Bushby Arrested After Crossing Bering Straits

Karl Bushby, the British ex-paratrooper who is walking round the world, is part of a two-man team which has become the first ever to walk across the Bering Straits, the frozen sea which separates Alaska and Russia.

The welcome that awaited him however was far from warm with Russian border police arresting the pair apparently because they did not have the correct papers and failed to register with police within three days of crossing the border. They were also carrying a GPS unit, illegal in the area, and a Colt Magnum .44 pistol as a defence against polar bears.

Bushby, who is supported by The North Face, set off in November, 1998, from the southern tip of South America and, if he successfully completes his walk will have covered 36,000 miles, the longest single continuous expedition on foot.

The crossing of the Bering Strait was an epic in itself with Bushby, together with US endurance racer Dimitri Kieffer being pushed more than 30 miles off course during the 58 mile crossing because of shifting ice. After several days on the ice, the pair was forced to transfer all their equipment on to one sledge after the other was torn apart by jagged ice.

The pair walked at night using using night-vision scopes mounted to helmets. In addition to the night-vision equipment, Bushby had other new high-tech gadgets which helped in the crossing.

One is a parafoil kite that has a wireless camera attached to the string so the pair got an aerial view of the surrounding landscape. The camera was hooked up to a hand-held screen that allowed Bushby to look at the ice ahead.

Bushby's immediate problem however is continuing his journey through Russia. The worst case scenario would be repatriation to Hull which would prevent him from walking through Russia to Europe and adding to the 17,000 miles that he's covered so far....

You can find out more about the Goliath Expedition, from Karl's web site at goliath.mail2web.com