No one has dared head for the North Pole on skis in the dark of winter – until now. On 15 January, Børge Ousland and Mike Horn will leave Cape Artichesky, the northernmost point of Russia. Ahead of them lies 1000 kilometres of ice-covered wasteland, and temperatures down to minus 50?C – a gruesome challenge to body and spirit. If all goes well, the Norwegian and South African explorers will arrive at the North Pole within 67 days, before 23 March, when the sun rises for the first time in 2006.

Here you can follow the expedition, as Børge Ousland via satellite telephone shares his daily diary of this amazing adventure.