled training run (NOTE: 4Mb file download. Recommended for broadband only, and will still take a few moments to load)
Check out more videos and images on our Gallery page.
Testing times in Norway 2007
Expedition video clip By pat - April 29, 2008
Here is a short video showing the Sled in action during the expedition:
NGUYEN - Tue April 29, 2008
STUNNING !!!
It's a Polar's Ferrari !!!
Karen - Tue April 29, 2008
Oh Boy! What an adventure, looks so cold!
Good on you guys! Can we come on the next trip?
A teaser slideshow. UPDATED. By pat - April 18, 2008
Pat and Dave have been very busy visiting schools and travelling, it may be a few more days until we get a chance to write a proper update and/or survey our mountain of photos. In the meantime have a look at the quick and dirty selection of images from the expedition at left. Or click on the images below.
Hello All,
Very happy here with our little trip, it was great to get out there at last, I spent the first 2 days as a passenger, then spent half a day on skis with the 4.5m Smartkite , and then (finally!) took the helm of the sled. It performed really well, and I found that with some tweaking of lines, bar etc, I could handle it well. It was a great feeling after so much preperation to be hurtling along with 150kgs on the back, over pretty mixed terrain. For me, the main goal of the trip has always been to prove the sled, and we definitely gave it a good pounding.
More soon, must rush off to class..
Back in the real world.....Chisasibi By pat - April 16, 2008
Well hello to you all, Dave and I finished a day and a half ago, it was a real top-notch expedition and was really the perfect choice of route for us, battered and sore as we are!
The wind was reasonably reliable and the ice conditions were nicely on the challenging side of ideal...The sled, gear and clothing really copped a flogging some days as we blasted through the hard sastrugi style pressure ice during ground blizzards.
Now...this is not going to be a long update, because we have to do our second show with a double class of local students at James bay EEOU school in Chisaibi, (It starts in two minutes actually...got to go!)
Thanks for your support everyone...WE DID IT!
More updates to follow soon...
Pat
Icebirds arrive tomorrow By ben - April 14, 2008
Pat and Dave are camped tonight outside the Cree village of Waskaganish, at the bottom of James Bay.
Pat said by sat phone that they did an effortless 80km today. Both Pat and Dave were raving about the sled, saying it handled the roughest ice without a problem, and possibly motivated by Dave's improving health, they even managed to get the sled airbourne(!)
They've spent the past few days hanging out with Cree Native Americans in their huts along James bay. Despite arriving on the back of their wind-powered sled, Pat said the Cree weren't too fussed. "They were pretty laid back guys", he said. "It'd take a lot to stir them up."
The guys will probably have internet access in Waskaganish, so we're looking forward to a full update from them in the next few days.
Pat says give them a bell. Their sat phone is on twice a day, from 7 to 8am, Montreal time (2100-2200AEST) then from 8.30-9.30pm (10.30am -1130am AEST)
If anyone feels like saying G'day, their number is +881621410158. At about $3.50 a minute, it's a bargain!
Southward Through the Fog By ben - April 12, 2008
Pat and Dave are heading south. But thick fog has meant they've had to travel very carefully, with the danger of open water always present.
They had really light winds this morning which picked up in the afternoon.
They've also been encountering pressure ridges, where the sea ice is pushed up into chaotic walls , but pat's happy to report the sled just slides over them.
Daves broken ribs are slowly getting better, and Dave says he's now piloting the sled. Up until now he's been up the back as combined passenger/ballast.
But they've discovered Dave's ribs don't like speed, and he suffers after long days on the sled, so for now they're taking it pretty easy.
Despite this, they've covered 210 kilometres in only a few days travel. At this rate, they'll be at the end of James Bay in a few days.
Pat says he's struck by the beauty of the place, and says the snow surface is excellent and the winds fair.
Pat and dave are on the ice and on the move. They're camped tonight on an un-named island in james bay, 68 km from their starting point. Solid ground will make for a much more restful sleep than on the sea ice, which is constantly moving with the tides. Their text message via sat phone says it's great to be moving, but Dave says if he'd known he was doing the trip with broken ribs, he'd have added suspension!
Their current position is 53'21.772"N, 79'2.099"W
