Briton on brink of first solo exploration of most treacherous route to North Pole

A British man is within hours of becoming the first solo explorer to complete a 478-mile trek along the most treacherous route to the North Pole.

Pen Hadow's journey across the Arctic Ocean from Ward Hunt Island in Canada was previously attempted by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who was forced to abort his mission after two weeks.

Hadow's aim was to make the journey within 65 days. On his 62nd day, the man nicknamed "Polar Pen" had 54 more miles to cover before setting a world record in the endurance challenge. The hike is regarded as the equivalent of climbing Everest solo without oxygen.

Hadow, 41, has previously been beaten by severe weather conditions and injuries in two failed attempts on the route.

To enter the record books, Hadow must tow his fuel, food and camping supplies on a sledge weighing 150kg (330lb). He is not allowed any extra supplies on his two-month journey, which he began in mid-March.

Yesterday his wife, Mary, said he had sounded "absolutely jubilant" about completing the final leg of the trek when she spoke to him last week, a day before the connection was lost with his satellite phone.

"This is the culmination of all his life's work and he just wanted to discuss how to mark the occasion when he arrived.

"I am worried because he has lost contact but he has done the last degree of latitude lots of times in the past. He may be swimming across some parts, which is very dangerous.

"We expect him to arrive at the North Pole between Tuesday and Thursday," said Mrs Hadow, a public relations consultant. She was preparing to celebrate his achievement with their two children, Wilf, four, and Freya, one, with fireworks at the family home in Dartmoor, Devon.

The expedition has not been without its setbacks ­ Hadow has lost his skis, walked in circles and been menaced by polar bears and killer whales.

He has endured the journey on 5,000 calories a day, on a diet of salami, nuts and chocolate, and has resorted to talking to his equipment to keep his spirits up.

An inflatable device turns his sledge into a boat but on occasion he has had to break through thin ice to swim across stretches of water. He has walked an average of 10 miles a day in temperatures as low as minus 45C.

In regular travel logs posted on the internet, Hadow said he had made every effort to think positively in the unforgiving climate.

He had been driven, he said, by a desire to break through the frontiers of human endeavour. "If I am successful, that pushes back our idea of what is possible, our knowledge of what the human frame can withstand and the human mind endure," he said.