Glen Ellyn native makes historic North Pole journey

With just a few days left to reach the North Pole by last Sunday's deadline, Glen Ellyn native John Huston and his expedition partner, Tyler Fish, gave up sleeping for more than three hours at time.

The pair also took on a diet of 10,000 calories a day to fuel their 12-hour spans of skiing.

The strategy worked. This past weekend, Huston and Fish reportedly became the first Americans to get to the North Pole entirely on their own. They did it by a combination of snowshoeing, skiing and even swimming in 30-degree water to reach their destination.

"It was exhilarating, but we were too tired to feel emotional," Huston, 32, told the Daily Herald Tuesday from Oslo, Norway. "We're OK with that ... To have done that, to be thoroughly worn out, is a satisfying and a humbling thing."

Huston and Fish, of Minnesota, reached the North Pole Saturday, 55 days after leaving Ellesmere Island in Canada on March 2. The timing was critical because a Russian base, which provided the aircraft to fly the adventurers home, was closing the next day and planned to pick up Huston and Fish wherever they were at the time.

In a recorded message that appeared soon after their arrival at the North Pole on the Web site forwardexpeditions.com, which tracked the two trekkers, Huston said, "The last four days have been an absolute blur for Tyler and I."

He signed off Saturday saying, "That was a hard trip. We're going to bed and we're very, very, very happy to do so."

The pair carried more than 300 pounds of gear each and estimate they lost about 30 pounds during their two-month expedition.

Over that time, Huston and Fish skied, slept and ate in the midst of a landscape of "500 miles of ice."

"It's completely desolate; there's nothing growing," Huston said. "It's kind of like a moonscape, but of snow and ice chunks."

Huston said they'd occasionally run across polar bear tracks, seals that poked their heads through water and another expedition team.

Near the end, the elements seemed to conspire against them: Winds pushed the duo further south every time they rested.

"It's like being on a treadmill in the wrong direction," Huston said.

That prompted the drive over the last few days to make it to the North Pole in the limited time left.

"It's one of the hardest trips on the planet," Huston said.

Even years of Chicago weather couldn't prepare him for temperatures as cold as minus 60.

"It's extreme cold, where plastic will break, butter is like a piece of wood," he said. "It's a whole different thing when you're outside for a few minutes in minus 20. When you're living in that, you have to take a lot more precautions."

But years of training helped him prepare for the extremes. He and Fish spent three years pulling tires and working in weight rooms to prepare for the expedition. When they had to swim in the frigid Arctic Ocean, they donned a dry suit that covered all of their clothes and allowed them to float.

"Living in 60 below or 30 below when you're emaciated and lost 30 pounds takes a lot of work," Huston said. "We had developed a good diet and have a lot of experience staying warm in conditions like that."

Huston, who now lives in Chicago, is a graduate of Northwestern University. After graduation, he went to work for Outward Bound, where he led expeditions and wilderness trips.

"I fell in love with skiing," Huston said. "I skied in the South Pole last year."

Huston and Fish decided to make the North Pole trek about three years ago.

"They're two very different people, but they complemented each other really well, which is important when you're sharing a tent and you're the only person within 1,000 miles," said Jack Klobucar, spokesman for the expedition.

The North Pole journey was put together to raise funds for CaringBridge, a nonprofit organization that provides online support for people with health challenges. The goal is to raise $100,000.

Huston, who is also a motivational speaker, plans to use the trip as inspiration during speaking engagements. He said the expedition can be related to any personal or professional challenge: It stressed the need for teamwork, optimism, preparation and communication.

"We decided we really wanted to challenge ourselves and see what it was like to engage life to the fullest," Huston said of the expedition. "It's been a wonderful ride."

Huston and Fish also brought a video camera with them on the journey, capturing a few images they plan on using to help tell their story in classrooms. They also have plans to write a book.

For now, with no expeditions planned in the near future, Huston said he's going to take time to enjoy his family, who still live in Glen Ellyn, and girlfriend, as well as stock up on food. He'll be hitting up Marinella Italian Restaurant, a favorite in Glen Ellyn that he's been going to since he was young.