For the past 15 years, Frédéric Vernay, a technician at IBM France, has been quenching his thirst for adventure by exploring the vast open spaces of the polar region. With the help of four sponsors -- IBM, Lotus, France Telecom and Elf Atochem -- Frédéric, his brother Pierre and their friend Jean-Yves Lapaix -- set out this summer to discover the Canadian Arctic region of Nunavut. And with the help of two ThinkPad^® notebooks, a digital camera, a PCMCIA card and a satellite telephone, their daily adventures were broadcast to the world through their Web site.

From July 23 to August 18, 1999 the three explorers, who form the non-profit group called Polar Lys, took armchair explorers everywhere on a breathtaking tour along the south coast of Devon Island. In conjunction with Lotus and the French Education Ministry, children's summer camps throughout France would log into the site (http://www.polarlys.asso.fr) to read the daily journal entry, follow their route, see the latest pictures and ask questions. Indeed, this year, even as the team steered its kayaks for more than 350 kms past glaciers and icebergs, the ThinkPads sent photos and descriptions to the Web almost immediately.

"At the end of every day, we would set up camp, take out the ThinkPads, satellite phone and solar panel (all equipment was powered by solar rechargeable batteries) and replicate the custom built Lotus Notes database. From there, we would answer questions that came in that day, upload the newest photos and update the diary. Lotus Notes and Domino gave us the flexibility to do this and update the site within minutes," says Frédéric.

When asked what the most hair-raising experience was during the two month expedition, Frédéric explains: "On our first day out with the kayaks, I spied a group of seals that I wanted to capture on film. As I was completely enthralled with the site I was filming, I didn't notice the polar bear who was intent on having me for dinner. After a chase through freezing water, my team mates managed to scare it off. But it was indeed a frightening experience and one that could have forced us to call off the adventure."

The team is happy to report that Frédéric is alive and well... Check out the sites and sounds on this and past adventures on the Polar Lys Web site (http://www.polarlys.asso.fr).

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