The man took me to the North Pole six years ago. Thus I owe Thomas Ulrich a lot. At the time of our last degree expedition, the 47-year-old adventurer from Switzerland proved to be a prudent and motivating expedition leader. Also this year, Thomy led a group on skis, pulling sledges, the last almost 120 kilometers from the 89th degree of latitude to the North Pole. A week ago they reached 90 degrees north. In contrast to 2009, Ulrich did not fly with the other expedition members by helicopter back to the Russian ice station “Barneo”.  Thomy wanted to ski towards Canada, solo and unsupported. His destination: Ward Hunt Island, 800 miles from the North Pole. Ulrich thought that it would take him 30 to 40 days to reach the island. Previously only his Norwegian friend and former expedition partner Borge Ousland had soloed the distance. But after a few days Ulrich turned around again.

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