Voicemail from the North Pole

In my weekly column for the Swiss Sunday newspaper "Il Caffé" (in Italian) I write today about meeting recently (on separate occasions) two of the only five or six people who have reached the North Pole "solo" and unsupported: the Norwegian Borge Ousland (he got there in 1994 and 2001, and will leave again mid-January to retrace his route during the Polar winter) and the Brit Ben Saunders (in 2004).
Among many other things they said, both shared anecdotes that illuminate the fantastic reach of modern technology - more specifically, of helicopters and satellite phones - and at the same time how absurdly we use it.
In his 2001 trip, Ousland left Siberia and arrived at the Pole a day earlier than planned. He offered himself some rest before going all the way to Canada. The next morning, two helicopters landed a few meters from his tent, and from one came "a real sheik from the United Arab Emirates", tells Ousland. "He took some pictures, we talked a little, and then they left and I was there alone, again".
When Saunders reached the North Pole, he called his mother, his girlfriend and his sponsor with his satellite phone: "I got three voicemails!", he says, still amused.
If you read Italian, the whole column is here.