THE EXPEDITION OF HIS SERENE HIGHNESS PRINCE ALBERT II
Dmitry and Matvey Shparo – participants of the expedition to the North Pole
of the Ruling Prince of Monaco

The expedition, organized by H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, was inspired by the pioneer deeds of his great-great-grandfather Prince Albert I at the beginning of XX century. The objective of the expedition is to reach the geographical North Pole on dog sleds, starting from the Russian Barneo Drifting Station , which is annually reconstructed in the central Arctic region. In 2006 the Station was built at the point with the coordinates: 89°33' N, 121°51' E.

The preparation to this expedition had started three years ago. His Serene Highness participated in several training sessions in Scandinavia emphasizing mainly on the aspects of travelling on dog sleds at great distances. In April 2004 there was organized a reconnaissance at the Barneo Station in order to provide all necessary guarantees for the forthcoming expedition. From January 27 to February 2, 2006 the final training session was carried out in Kiruna, Sweden with involvement of all future participants of the expedition. In the course of this general rehearsal there were specially organized the situations, closely resembling actual possible situations en-route, all participants worked out their personal actions at the different stages of the expedition.

The team under the leadership of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco will try to reach the North Pole from April 10th to 19th 2006.

The support, provided by the Russian Authorities (in particular Mr. Leonid Slutskiy, the First Deputy of the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs) is of fundamental importance in realization of this daring venture. The Russian side provides the safety of the whole project. The efficiency of using many aviation facilities at the same time, provided by the Frontier Service of the Russian Federation, and also an efficient cooperation with the personnel at the Barneo Station, guaranteed by Mr. Artur Chilingarov, the Vice-Speaker of the Russian State Duma, establishes the most favourable conditions for the expedition.

Mr. Dmitry Shparo, General Director of the Adventure Club, is staying at the Barneo Drifting Station for the period of the expedition as the chief consultant. His enormous polar experience was required for the general coordination of the base and route groups and the means of support and communication. Dmitry Shparo is responsible for interpretation of the meteorological forecasts and the remote guidance of the group en-route. Matvey Shparo has become the second guide of the expedition’s team and is traveling together with other members to the North Pole.

The picture was taken from the Expedition's site: monaco.arctic-expedition.mc