Strangers are friends you don´t know

When you look yourself in the mirror, what do you see?

The first thing most of us focus on is the obvious….what we see. What we can not see doesn’t exist?! What we miss is what lays underneath the surface. The power of the mind and the s…trength of the free will. Don’t ever forget that what you see is just the tip of an iceberg.
You can create miracles if you just discover the rest of your power.
Do more mistakes, take risks and step outside the Comfort Zone!

Ushuaia, Argentina

I MADE IT!

After 14 month I have now reached the southern most point of the Americas and I have closed the gap between biking and sailing. This has been a long adventure starting on the North Pole, biking from Canada to South America, skiing to the South Pole and sailing to Antarctica. I am so tired and my body is over and done for the moment. I have never been so mentally tired in my life. I have been moving every day since March last year and now I am at the finish line.

I will now rest in South and Central America, visit organizations, filming additional material for the documentary and then go back up to Greenland to close the last gap in June.
I will now update a little different. I will post films, images and memories from the past adventure.
I will also share thoughts regarding motivation and Inspiration.

Thank you all for your support during this long expedition and hopefully you will follow me on the last part over Greenland in June. As I always say;

Everything is Possible, the Impossible just takes more Time!

Johan Ernst Nilson,
Pole2Pole

Rio Grande (a little bit further)
Patagonia

One more day…..I am so tired

- Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego -

With a lot of motivation, sun and some morphine the knee will take me down to the End of the World tomorrow….pain, pain, pain but not far to go!
Strong winds today…the bike is almost blowing away….will I make it?
The answer is blowing in the wind….

Cullen, Patagonia

So close…yet so far away!

Today my knee is killing me. God, its so close now. 14 month of traveling and now I am worried about the last kilometers.
The area is beautiful. It was a hazel as always to cross the border into Chile and then back again to Argentina but thats life; Problems and solutions!

Now I just have to do the last part and then rest….

El Calafate, Patagonia (somewhere on the road in the nowhere)

Bad knee is killing me. I hurt my knee a few months ago in Antarctica and it is getting bad again. I’m hoping for the best..

- 19 years of adventures -

Today 19 years ago I started my first adventure. It feels unreal to think back on over 30 expeditions, 100 countries and thousands of interesting meetings and fantastic places;
Kayak to Africa, hiking in Alaska, Mount Everest, North Pole, South Pole, Amazon, deserts, a crazy journey with a Flying Boat, sailing over Atlantic, North West Passage, Seven Summits, biking Americas…..and now I have a few days left on this part of my life.
But the most amazing has been the feeling of setting up goals and after a lot of work reaching those goals.
Everything is Possible, the Impossible just takes more time….

Perito Moreno, Patagonia

The sand has become a problem here in Patagonia, the winds are hard and with the sand its hard to breath. I have to cover my face. It is cold but beautiful.
During the days there is nothing between the towns, just desert. I try to do around 150 km per day, the roads are great and straight compare to Peru and Bolivia. The temp goes down below zero during the night. One more week and then…..rest…

Then I will do additional filming in South America for a week or two and then up to Arctic to fill the last gap in the journey between North Pole and South Pole.

Patagonia, Argentina

MinStoraDag Teddy is reaching Tierra de Fuego.

This Teddybear “Dagge” was sitting on the North Pole like 14 month ago. Since then he has been through a lot; reaching the South Pole, amazon, deserts and mountains at 5000 meters. Now he will go back to Arctic for some time and then home to Sweden where he will be traveling around hospitals to talk to children about his adventures. I think I will join him….

Read more about this fantastic organization:
www.minstoradag.org

The fall is on its way here on the other side of the planet.

I have been freezing today but in the sun its OK, I have to put on an extra jacket during the evenings.

Now I have biked by a few small and nice villages, yesterday I ended up in a place called Esquel and before that El Bolson. So Im moving…thats for sure. Long long days and not so much sleep. I am trying to arrange with the last Arctic leg at the same time as I am biking so the films and slide shows comes like a week or two after, but I have no choice. I have to move on!

Ushuaia is closing in. Hopefully within 10-14 days

Patagonia, Argentina

Just leaving Bariloche…..wow….Patagonia is amazing. This is one of those places you want to come back to….

San Carlos de Bariloche
Argentina

The fantastic part of taking a risk is that you grow as a person. A while ago I was biking through an enormous canyon with amazing scenery. It was breathtaking but also scary because of the narrow roads and falling stones. But again, it was amazing

Now its only 2-3 weeks left if I keep 150 km per day…..long days so I’m sorry if I don’t update as frequent the coming days…..I will try to do my best!

- Johan is giving a lecture at SOS about dreams and motivation -

I believe that dreams are the most important thing we have and no matter how poor a person is and how bad the start has been; we can always afford to have dreams. The only limits we have are the ones we set up ourselves. Everything is Possible” .

- Pole2Pole is closing up to one Billion viewers (1 000 000 000) -

I just got the numbers today from my PR agent in NY:
842 250 997 viewers this far….I’m really glad that so many have followed me during this year via TV programs, radio shows, Internet and printed media!
But it’s not over yet…..a few month to go!

Some of the memories are hard to capture on images….like the day I was biking over the Salt desert…..amazing place

La Rioja, Argentina

Internet might sound liken piece cake 2012 but not in the mountains of Bolivia and in the countryside of Argentina so the reports might come every second day or so. My whole days goes to biking. I am beginning to get tired now. To long time on the road. I miss the nature of Bolivia but this has its charm as well.
Bolivia was crazy with salt deserts, death roads and mountains. Argentina is more calm but long days.

Dolphins and more dolphins. The crossing over from Antarctica was amazing.Dolphins and more dolphins. The crossing over from Antarctica was amazing.

One year ago I closed the door to my apartment in Stockholm. I had no idea how long I was going to be away, what was going to happen or what I was going to experience. Lucky me! Sometimes not knowing is pretty good.

I have been reaching two Poles, travelled through 15 countries, sailed over the Ice Sea to Antarctica. I have fought on muddy roads, bitten by dogs, chased by black bears, inspected by polar bears, swimming in the Arctic, fainting in the desert and sleeping in the jungle.

Today I’m in Bolivia and I am tired after broken ribs, frostbites, frozen toes, heat stroke, rabies shots, wounded knees and snow blindness. But I am happy. I am living my dream and I have made it this far. Now I have Argentina left and then the Greenland crossing.

So who am I today? Are we the same person after taking a risk? I would say that we are bigger, wiser and more experienced. To take a risk and to step outside the Comfort Zone is Evolution. We develop as human beings. We are where we are today in evolution not because of all the right choices we took but because of all the risks we have taken over the years.

Everything is Possible, the Impossible just takes more time!

I normally don’t get sea sick but after being thrown out of the bed for the 10:th time I could not stand it any more…..my whole Antarctica trip this time was almost 14 days and it took me a few days to get back to normal. The waves were 6-7 meters and I can tell this much…..it moves the boat quite a bit.

Now I’m in Bolivia and I feel great….the ground is not moving

Everyday I try to make a change when I’m on the expedition. It can be by meeting with the organizations, filming for Red Cross, raising awareness for the Ramlösa Water Foundation or just to motivate people to find their own dreams in life. One thing that I work with a lot are photography. In some way there is nothing like a photo of someone or something. It just captures the whole story in one shot.
During the last two weeks I have seen so many beautiful animals and landscape and it would be in insult to even try to explain the beauty. So during the coming week I will post images from my Antarctica crossing. Just to show the beauty of it all.
I am biking as usual and will hit Bolivia in a few days….This is Life

After 14 days on a small sailboat we finally managed to cross the Ice Sea to Antarctica. We had to fight with 8 meter high waves and icebergs crossing our way.
When reaching the coldest continent one more time in two month we had amazing meetings with leopard seals, whales, penguins, fur seals, killer whales and dolphins. It was fantastic.
Now I have a short leg to bike here in South America before I go back up to the Arctic to close the last gap on skis….

Bolivia.

Dolphins and more dolphins. The crossing over from Antarctica was amazing. Looking back at Antarctica

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJLrYWxZ48E&feature=player_embedded

Finally reached Antarctica.
Listen To Audio Clip 1
Listen To Audio Clip 2

One hour to departure….storm and rain fro the moment.
We are hoping for better weather when crossing over to the ice

Leaving in a few hours to Antarctica. The sail boat is ready to sail with the winds over again to the white continent….

- Man is to blame for Antarctic temperature rise -

“Climate change accelerating far beyond the IPCC forecast, WWF says.
* Arctic air temperature at record high due to sea ice loss
* Climate change ‘tipping point’ within 100 years

Scientists say they now have conclusive proof that warming is due to man’s influence mainly through greenhouse gases and ozone depletion.
The new study says rapid and significant warming in both the Antarctic and Arctic cannot be explained away by natural climate fluctuations and can only have been caused by human influence.

Dr Nathan Gillett, formerly of the UEA’s Climatic Research Unit who now works for Environment Canada, said:
“We compared the most up to date surface temperature observations with four state-of-the-art climate models and you cannot explain these changes away by natural processes.
It is only when you factor in the human climate influence that you achieve these results. With the human influence the findings are consistent and predictable. Without them they are not.”

And Dr Peter Stott, head of climate monitoring at the Met Office, which also took part in the study, said: “This is the first study of its kind looking at the best data available and it shows a significant human influence.

“In both Polar regions the observed warming can only be reproduced in our models by including human influences – natural forces alone are not enough. It is only when you factor in the human climate influence that you achieve these results.. With the human influence the findings are consistent and predictable. Without them they are not.”

It found that the average temperature in the Arctic has risen by 2ºC over the past 40 years – much higher than the global average – and by about 1ºC in the Antarctic which though less is still significant. There are some areas of the Antarctic that have not warmed and the temperature rise is taken from an average.

Under den senaste veckan har det i svensk press figurerat artiklar där Johan Ernst Nilson anklagats för fusk och ekonomiska oegentligheter under sin expedition Pole2Pole. Dessa påståenden är felaktiga.

Johan blev tvungen att flyga från isen i Arktis till närmsta bebyggelse eftersom inga andra val fanns. Denna distans görs nu om utan motor innan expeditionen kan ses som klar. Johan har istället cyklat från den mest nordliga vägen i världen genom Kanada – en sträcka som innebar en 3 200 kilometer lång omväg. De skulder som artiklarna berör är felaktiga och Johan har kvitton samt betalningsunderlag som bevisar detta. På expeditionens hemsida pole2pole.net samt i övrigt material presenterat inför expeditionen står följande:

“The team will use skis, dogsled, solar power, bikes and sail boat to be able to travel between the poles. Any distance that can’t be done without engine will be climate compensated”.

Att motorfordon använts under vissa delar av expeditionen är alltså ingen nyhet. Han har varit tvungen att flyga fyra gånger under sin resa, två gånger för situationen varit direkt livshotande, en gång för att närvara vid ett möte med Clinton Foundation och ECPAT i New York och en gång för att besöka Operation Smile. De sträckor där Johan tvingats flyga kommer han att återvända till och genomföra som planerat. Världens största äventyrssida, Explorers Web, har lagt Pole2Pole under luppen och ser inte några konstigheter med expeditionen. De ser det inte som ovanligt att en äventyrare delar upp en expedition i flera sträckor och ställer sig bakom Johan och expeditionen.

Hela expeditionen sker i samarbete med företaget Respect som arbetar med hållbar utveckling och kommer efter expeditionens slut beräkna hur Johan ska klimatkompensera för all logistik och all energi som använts under resans gång.
Klimatkompensationen sker genom stöd till globala klimatprojekt som åstadkommer utsläppsreduktioner, följer Kyotoprotokollets intentioner och är certifierade av FN.

Johan cyklar just nu i Peru och är på väg mot Antarktis. När Johan har nått Antarktis kommer han att återvända till Arktis för att genomföra den sista sträckan utan motor.

När expeditionen är över kommer Johan Ernst Nilson att vara den första i världen att ta sig mellan Nord- och Sydpolen med bara naturens krafter, säger Explorers Web i USA.

75% of all the tropical glaciers in the world can be found here in Peru. When biking through these small villages you understand how fragile they are. Inside a huge valley lays the small village Huaraz. In Huaraz people are happy and smile at you when you pass by. But after a few interviews I understand that there is something behind that smile. A worry about the future. Before 2025 all of the glaciers above 5000 meters will have disappeared.  This is more alarming than you might think….
lakes are already starting to build up between the mountains and one day they will crack and fill the valley with water and destroy the village.
Read more on www.latinamerikagrupperna.se

Remember:
Climate change is not only effecting the polar regions but also the tropical regions.

Take your responsibility.
It’s the small choices that will make the big differences