
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 19, 1994                   TAG: 9403190033
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: OSLO, NORWAY                                LENGTH: Short

1 NORTH POLE RACER GIVES UP; 3 IN TROUBLE

Norwegian Willy Gautvik, one of the four adventurers racing to be the first to reach the North Pole alone and unaided, has summoned a plane to rescue him, his spokesman said Friday.

Another racer, Mitsuru Obha of Japan, was believed to have lost his skis, ruined his sleeping bag and thwarted a polar bear attack during his 40-below-zero trek. Norwegian Borge Ousland had been trapped by bad weather, and Scottish-born Rupert Hadow was struggling to make progress.

Each of the four men, starting at different times and pulling sleds weighing up to 290 pounds, had hoped to be the first to ski solo to the North Pole unaided. Others have made the trip alone, but always with assistance, such as sled dogs or outside supplies.

The winner, if there is one, could reach the pole sometime next month.

Gautvik, 28, and two companions set out from Ward Hunt Island on Feb. 28 on the 480-mile trek. Last weekend his partners were flown out after one suffered frostbite, and Gautvik continued alone.

But on Thursday he signaled that he wanted to be picked up, said Gautvik's spokesman, Ole Magnus Rapp, in the northern Norwegian town of Tromso. Rapp said the coded signal, transmitted by satellite, did not indicate an emergency.

by CNB