How Far North is Too Far?

I am curious - how is it there, in the Arctic? I discovered a few things about the Arctic and the North Pole this week i had no idea about!:

1. North Pole turns out to be actually pretty warm. About 30oC (60o F) warmer than the South Pole. Average summer temperatures are around 0oC (32oF), highest temperature ever registered was around 12oC (54oF). I thought if i was crazy enough to look for the top of the Earth, it's would be an icy landing strip... But maybe I should take my swimsuit instead.

2. I should definitely try the local food (seal?) and get one of those super warm native made winter boots (mukluks)!

1. The trip to Alert is actually pretty mountainous. Yes, i did learn in my Pilot Ground School that BC and the North East of Canada had the most special (hazardous) considerations for obstacle clearance. I thought it was significantly so due to the cold temperatures. But it's actually cold AND actually big mountains - together! Clearly, an engine failure would not be fun there. Which brings me to the #4.

2. There's nobody out there en route! Hundreds of miles of not even a soul. Unless Polar Bears have souls. I still have not figured out the best caliber for self defense. Which brings me to #5

3. Polar Bears! Cute on pictures, they are actually much bigger than the feared grizzlys. And they are the only type of bears that would actually track and hunt people for food!

4. There are no good aviation maps for the area. Maps, for that matter. I never paid attention to it, but most paper products I ever worked with either have the North chopped in pieces or have small provinces competing in size with Africa. A globe helped, but there's really only that much space in my SuperD en route.

5. North Pole is not even on the ForeFlight! ForeFlight is awesome, and it has helped me tremendously in many trips for years. But the moment you step outside the Northern tip of Canada, you might as well have assumed the Earth is flat and you have fallen off the end of it. How do you put "North Pole" in your GPS ?

Seriously??!

And yet i can't wait to see even the smallest glimpse of this beauty. Peak around the corner and get my breath taken away by the magestic views.

LIFE DOES NOT COUNT IN BREATHS WE TAKE. LIFE COUNTS IN MOMENTS THAT TAKE OUR BREATH AWAY.

This is my new iPad wallpaper. Keeps me dreaming.