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Dubai: Adrian Hayes's bid to reach the North Pole on foot is hanging in the balance because heavy storms have left the Dubai-based adventurer running short of food.
Hayes, who last year climbed Mount Everest, had hoped to reach the North Pole yesterday - but the bad weather has delayed him and his teammates by several days.
The three-strong group have just a few days worth of food left - and if there are more storms their supplies will not be enough to get them all the way to the North Pole.
If the food runs out, then the group will have to be rescued and their dream of working all the way to the North Pole will lie in tatters.
Hayes's wife Dawn said: "They've been blown back for the past four days to pretty much the same position that they were in before. If there's another storm, it's going to cause them a lot of problems.
Exhausted
"They have been walking for 13 or 14 hours a day, instead of eight or nine hours a day, to try to make the time up. Adrian said it's like doing an Ironman contest every day. They are tremendously exhausted."
In a text message to Gulf News, Hayes said the team were in "a frantic race" to get to the pole, and not just because of the food situation. He is also worried that the area close to the pole will become impassable soon because of the conditions.
"We are pushing all hours against the huge problems," said Hayes, who is travelling with Briton Iain Morpeth and Canadian Richard Weber.
Hayes, who is sponsored by Emirates Bank, Renaissance Services and Mondial/Financial Partners, has endured temperatures as low as -60C during the expedition, which began in early March.
If he reaches the North Pole, father-of-two Hayes then plans to undertake a similar mission to the South Pole, in the hope of reaching all three "poles" - the North Pole, the South Pole and Everest.
Tough task: Each man is pulling a 100kg-sledge
- Total distance is about 800km
- The walk began in early March and was initially scheduled to last about 50 days
- Each man in the three-person team has to pull a 100kg sledge
- So far the team has reached the 89th degree of latitude
- Only about 120 people have walked unaided to the North Pole
- Hayes is raising money for the Children's Hope Foundation.
- To donate, log on to www.adrianhayes.com
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