Volunteers wanted for Arctic trip

Volunteers will be put through their paces during extensive training

Novice "ice warriors" are wanted to take part in an expedition to the Arctic, one of the most unforgiving environments on earth.

Project leader Jim McNeill only wants inexperienced volunteers for the April 2007 trip and will train them himself.

They will conduct experiments but exact details of the trip remain secret.

Mr McNeill wants to lead teams to all four Arctic landmarks - the North Pole, North Magnetic Pole, the North Geomagnetic Pole and the Arctic Pole.

As part of the Ice Warrior project, the volunteers will be turned into accomplished polar travellers.

Before setting off on the expedition, Mr McNeill will put volunteers through a variety of tasks in adverse conditions to see how they perform individually and as a team.

Survival techniques

Six weekends of technical training will be held in the UK, and those chosen will also spent a week learning skiing and survival skills in Norway.

The training programme also includes three weeks in the High Arctic of Canada.

The final team chosen for the trip will conduct a series of environmental and scientific experiments, as well as researching survival techniques.

Last year Mr McNeill led a team of six male and female novices to conquer the Geomagnetic North Pole in a 28-day Ice Warrior expedition.

It was the first time women had reached this pole, after a 300-mile (483km) journey.

He selected his fellow explorers after receiving more than 200 responses to a newspaper advertisment asking for volunteers.

Mr McNeill is currently preparing 23 novices to join him in his attempt to reach the Arctic Pole, due to begin in February next year.

The Arctic Pole is seen as the most difficult of the four poles to reach, as it is the furtherst away from land.