Camp Barneo (russian: Лагерь Бaрнео) is a private temporary tourist resort located on
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
ice near the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...
. When it is occupied for a few weeks in April, it is the
northernmost inhabited place in the world. It was first established in 2002 and re-occupied annually thereafter, but it has remained vacant since 2018.
When operating, the price for a visit starts at about $20,000.
History
The first Ice Camp Barneo near the North Pole was established in 2002. Since that time, the camp has been rebuilt from scratch every year because of the constantly drifting Arctic ice. For example, in 2007 Ice Camp Barneo was located at about (about 30 miles / 48 kilometers from the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...
). However, northerly winds caused the Ice Camp to drift towards the southeast at a speed of .
The ice camp works under the patronage of the
Russian Geographical Society
The Russian Geographical Society (russian: Ру́сское географи́ческое о́бщество «РГО»), or RGO, is a learned society based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It promotes geography, exploration and nature protection wi ...
and normally lasts for the month of April.
Ice Camp Barneo should not be confused with the sequential Soviet/Russian "North Pole" drifting ice stations established by the Russian Academy of Sciences Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI).
From 2002 to 2017, the starting and final point of all expeditions to Barneo has been
Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen (, locally lɔ̀ŋjɑrˌbyːən "The Longyear Town") is the world's northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000 and the largest inhabited area of Svalbard, Norway. It stretches along the foot of the left bank ...
, the capital of the
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group rang ...
archipelago of Norway. The town has necessary facilities including an
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
, hotels of different levels, restaurants, a post office, a bank, and a supermarket.
In 2016, following military exercises by Chechen paratroopers on Barneo, Norway enacted a flight embargo, which it later lifted. As a result, the 2017 event was expected to take place with a base in Russia.
However, in March 2017 an expedition tour operator was taking bookings for 2017 and 2018 with flights operating out of Longyearbyen.
In 2019, a political dispute between Russia and
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
prevented tourists from flying to the camp. The 2020 and 2021 seasons were cancelled as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. Plans to reopen in 2022 were cancelled after the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
.
Notable visitors
*
Dixie Dansercoer, polar explorer
*
Albert II, Prince of Monaco
Albert II – Website of the Palace of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, since 2005.
Albert was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and he is the second child and only son of Prince Rai ...
*
Miki Ando, figure skater
*
Eric Philips, polar explorer
*
Ramón Hernando de Larramendi, polar explorer
See also
*
List of northernmost settlements
The most northern settlements on Earth are communities close to the North Pole, ranging from about 70° N to about 89° N. This is a list showing all of the northernmost settlements on Earth, which are all south of latitude 90° N.
There are no ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Barneo BaseNews from Barneo Apr 18, 2007Vicaar International Projects and Expeditions siteRussian Geographic SocietyCamp Barneo official Facebook pageCamp Barneo official website
Populated places of Arctic Russia
North Pole