The journey that has changed me: Eric Larsen

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2006 polar adventurer Eric Larsencompleted the first summer Expedition for the North Pole. Since the Arctic ice has no land mass among itself, it is the thinnest and treacherous in summer, which makes it impassable on foot.

Eric and his colleague Lonnie Dupre pulled and paddled with specially modified canoes over 550 miles through changing sea ice and open oceans to successfully complete the mission. Eric is the first person to tweetNorth Pole and the top of Mt. Everest. If he doesn't put his life at the wildest places in the world, he lives in ColoradoHis partner Maria Hennessey and her son Merritt. Here hHe tells Atlas and boots about the trip that has changed him.

My last expedition to the geographical North Pole was by far the most difficult expedition that I have ever completed and still has a big influence on my life. It was a 53-day expedition with my expedition partner Ryan Waters. For almost two months we experienced some of the most difficult conditions you can imagine, and sometimes our survival was not sure. In order to overcome the many obstacles, we had to apply many strategies such as teamwork, problem solving, persistence and more.

I am not so different than before; But I will never be the same again. This was my third expedition to the geographical North Pole, but the first time that I traveled without support - which means that I had to wear all of the equipment and supplies for almost two months. I now know where my physical and mental limits are! I also know the condition of the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean.

I am firmly convinced that this will be the last chance to complete a north pole expedition before the ice conditions change dramatically. I was surprised to see how much the ice had changed in the past eight years when I was last on the Arctic ocean. No people live on the Arctic Ocean, but it is one of the areas that are most affected by people due to climate change.

Most places that I visit on expeditions have no travel guides. It requires a lot of research and planning to arrange the entire logistics, equipment, etc. On vacation, however, I usually get a travel guide who helps me with the highlights, but I'm not a big fan of crowds and the course of things mill sights. I try to find the recommendations away from the leaked paths.

I often don't have much time for vacation planning. In general, I start researching a little bit before I go. I try to have a basic route with a few activities, but I also like to leave space to take opportunities if they offer themselves.

I assess my quality of life after how many nights I can spend in a tent every year. So in general it is tent or nothing. Since I travel alone, I like to stay in hostels because it offers the opportunity to meet new and interesting people.

I am a big fan of traveling because it makes the world around us more conscious and ultimately creates a feeling of "place". Many of my expeditions extend not only over a few days or weeks, but for weeks and months. Traveling over a place with human strength gives time to really understand the surroundings.

My travel experience No. 1 was blatant and brutal. In 2010 I completed a world record adventure for the South Pole, North Pole and the top of Mt. Everest within 365 days. It was an incredible experience to live in a tent in the most extreme environments in the world for almost six months. Strong and brutal, but really the last big frozen places that are left on the planet.

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