Barneo

Camp Barneo (Russian: Лагерь Бaрнео) is a private Russian temporary ice base, established annually since 2002 on an ice floe relatively close to the North Pole, used largely for tourist excursion purposes. Depending on the time of year, the ice camp can serve as one of the northernmost inhabited places on Earth.

Not to be confused with Borneo.
Barneo Ice Camp

History

The first Ice Camp Barneo ever near North Pole was established in 2002. Since that time, the camp has been rebuilt from scratch every year because of the constantly drifting Arctic ice. For example, in 2007 Ice Camp Barneo was located at about 89°31.5′N 30°27′W. However, northerly winds caused the Ice Camp to drift towards the southeast at a speed of 0.8 kilometres per hour (0.5 mph).

The ice camp works under the patronage of the Russian Geographical Society and normally lasts for the month of April.

Ice Camp Barneo should not be confused with the sequential Soviet/Russian "North Pole" drifting ice stations established by the Russian Academy of Sciences Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI).

From 2002 to 2017, the starting and final point of all expeditions to Barneo has been Longyearbyen, the capital of the Svalbard archipelago of Norway. The town has necessary facilities including an airport, hotels of different levels, restaurants, a post office, a bank, and a supermarket.

In 2016, following military exercises by Chechen paratroopers on Barneo, Norway enacted a flight embargo, which it later lifted. As a result, the 2017 event was expected to take place with a base in Russia.[1] However, in March 2017 an expedition tour operator was taking bookings for 2017 and 2018 with flights operating out of Longyearbyen.[2]

Notable visitors

See also

References
  1. Alina Simone (7 June 2016). "A tussle between Russia and Norway at an exclusive resort at the top of the world". The World. Public Radio International.
  2. "North Pole Express: Barneo Ice Camp". TUI AG group. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
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