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FINAL WORD...
The Ilyusion is on its way to Patriot Hills...so during the night we shall be finally leaving Antarctica...
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PEN AND SIMON ARRIVE...
Just as we were about to fly from the Pole Pen Hadlow and Simon Murray arrived after 58 days on the ice...we were the welcoming committee...awesome....unfortunately the reporter from The Times was in the dome having a cup of tea at the time!
We are now back at Patriot Hills after a great 5 hour flight back...amazing views, saw some of our tracks, and now great to be back in the mild (-11) back north...today it was -57 at the pole.,,brrrr....
Unfortunately the Ilyusion broke down 3 hours ago and went back to Punta, so not sure when we will leave PH now....
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WE MADE IT! BUT...
Well, its all over...well apart from a few tricky flights back north, via a stop in Patriot, and a few more nights of camping in -20!
This evening we finally reached our goal. I am in our tent just metres from the bottom of the planet - 90degrees south, and whatever longitude you like,they are all within a few metres of here....I just ran 'around the globe' in 2.3 seconds!
I am sure that if you had walked for 2 months to get here you would feel elated...but I am sorry to shatter any romantic thoughts, but for me the arrival does not rate in even the best 10 moments of this voyage in Antarctica. After a rather painful 8 hours of walking today, in temperatures of -48 inc. wind chill, cloudy skies, arriving at the cross between a building site, military airfield, and scientific station at the end of season, is not I guess what I imagined. I think I already knew this though, my gut already told me that it was the wilds of Antarctica that I was attached to, even if the physical pain of skiing was starting to tell a little on my motivation...
In the haze, we finally picked out the first black shadows of the SP base at about 4 miles...and step by step they became more defined...and to be honest more ugly. As we got closer we passed under a mile long wire antenna...this felt like a barbed wire perimeter fence....it was the beginning of the end.. Next a big and noisy US Airforce cargo plane landed in the distance, then we could see the crane (they are building the ugliest new base here to replace the old big silver dome), and what look like oil rigs....all very American, and I'm sure serving science very well...but I do wonder if Amundsen would turn in his grave....
We actually had to cross the ice runway to get to the actual south pole...just before we got there a huge plane took off, the fumes both suffacating and dirty...I had forgotten what a pure, simple, and maybe unrealistic life we have leading for the past few weeks...we have been breathing very clean air!
As I stopped 100m short of the flag encircled silver dome (1 foot diameter) that IS the south pole, to grab my camera, the rest continued on...communication error...I ended up missing the team arrival both in person and in the end on camera as well (my hands were too cold to open camera bag!)...I guess it wasn't meant to be! For me I prefer in any case to remember last night as my last night - I sat outside very snug in -27c, by the entrance canopy of the tent, sheltered from the polar breeze, and bathed in midnight sunshine, bottle of tea, peace, view to die for of nothing in particular (and no south pole base visible), wonderful isolation....this is how I want to remember Antarctica. Stunning effects of the sun, the wind, the clouds.
It has been a great journey. Not as physically challenging as I expected perhaps, apart from the pain of injury (need to change my feet!), but challenging in many other ways. We have learnt to adapt to a punishing and unforgiving environment - one where the cold can kill very quickly, yet one in which we have many tools as humans to help us survive (exercise to stay warm!). We have walked on ice that no man has walked on before - and we have had a small (very I fear) taste of what the original explorers, as well as modern day adventurers (4 all the way teams/people succeeded this 'season') have experienced. We are very lucky to have experienced one of the few remaining untouched, undeveloped (apart from at Pole!) continents of the world. Long may that last.
I will try to upload some other team shots tomorrow before we leave, but for now this is my personal sign-off...the image is taken as a reflection in the South Pole dome! No European flag here, so took one with French flag, and one with Union Jack - keep everyone happy!
Thank you to Sony, the mINI DV CAM has been amazing, working well beyond the spec...and the Sony NetWalkman has kept me going in moments of physical and mental stress - altho i am sorry Dido, Bily Bragg and Norah....I have had enough of you now! 9 hours of music a day...
Thanks Tom and co at Explorers Web...the solar kit and Contact software have done a great job...feedback separately to come...
Thank you Bolle...this is not a place you can face the wind at any time without a mask...so vision is everything. The last 5 days in particular have been perfect vision...great anti-fog system (in this case ice not mist!)....
Thank you BT YAHOO...communications are down to you!
And friends, thanks for all the text messages...been great sharing this with you. And finally to my team at OC for covering for me...I'm sorry but I am coming back soon!
Thanks also to Jo, Steve, Francoise, and Nick for helping me get my act together before leaving, and Dana for sending me the website on Antarctic voyages in the beginning...
Finally thanks to ALE, and my great team on the ice with whom I have really enjoyed sharing this journey. Steve we missed you, but I'm sure you'll be back next year even more motivated.
Thank you Antarctica!
mark
www.offshorechallenges.com
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NOT FAR TO GO...
1400, Jan 27
An extra stop today...one shell of the tent up, a cup of tea, and a bit of recuperation before the final 5.7 miles...we have not actually seen the base station of Pole yet, in fact we think they might have taken it away!
We were treated to a double parhelian this morning, very cold temperatures with diamonds in the sky, and the sun sending a vertical lazer ray burning the surface where it touched. Stunning, but the haze is also why we cant see the Pole. If there has been a nuclear holocaust, and we are only people left on planet, please let us know!
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One way of keeping warm...
...as demonstrated by Vickie...
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LEGENDARY BEHAVIOUR
Video version...
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Jan26; this is why he is called Legend
...caught mid-air as he demonstrates some kind of medieval dance routine...with South Pole 10 miles in background...
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THE SASTRUGI IS BACK!!
Well today was another tough one on the body...it was meant to be a shorter day of 6 hours walking, but ended up being 7.5...Nottingham time clearly has a law of its own...reality TV would have had fun with us in the past 24 hours, bit of stress with two very different agendas - enjoy being in Antarctica, or get to South Pole as fast as possible...
Circumstances beyond our world have in fact rendered the debate useless, as ALE want to pull us out almost as soon as we get there...we are now just 10.6 miles from the Pole...and should get there tomorrow night, altho the compromise will be that we will pitch tent during the day tomorrow for a few hours to enjoy our last moments before re-entering semi-civilisation.
Altho tonight we cannot see the Base at SP, earlier in the day, after about 3 hours skiing, on a rise we did catch sight for the 1st time of 4 tiny black specs on the horizon - I have to say that rather than the elation an explorer, or 'all the way' skier might have had, my heart sank, immediately. That moment signified our exit from the wonderful, if challenging, isolation of our journey. Vicky said later she had had the same sentiment. Legend is on fine form now, but keen to 'get there'.
The day was another rather painful one, made much more challenging by the return of life size sastrugi...up to 3ft, and more akin to crossing a tidal race than a gentle swell like we had early in the trip. There were a few falls, overturned sledges, and stretched muscles...but we got through the worst in 3 hours or so. Interesting variety, but not too good for achillees tendons!
The sky was blue turqoise, all day, from horizon to horizon...it is a blue colour that I am sure does not exist in any Pantone chart, and certainly you dont see in Europe. Pure, clean, sharp, electric, deep, and like a huge dome over our heads. Will miss it.
A moment ago heard a very distant rumble of machinery, or a plane...must be at the Base. Strange because have not heard any 'noise' apart from the wind and squeek of snow, for weeks. Welcome back to 'reality'.
So we plan to arrive at the South Pole at 7 tomorrow evening (they run on Kiwi time there, so that will be early morning for Fiona). Then the ALE Twin Otter should pick us up the morning after, weather permitting. Shortly after us, Pen and Simon should arrive as well. Back to Patriot Hills, from where the entire aLE operation will try, again wx permitting, to exit Antarctica on the 1st or 2nd...they r just waiting for us and Pen!! Winter is coming...
Today felt like a summers day...but beware, it was still -29...
So one last day tomorrow...hope it is a good one...
m
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A TOUGH DAY FOR A SUNDAY WALK...
Jan 25; personally, another tough day, rather painful and inward, but generally a very beautiful day of blue skies, gentle polar breeze, and 10.8 miles closer to the goal.
On good days apparently its possible to see the base at the South Pole from 13 miles away. Tonight we are 20nm away...
This morning was agony, my tendons requiring me to do an awkwardly slow shuffle, or risk tearing them when they are so cold in the morning...unfortunately this is not good for the team, who were forced to wait for me (which means they freeze) after an hour...during this period i felt awful, my turn to be the 'weakest link', hate that....during my 'inward' moments, i find the landscape aggressive and even ugly...in better times it is a wonderfully endless beauty, like a picture from Mars...or a lunarscape. There was a 360 degree razor sharp horizon today, where else in the world could you get that?
The pain lessoned after 3 hours or so, and although not very confortable, I was able to stay with the group ok this afternoon.
Legend continues to be on top form, going faster than ever, dancing more than ever, and now often seen in the overtaking lane! Nice work! Vicky continues on top form, pulling an increasingly heavy dustcart, and her thumb much better. Linnea is the heallthiest of us all - quite right for the girl from Boots...Mike is well, he ignores what must be painful back pain, and i'm sure would like to do the last 20 miles in one go....
Tonight I have decided that I want to finish on a high, not in so much pain. This has been an awesome experience so far, it will be nice to complete it in a positive way - after all we have no records to break. The discussion will be later on this, but I might separate from the the others tomorrow, and do the remaining miles over 3 days not 2, to better enjoy them. Mike understandably is rushing to get there and see Fiona - I think she has a welcoming party ready for him, hell of a place for a reunion ! Just like returning from the ocean, personally I'm not that keen to see civilisation yet, there is something extremely pure and clean about being out here...
mark
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PAINFUL, BORING, BUT ONLY HALF A DEGREE TO GO
10.3 miles of tedium and pain...that sums up my day, although I think everyone else had a good day. Certainly Legend did - his best yet - he even got to the end of session 2 and asked why we had stopped; 'i'm not knackered enough for it to be 2 hours yet!'. The Legend. (ps he is looking for sponsorship funding! Apply here...)
The day started well, it should have carried on like that. Slept well, and set our alarm 15 mins early to do some foot repair work and had as a result more relaxing time getting ready. At 0650 I stood outside the tents alone on the way to the 'bathroom' (hole dug in snow 5metres to east of tent!), and breathed in the tranquility of it all - quite spectacular.
Unfortunately the first two hour session was a visit to hell - both my tendons felt like they really were detaching themselves from my heels. Every step was agony, and with the prospect of 26,000 strides a day (roughly), this was not a time I was enjoying! At least it made me forget the shin pain I suppose...fortunately as the day went on, the pain went from level 10 to 7 making it bearable as long as I went slowly and carefully...which made for a very boring and uninspiring day!
At one stage I was sure there was a thick grey cloud out to the west - it was an illusion - the reflection of the sun on the sastrugi (yes, it is back, between 1 and 2 feet). The sastrugi makes pulling much harder, i'd forgotten about the jerking it creates on the tow rope. More of this to come I fear before we arrive...30.8 miles to go...at, u guessed it, 180 degrees true!
2 days behind us apparently are Pen and Simon (all the wayers...)...not sure if they will catch us or not...either way we are the last groups out here now. When we get back to Patriot, the base will close down for the winter.
The sun is noticeably lower here, but also noticeable that its elevation hardly changes. It will be strange to go back to seeing sunsets and sunrises...nice though.
Time for freeze dried....
mark
ps under pressure from my team, i am attaching a photo of me! on a happier day than today...
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A SHOCKER OF A DAY...
The toughest day so far, for no specific reason, but everyone feeling it today (except Mike maybe). So much so that we stopped 30 minutes short as the team voted, much to Mike's disappointment, for the 1st time,to use the agreed 'last 30 min veto'...so a slightly earlier tea tonight!
Had another restless night, but we got up and got going in record time - we were moving by 0907...but what a way to start the day, straight up a 3 mile long hill, and boy could we feel the diffence, and feel every kilo in the sledges. An icy cold 12-15 knot wind, more in our faces than we have had to date, made the going tougher and colder. We all looked a bit on empty after that 1st 2 hour session.
For me it was also a day of more pain than I had hoped for, with a couple of new injuries to spice it up - achilles tendon on left foot felt like it was about to detach itself a few times...so it was a slow day, and a bloody freezing one!
Altho' we started out in blue skies, first we saw mackerel sky, then high whisps of cirrus, then add in low ground level 'mist' (a cloud at 10,000 ft in other words), and the surface of the ice like a river of fine snow billowingacross the ground for as far as the eye could see...quite spectacular, but needed some energy to appreciate!
So a shorter day, but still a 10.2miler, and now just over 41nm to the Pole. The swingometer definitely tilted back towards hell today, but tomorrow is another day...
have tried to capture the river of snow effect to send u, but at low res it dont work! you'll have to wait 4 the dvd...
m
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THIS SHOULD WIN A PRIZE!!
I hope this makes it, because its a very funny moment, as Linnea, the 'girl from Boots', looked at camera, sledge in front stopped, her skis stopped, her body carried on, faceplant!! Jeremy Beadle where are you!!?
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A 'LEGEND'ARY DAY...
More to write than I have time or solar power for...been a good day, best yet, on all fronts - pain, weather, mileage (11.0 miles!), Legend's performance, and morale in general...
Last night was abnormally warm in the tent, very weird since it was -31 outside! Must have been Legend's hot air...he didn't snore too much, but does have a few strange habits, inc. wearing (clean) boxer shorts on his head to block out the light!!!
Neither Vicky or I slept well, and it was a struggle to get up. Why does 10 minutes in the morning go so much quicker than the last ten mins of our 2 hour ski session! We then had a bit of tent drama - got a problem with stove or fuel...and nearly burnt the tent down...not a good thing to do out here!
The day went faster than any other day, and thd the weather was kind - very light wind on the ground , sunshine, and probably not colder than -35 with light chill. Amazing Parhelian all day (sure u find it boring, but it is fantastic, today with the rainbows very wide and 100 degree arcs on each sidde of the sun.
For the first time Legend got all the way thro the first 2 hours without a stop - awesome performance...but he was, for me, to really earn his name later in session 3 (1.5 hours) when his 'legs went wobbly' and he dropped well behind...Mike stopped to signal 30 mins to go, and this tine thought we should wait...when Legend arrived he just carried on walking straight past without stopping !! Go Legend....I filed in next to him and we sang Blue Moon, and Did i tell u u have a beautiful body, and other 'classics' playing on my walkman at the time! Well, we murmured...its too hard to sing and walk....anyway, he made it! Altho I can find him a bit hard work sometimes, his performance today earns him HERO OF THE DAY AWARD....and his name is truly justified. His 53 year old body certainly has more reasons to be complaining about the physical onslaught than our 'younger' ones....
Communication is pretty basic during the day - between the headgear (face mask, goggles, balaclava or two, hat, neck warmer, fur hood), music playing, cold, lack of air to talk, and real head down when walking, not many words change hands. A lot of time reflecting,or seeing how many words u can make out of the word EXPEDITION (it is painted on back of most of the sleds and become an obsessive focus when in line behind someone (ps we have found 40 words so far - beat that!). have also found u can scrawl a quick message in snow as u walk for someone behind to read 1 letter at a time...
We all finished strong, warm(ish), and with smiles...especially when we flashed up gps to find we'd done over 11 for first time. We also passed big milestone this morning - we are now in to the last degreeeeeeee.
Time for freeze dried sweet and sour...just over 50 n.miles to go...
m
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SKIING IN SUN...-32 degrees
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SKIING IN TO BREAK...
Jan 21st...1410 local time...time for frozen salami and pita bread...Linnea ad Legend arrive at the 'cafe'...
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SUN UP, MOOD DOWN...
10.4 miles, but at 185 degrees, so 5 off course (my bad navigating!)...just over 2 miles to get to 'the last degree'.
Grand bleu this morning after a restless night for some reason...not a cloud in the sky when we set off, and about 8 knots of biting wind. A few aches, pains, injuries, etc, but we are all hanging in there. I love Ibuprofen!! Effect wears off after about 4 hours, which works ok for a re-dose at the frozen salami break after 2 x 2 hour sessions...
For most of the morning the sun was showing off two beautiful parhelians, not sure if they come out on the photo or not tho'. The air was also full of tiny ice particles, glittering like diamonds in front of my Bolle goggles, which did a great job today. I actually saw where I was going all day!
But despite the very good conditions, it didn't seem to be a day of high spirits. Legend was struggling early on as usual, but made the day ok, and is our 'tent guest' tonight (since we lost Steve every other night we get Linnea or Legend). Linnea and Mike took out some of his weight and he pulled through - moving weight around sledges is an important team tuning device! I think Vicky probably has the heaviest sled at present, as she is adding weight with the rubbish every day. We all have some form of numb flesh or borderline frostbite, Vicky has first place though with a black thumb which needs a fair amount of care, and my thumb is similar (but not yet black ) in sympathy I think!
Thanks Franck for the message re Trust fundraising at Boat Show - if you feel like donating a tenner (or more) if I make it to South Pole, please do via www.ellenmacarthurtrust.com - we'll be taking out kids with cancer sailing againg this summer with Ellen. My little voyage is dedicated to them...
The ALE plane did a low fly past just as we were setting up camp tonight, probably taking Matty and her 'all the way' team back from the pole. She said the last degree was tough, with large sastrugi...so it doesn't sound easy finish for us.
If it wasn't for the plane, we really could be on the surface of the moon...
Until tomorrow my friends...I have some freeze dried choc mousse to make...and devour...and some sleep to catch up on. As long as Legend doesn't snore...however I have got my ski stick in tent tonight, to repair it - but also to beat him with if he does snore! My father will understand that one.
m
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WHO TURNED THE CONTRAST OFF?
Jan 20
10.3 nm done today, 73nm to go...nearly at 89South
Today was both one of contrasts, and total lack of it! Personal contrast as I finished the day in much better shape mentally than I started it - when I awoke this morning, with ice on my sleeping bag, My foot/leg was so painful I could not get up. With the thought of the day ahead, emotionally I slid quite quickly....
By the time we were ready to go, a small tear even dropped in to my goggles...not a good move, it froze, and I had to look thro' it all day! Feeling sorry for myself...I headed off with Bee Gees blasting...Fortunately, thanks to a mega dose of Ibuprofen, as rec'd by the great ALE doctor (thanks John) at Patriot Hills (3 times normal dose like everything out here), the pain became manageable. I also adopted a new skiing technique, the limp - moving left leg less than right, and so keeping angle of bend of right to a min...anyway, the ibu did the job, and altho now in tent its bsck to agony, i got thro day just fine...
And what a day - after about an hour of sun, what had been a thin dark grey line to the east, became a huge blanket of cloud. It came over so fast, like God closing his sky curtain...by the end of the day there was light snow, and the Contrast switch was off - after razor sharp horizon yesterday , now there was NO horizon at all. White/grey everywhere around us. Virtually impossible to navigate in a straight line, as both linnea and vicky found out as they tried it for the first time.
By the time we reached the end of the day there was no way of even picking a campsite....we ended up with a sastrugi in the middle of ours...
As we tuck in to freeze dried curry, there is still no sun or viz, lets hope we wake up to blue skies...altho one upside to the cloud today was that it was 'mild'....only -26 degrees!!
Just got a text message from ellen on the new tri B&Q...amazi technology eh! And thank you to all the others who have been sending sms...its really great.
I have been trying to send another video clip for a few days, without luck...but will try a new bit today....
Photo of day is of our second stop of the day...lunch consists of a 10 minute shiver, stuffing frozen pita bread, frozen salami, chocolate and luke warm (if lucky, and wrapped in duvet jacket, down boot, and insulating tube) isotonic (thank you to the company that donated it, lifesaver). No time to chat, have to start moving again asap...only way to warm up again is walk...and walk is what we have to do for hour after hour after hour...
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JAN 19, THE BIG ONE ZERO
Well finally we broke the ten mile barrier, but at a cost...this was a big pain day for me. My right shin is swolen like a golf ball and I can hardly stand on it...at this moment have no idea how I'm going to finish this. Emptying the Ibuprufen bottle anyway...
The weather was however perfect today with crisp blue skies, and the most razor sharp 360 degree horizon, like nothing I have ever seen even mid-ocean. And the terrain was flatter than ever...we are pretty well up on the plateau now, at around 9000ft. At this latitude however the effective altitude is much higher (I think due to the spin of the globe).
We had the best nights sleep so far last night, not sure why...but the wind died overnight which helped. I underestimated the figure yesterday...according to mike yesterday, with wind chill factor, was -57 degrees. Cold?!
Everyone happy tonight because of our 10.8 mile day. Its a bit like a Southern ocean leg of the Whitbread race...every day you have to give up something to the Gods...only out here its not a sail, or a rope - here its a bit of frostbite, an aching muscle, a strain, etc....the body pays, an each day the detail counts even
more. Exposed flesh can freeze in seconds.
Shackleton turned back with 97nm to go, so we are now truly finishing his journey off - however, I have no idea how those guys survived out here without the modern fibres we are wearing.
Heaven ,or hell - still trying to work it out.....erring on the latter today!
m
ps the gruesome photo is at the end of the day, of Richard, aka 'The Legend', for many reasons, all of which will remain between us - for now!
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PURGATORY IN MOTION
Jan 18,
position 88 26S, 87 33W, 94 miles from the Pole...help!
Well, my prediction was right, lasr night was cold and the wind howled past, and through, the tent...every time i woke up, i had to bring back to life any part of me that was out of the sleeping bag. It was a real struggle to get out of the slpg bag and prepare for the day ahead...not much viz, cloud, ice cold wind strongest yet (about 16-20 knots). Effective temperature -51...jeeze
We set off at 0930, after 2.5 hours of preps as usual...damn it was cold! My feet never actually warmed up all day...and the shin splint coupled with iced up eyewear from hour 2, led to a less enjoyable day than of late...however, the weather did clear, except for the fog like dustiness onthe horixon all around - and the sunlight was most beautiful...fortunately the camera battery lasted today, and my hands just about....so got sa few great shots. Around the sun were amazing rainbow like effects...think its called a parhelian?
Our performance was our best yet...9.4 miles at 178 T...in 7 hours of actual walking...but I think we were disappointed to have not broken 10...it certainly felt a long day. I just cannot imagine how Fi and Rosie did 18 mile days, quite extraordinary.
So now we are trying to defrost and dry out - somehow I managed to fill my wind suit with snow (zip open maybe?), so as I cra wled in to the tent, I found my body was encased in ice! Nice!
The tent is still being buffeted by the ice cold wind...but i think i will skeep well tonight...absolutely shagged!
I still can not work out if this heaven or hell....
m
ps spot Vicky in the distance in the photo...in high res / real life the light was like nothing i have ever seen before
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SAD, BUT WE ARE OFF AGAIN...
Jan 17...later than usual...103 miles to go...
Well after a stationary 48 hours, at just after 1630, we put our harnesses back on, and headed south. This morning the team spent a few tough hours literally making a runway - with our 2 lightweight shovels slicing away sastrugi along a 400 metre strip. We even had a windsock and markers...but when the ALE plane arrived at just before 1300, after 5 or 6 trial runs, the pilot decided that it was not safe or flat enough for him....he flew off in the opposite direction in search of a better area...our hearts sank.Ten minutes later, we saw him land on the horizon. 2 to 3 miles away in fact - so it was going to be a long walk for us! In the end Mike and Vicky set off towing Steve's sled, packed with surplus rations now that we are5 not6, and our rubbish (nothing is left in Antarctica, in PATRIOT hILLS they even fly out the human waste). Good to reduce the sled weights a bit as well.
We were all sad to see Steve leave, but in the end there was not much choice, as he was still not able to eat. No fuel, no miles. He wil now head back to Patriot, and maybe we will see him at the Pole.
While Mike and Vicky did the 2 hour trek with Steve to the plane, the rest of us prepared the camp to leave...so on their return, we put in a token end of day session...2.3 miles downtrack, and some new clean ice to camp on! Since our groundsheet is the ice, it gets a bit dirty after 2 days of living init!
Today was also the coldest yet - with a brisker wind, down to about minus 44 with wind chill...leave your skin exposed for a few seconds and it is frozen...so just think through the most difficult operation of the day....there is no reading the newspaper on the john out here....in
fact there are no papers either, and no news, and no crime...very few places like it in fact!
So after what feels like will be a cold and windy night tonight, tomorrow will hopefully be a 10 miler...shin splints permitting...it is great to be moving again...
The image is of Mike and Steve heading off to the plane which you can just see in the distance.
m
ps john, sorry for ruining your pint last night with my call!
pps good luck to the team in oz, on way to nz shortly i think
ppps happy birthday Dad! Must be first time i have remembered in years!
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FRIDAY NIGHT WITH A DIFFERENCE...
A quick late night update (can u tell we have nothing else to do) from 'the ice'....
just like any other friday night right?!
freeze dried curry...Legend is on a small vial of whisky, and i have excelled myself managing to make the most delicious chocolate mousse in Antarctica (thanks to excess rations of milk powder)...
proof of the mousse attached...
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FIRST VIDEO FROM ANTARCTICA...
A quick video test from Antarctica (tom pse email me if it works or not)...we have spent the day resting, reading, talking, eating....and waiting for weather window to permit plane to come and evacuate Steve. Unfortunately, looks like we are still going to have to wait until tomorrow at least...
Here in fact the weather right now is stunning...low clouds on part of what is still a very crisp horizon, sparkling air, and a second glow of sun on the horizon, virtually no wind...but of course deceptively cold - around -31....enough to freeze a bare hand to the shovel when digging holes for the necessaries!!
m
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One man to be evacuated...
JAN 16.
The difficult decision was made this morning to evacuate Steve Bull from 100 miles north of the South Pole. After struggling with illness which has been exagerated by the effects of altitude and cold, Steve is unable to continue this expedition, with hard polar walking, in a harsh and unforgiving environment.
Steve is in a comfortable and stable condition, and was most concerned about jeopardising the expedition. The team are naturally disappointed to be continuing without Steve.
Weather conditions are not currently acceptable for the ALE twin otter to fly the 550 miles to the team's position, but all 6 people are warm and safe in their sleeping bags.
For further information please go to www.polarchallenge.org
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MMM...NOT QUITE TO PLAN
Well an earlier missive than usual, due to a enforced rest day with the same guy really not getting any better. We are bunkered down, in our sleeping bags, reading, talking, wishing we were on our way again. Today we did our fastest 'breakfast to ready' session as well - 65 minutes from alarm to being ready to go - awesome - but it was not to be useful. Mike spoke to Patriot Doctor, and it was decided to try and evacuate the guy. Unfortunately, due to weather conditions between here and PH, plane cant come right now...so we just have to wait.
Really tricky issues out here, the environment is not one that makes logistical decisions very easy. We are in the first area of smaller sastrugi since we started, and for the plane to land that, with the weather, is critical.
Once we get the green light for the plane to come, we will have to get the shovels out and level a 30m x 600m runway! And mark it out with our sleds. All interesting stuff I guess, if not the aim!
One upside is that I have a shin splint, so some recovery time is not so bad maybe...
But of course the fact we are only 28 miles in, with 106 to go (got it wrong yesterday), is slightly worrying! We have done calculations on food, fuel, timimg, and all is well for now even including a real 'storm day'.
So, sign off from us, currently 4 in one semi-cosy tent in the middle of Antarctica. See picture! And as for Mike's particularly nice green jumper, any offers gratefully received...
m
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JAN 15...EARLY TEA TIME
Well today didn't end how we all imagined...we started strong, relatively easy terrain (2 days never quite the same although it is fundamentally the same!), beautiful blue sky, golden sunshine, and a good pace pushed out by Mike - all determined to finally break the ten mile barrier! I had The Beautiful South playing, so all the omens were good...
Unfortunately ones of the guys who has been feeling unwell for a couple of days really hit a wall...sufficient for us to stop, put up a tent, and ring base camp doctor for advice. All is ok though, but we needed to seriously refuel him, and get him warmed up - so we have taken a rest half day...and an early tea time. Which has actually been rather nice...we even sat on the bench (a sled), and really had tea, as the photo of the polar girls shows. The sun has now sadly gone behind some very low cloud, and ended what was a very beautiful day - and one that would have been perfect for a long haul to regain some ground. That is a frustration shared by all, but equally we know we had to stop early.
Tomorrow is another day! And we are at 88 14 S, 84 50 W...102 miles from the pole, so tomorrow that should be less than a 100! That is only Cowes to Newport and back 10 times...on foot towing a man in a coffin! Nutters!
Tonight we have been productive as well making nose guards out of felt (thanks to Linnea's mother), to try and stop our noses freezing off, mine now feels like a rock it is so hard....test tomorrow.
Sitting outside earlier it was so peaceful, the humming of the silence has gone now...civilisation will be noisy to return to. There was an amazing cloud formation on the horizon...5 tiny 'smoke signals', never seen that before, in a 100,000 ocean miles...awesome! Amazing that something like that can make you smile.
Tent team change tonight...I must be the luckiest man in Antarctica - I have both girls to keep me warm, well we'll see...apparently one of them moans when she sleeps, and the other is sniffing away due to a cold...a sleepless night?!
Hope the sun comes back tomorow...
m
ps hels the hand warmers are great, francoise the boots are the envy of the team, and john the herbal supplements are doing the job. and hels, as for the haemeroid cream fortunately not had to use it yet!
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SO THERE IS LIFE OUT THERE!
Jan14, 1915 local time
The coldest day so far, disappointing mileage of 7.5nm, but all well.
One could easily imagine you were the only people on the planet, such is the emptiness of it all. But today we had two small reminders that we are sharing this magical but harsh place. Firstly as we neared the end of the day I came across some ski tracks, and definitely no animals out here, especially skiing ones! We think it must be Matty and her guided team that have been walking for 50 odd days now, and they cant be too far ahead for us to still see their tracks as there is a decent wind today. Then, just as we got our hot sugary lifesaving tea brewing, the Antarctic logistics (they are awesome team that make all this possible) plane flew overhead...well, about 5 metres overhead! They have our posn from our Argos beacon. So there is still life on earth! We think it was returning from the pole with Rosie onboard - the other Brit female that Fiona just pipped to the pole, but an equally amazing achievement. Neither girl released proper positions, so it was suspense to the end. Like the mountains, this is a place where the word race is not very appropriate , but nonetheless, race it still was.
Anyway, back to today...I woke up in a foul mood...but managed to walk it off by midday...partly because my nose was so painfully cold that ii forgot about anything else. I got stronger as the day went on, despite the stunning blue sky we had this morning being wiped out by a bank of cloud that passed during the day, only letting the sun back as we stopped to pitch our home for the 'night'.
It was the turn of the 'The Legend ' to run out of gas today.. Steve helping him in to a pitstop close to zero. Mike drip (stuff it in) fed him, we swapped his gloves with mine to see if that would warm him up, and we got him restarted...he was powering along at the of the day. It is all about the body out here. A sailor trims the sails to the wind, a polar walker trims his body to the temperature, wind chill, exercise rate, as everything goes downhill fast when one bit of the puzzle is wrong ...cold hands leads to one problem after another...
We all know we need to increase our mileage, so hopefully we can get more in tomorrow. Maybe we need to walk an extra hour, but primarily we need to try and shorten the stops...we were getting cold today, when you stop moving the body temp plummets so fast...but its easier said than done, since we can only go as fast as the whole team. But we do have our own race to keep us motivated - the last plane out before winter shutdown for ALE is in theory about 2 weeks from now. Do the maths, we need to push on! Together.
It is a stunning day out there but it always looks good from the haven of the relatively warm tent! Its about -32 out there with very cold wind chill factor due to wind whistling ppast the tent.. But as you can hopefully see from the image, this place is truly beautiful when the sun shines.
yours, with sore eyes again (half mastered navigating today even with iced up goggles...look down at shadow of light on ski pole...the angle changes 15 degrees every hour, and on the local clock we are using that means that at 1430 the shadow falls directly down track to the pole.)
m
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TEAM STRUGGLING BUT DAY 2 BETTER...
Jan 13, 1930 local time...in tent, warm, dinner on boil, a slightly weary team....7.9 miles closer to pole, some 118nm away...
Last night the temperature in our tent went above 20 degrees, unreal, but by the time we awoke it was 3 degrees inside...so first job on awaking to the alarm (cant wake to sunrise here, there isnt one) is to get the burner on...a full hour of melting water for the days exertions! We are still pretty slow, but are getting there, this morning from alarm to skiing off took 2.5 hours...a long list of jobs finishing with our home, the tent coming down. All in a precise order...
This morning one big difference, no sun, no visibility, -28 degrees, but luckily no wind at all...so off we set for the first of 3 two hour sessions of hard grind. The sledge definitely didnt get lighter overnight!
Linnea was getting over the effects of altitude and was on good form today, the 'legend' Richard found the early going tough on his back, but once on skis rather than walking, recovered to finish really well. What is interesting is how much of a team game this is - we are only as fast as the slowest person, and each day of course there is one...today it was Steve's time to suffer, totally running out of energy at the first fuel stop. 'No idea what happened, but I just lost it, totally knackered halfway through the day' was Steve's comment at the end of the day as he crawled in to the tent.......a big lesson for all of us, energy management is everything out here.
Navigation when you can barely see the sled in front is pretty interesting ! With no sun shadow to use (the easiest), no wind, and big magnetic variation, the best method seems to be the angle of the sastrugu...Mike did an awesome job this morning - when we stopped for a lunch of frozen pita bread and salami, we found we had been making 181 degrees! nice job. one weird thing being here of coyrse is that the pole always bears 180 regardless of whether we wander off course.
I had a very good day today, got the refueling right, and the body temperature. And the music for the first time as well...you cant beat Gordon is a moron ' by Jilted John at the top of your voice as you haul the 80kg over the next damn bump!....a classic song, thanks to my sister and bro in law for awesome music selection on my Sony Netwalkman. Made my day!
The sun is trying to burst throgh now, so lets hope for a good day for the team.
Picture of freezing eyebrows to amuse you! and a second one to follow of Linnea hauling....
cheers m
ps any readers objecting to content on this personal website please just refer to the official site at www.polarchallenge.org
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OH MY GOD.....
2000 local time...12 Jan
Yesterday I said Fiona was my hero. After our first real day on the ice, I can say Fiona you are my mega giga super hero. I nearly died today - yet we had almost no wind, sun for the first two hours, halfweight sleds, day 1 of only 16 or so not 44, and only 140 miles to do not 600...I have no idea how one even does the full thing, let alone solo. Unreal. Hat off.
So Fiona is now going to wait for us at the South Pole...could be a while at the rate we went today...6 hours of sled pulling and 7.8 miles only...not quite a 18 mile Fiona day! I think we all struggled though...the middle two hours were tough going over small sastrugi...at the top each hillock, ttakes a full lean in to lever the 85kg over...then when you finally have it over yyou gat a few seconds of relief as the sled zooms down...but u r then brought back to reality with a big jerk as the sled re-engages...ooof...by the end of the day I was like a zombie...eyes sore (my goggles iced up after 10 minutes, need to sort that) , legs aching, face frozen, cold limbs...juicy blister...the hour of additional energy at the end of the day to get the tent up, staked out, fire on, hot drink (heaven), was hard to find. Yet we had a very easy and slow day.
The clouds have cleared again, we have some sun beaming on to the tent....heaven.
So we are at 87 deg 54 S, 84 36 W...some 126 nm from our objective. OH MY GOD!
Mark
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PHOTO FROM FLIGHT...
Most amazing view as we flew away from ph & Ellsworth mtgns...the mountains act like a giant wind and snow break, so there is maybe a km more of snow one side...and blue ice on the other. One can only see the tops, like an iceberg most is buried deep in the accumulated ice...
ps thanks for the great text messages...
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OUT THERE AND ON OUR OWN!!
Well we finally got away, at 1100 this morning we boarded the ALE Twin Otter (it has big skis on, an amazing gutsy pilot, and seatbelts that you really really fasten, oh and a safety briefing that you listen to!). The great news before we left was that Fiona DID IT! 42 days across the vast desert of ice. You have to fly over it to appreciate what an extraordinary feat Fiona has just achieved - to walk solo across the endless whitenness is amazing. Fiona you are my hero, truly.
An amazing and occasionally nervewracking journey south forr us. We had to land near Thiel mountains to refuel at a pre-prepared fuel dump of ALE. The world's most remote gas station! We then then had a bumpy take off and headed up towards (or is it down) 87 degrees south. When we got there it didn't look good - huge sastrugi everywhere, no way of landing...imagine putting a plane down on 2m bumps. Eventually at 87 degrees 46 the pilot found an area that was flatter, incredible skill he surveyed by flying at just a few metres from the ground with copilot's head out of window to see where ground was! Down we came, hang on tight!
20 mins later, we are stood in antarctic wilderness, nothing between us and the pole some 150 miles away, watching the plane leave...we really are here now. A biting wind taking temp below the ambient minus 28 degrees, leaving uncovered skin instantly frosty. Better get the tent up, boy the training was worth it! Brew on, and actually we are quite cosy...our two tents truly in the middle of nowhere. The sun is out so we are very lucky, it is not like this much here, a great way to start. Good for me to get a day without walking so i can try and sort my bloody blister!
Also it is Steve's birthday so after freeze dried dinner the others are coming round for a tent party!
m
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GREAT DAY!
I'm just happy that I kept the 'marrieds' on the team entertained by my dating antics! (Vickie)
Hello it's Linnea here, Marks tending to his blisters - ouch - so we're all taking a turn updating the website. We've had a magical day so far, skiing in perfect conditions with clear blue sky, little wind and breathtaking scenery. To top it all we've been invited to a BBQ tonight ar the base, weird uh, , we might be flying later tonight and Fiona is having a strong day......she should finish in the next 24 hours, in which case it will be a momumental record.
Mark here - amazing evening and night, strong sunshine all night, imagine having to wear your sunglasses inside tent at 0300! It was outstandingly beautiful here last night. Couldn"t sleep at all, but did plenty of gazing out at the peace and the amazing view. It was even warm enough in the tent for thermals off for a while. Surreal. But nice.
Today the weather still blocking our flight south but looking good for tonight. So today we did our biggest training sortie to date, just under 10 miles out to the site of a 1993 plane crash of a dc6. Due to the build up of snow, only the tail is showing now.
A great day out only slightly marred by a stupid blister...
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STUCK AT PATRIOT BUT 5nm ANYWAY
Jan 9th, Patriot Hills
Well unfortunately the weather between here at 80 degrees south and the pole is not good so it is impossible to fly us to 87 and our start point...but today we have at least done some miles on a little training run, 4.5 out and back with our pulks (sled) behind us. Far enough to get out of sight of base camp and realise the vastness of our environment, abd far enuff for a small blister - at least I now know where to strap up.
The surface on our walk was not smooth, and the very small sastrugi (wind blown shapes on the surface) gave us an idea of what it will be like once we finally get out there. There are reports of massive sastrugi further south which might mess our plans up a bit just as much as this delay could. Fiona is only a few days from finishing now as well, which is great, but complicates things since we were meant to fly out with her from the pole. At 20,000 dollars per hour and a five hour flight you might therefore understand why it might be complicated, as it is quite hard to imagine her out there waiting for us for two weeks..
Team gossip of the day is that Vicky has a date with one of the "locals" tonight in the ice cave! And trivia of the day is that we discovered her old flatmate is Garfield Smith who I did the Whitbread with many moons ago, small world! Minus 13 this morning, wondered why my nose was cold during the night. However, amazing how you get used to it I was out earlir in thermals only and survived, mind you no wind and wind chill is the killer. Mind you still freezes your nacks off getting up in night (daylight) out of bag to go to loo. Here at Patriot that means a run to the small tent 100m away. All waste is flown out of Antarctica, no yellowing of the snow is allowed, a good thing also because the snow is used for making water...
Only a couple of teams left here now the Vinson teams have gone. Us, a Malaysian girl training with a kite for a 2005 solo south opole attempt, and a British disabled guy being towed around in a special sled - he is hoping to be towed the last degree, having already ddone North Pole last year. Got guts for sure.
Time for freeze dried dinner!
Manyana!
m
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SAFE AND SOUND AND VERY QUIET
The last time I heard silence like this was becalmed a week from the finish of the Mini Transar in 1997. So quiet that it deafens you. At 0300 this morning that is all I could hear. After chuckling to sleep my tent mates with my admission that it was my first ever night of camping (hell of a way to lose my virginity, it has earned me the nickname Cubscout) and I finally nodded off on what was one of the warmer and more gentle nights we are likey to have. Even tho outside it remained a bit nippy, as I found out when I went for a waz, inside the tent by 0800 it was positively warm in my sleeping bag.
We awoke to the heat of the sun being magnified by our little dome, and to a stunning 360 degree view of Patriot Hills. Once again tho the weather rules ok, and low cloud to the south means we cannot yet fly south, and are once again on standby, altho this time we are in an amazing place.
One big party flew off in the Twin Otters to the west for Mount Vinson - wouod like to do that 6000m peak someday. so the camp feels really deserted now, just the staffers who are very friendly, including dr john, fran the cook, and mike sharp the base manager.
Us novices did a few hours of trying to ski and pull our sleds this afternoon....actually not too bad, although with sun out, no wind, and sled half empty, we might have been kidding ourselves.
Am wondering how the boat launch went in oz, hope someone will text me soon...and with that I will sign off.
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JAN 7 WE ARE IN ANTARCTICA!
Well we are on the plane, and it is some plane, straight out of a Bond movie,but the Russian variety. There are only a couple of small windows, but I am guessing that we must be about over Cape Horn now. A little bit bumpy and rather noisy! We are sat amomgst 1000s of gallons of fuel on itsvway with us to this place called Antarctica. I dont think we expected to get away this time, and we still have to land yet of course!
They are starting to turn the temperature down in order to turn the temperature down now to acclimatise us to the minus 13 at arrival. Tonight we expect to pitch tent on ice and tomorrow expect to fly in Twin Otter towards the Pole to our start position somewhere near 87 deg south tbc.'
ciao from somewhere over Drakes Passage.
am back but now in a tent on the snow at Patriot Hills after an interesting flight and landing! this place is like a little village about 60 people here..... all asleep in their tint tents in broad daylight at 0300 am.....
more in the morning
night.....
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STILL WAITING
hola!
Well makes for a patient man...we are now waiting for the midday call then the two pm call, then the six pm call....but of course at some point the call to go will come and then we will be climbing in our thermals and boots and half an hour later be at the airport. But even once at the plane we might still get turned back , so unpredictable is the weather at the blue ice runway of Patriot Hills.
So, I still might get to watch the launch of the tri online, and even Francis Joyon round Cape Horn on his amazing record run solo around the globe. Strange to think that he is only a few hundred miles to the west.
manyana....
marko
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Jan 6, WEDDEL SEA DEPRESSION...
Yep, another delay...maybe for 2 days with a low pressure system over the Weddel Sea creating strong winds and low cloud base over Patriot Hills. Impossible to land the Russian Illusion cargo plane in the area in these conditions. Landing navigation is line of sight only...so its more waiting. Meanwhile Fiona continues to make good progress, we´re guessing less than a hundred miles now to the pole (no official position being released for now), so on amazing record pace. Mike is definitely feeling the stress of no communications with his wife Fiona, just a bunch of often garbled codes from the old Argos unit she is carrying. Had a few false alerts with it as well over the past few weeks, so nerves are high. However she had continued with blistering pace, sometimes nearly 20 miles a day. We´re hoping to do half that with sledges half the weight, and not after 500 miles of it.
I am now becoming fluent in Chilean pharmacy vocab, but perhaps my lack of improvement means its not as good as I think! God knows what i´m taking!
Every time the phone rings for the check in with ALE, everyone in the hostal goes quiet as everyone waits to know if the situation is a go or not. We are resigned to Friday or so now though...which is still good in my books, a night like last night out on the ice would probably kill me I reckon!
Enough of my woes, I hear my team in Australia have stomach bugs, & the Cowes girls (only the girls for some reason) have post New Year throat infections. Very weird to think of that going on without me for once...at this rate its conceivable that I´ll be watching the launch of Ellen´s new tri online, so charlie make sure that webcam is working...fast enough for a Punta Arenas internet connection please...
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Jan 5, 2004 MORE WAITING!
Cloud on and off at Patriot Hills landing site...another 4 hour wait until 2000 PUnta time...the last possible takeoff slot of the day. If we get the yes then we will be off at about 2200, don´t forget the sun doesn´t go down in Antarctica so will land in light...if we get a no then it won´t be before 0600 tomorrow morning the next call. that will suit me...could do with another day in bed!
caoi
m
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Jan 5, 2004. The waiting game, but happy to wait!
Well, our sleds were weighed and sent off yesterday, so we have not much left in our rooms now, just some hand luggage, toothbrush etc.. For me yesterday that didn´t matter too much, as I have gone down with big dose of flu, and broke a life long record by sleeping for 16 hours yesterday and this morning, praying that we´d NOT get the 0600 phone call to say we were going this morning...unlike the rest of my team! It would be nice to try and get rid of it before going in to the freezer...its like my body had stored this up for a few years, and now it thinks it has the upper hand. well it does for now.
So, now the routine is that we will get a call every 3 to 4 hours, and we have to be at 30 minutes notice to be in a bus to the airport. That doesn´t leave us many options, but then I´m going back to bed so it doesn´t matter too much!
Vicky and Linnea went off to find Penguins last night, about an hour from Punta Arenas...found them, but not on the habituel ice-snow, instead on the grass. Somehow they don´t quite look right! But Penguins they were...we are unlikely to see any where we are going in antarctica as we are not going near the sea at all, so at least they got the photo done!
So now its the waiting game...ideally for me it will be good for the weather to stay closed in at PH for a day or so so I can go without a fever...but am sure will cope with all eventualities.
Reminds me of Ellen being ill before the Vendee when the start was delayed by a few days! This body certainly knows it hasn´t had much rest for a few years...
Manyana...
m
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Jan 4, 2004. All set, now it's just the weather...
We had our final briefing from the Logistics organisers, ALE, this morning...there are a total of 50 people going out on this next flight, whenever it goes. An interesting mix of people ranging from a dozen or so tourists just flying in to the south pole itself, 4 expeditions heading to climb Mount Vinson, the highest peak of Antarctica, a disabled British guy who has already been to north pole who is aiming to do final ´degree´ to south, and an amazing 72 year American from Hawaii who has run marathons all over the world, climbed everywhere and at the age of 67 also did the Transat des Sables (7 marathons in 7 days across the Sahara, alone, carrying your own food etc.!). And us.
We are loading all our packed sleds on to the plane this afternoon, but it looks ´very unlikely´ that we will get to fly tonight, low cloud at Patriot Hills at present. As the Pete from ALE said, this flight is like asking a BA 747 pilot to take off from Heathrow and land in the Sahara somewhere...Exciting stuff eh! On the way they progressively turn the temperature down in the plane so you are ready when the cargo door opens when you land!
We did more tent practice in the Park this morning, and got it down to 10 minutes...more progress required, 10 minutes is too long to get cold at the end of the day when the energy reserves are exhausted.
Bit of flu going round our team, and my turn today. Unfortunately I also managed to chip a small bit of bone off my elbow, so in wars a bit! I figure I´ve got my bad luck out of the way though.
Can´t get used to not have a phone on me, and an emtpy email box...quite bizarre!!
My sled weighs a bit much...about 70kg we reckon, will find out this afternoon when they load it all. They weigh everythign as we have strict weight allowances. I have 12 days of tent-team food (for 3), a bag of kit, a tent, sleeping kit...Steve has similar, and Vicky will have the fuel, the shovel, cooking stuff and her own kit. Can´t lift mine, no idea how I´ll tow it...should have done more with the big tyre! Oh well...too late now right!
Have to go finish the sled off, so ciao, and more updates on our flight window tonight or tomorrow...or if you hear nothing then it means that we´re on our way maybe!
m.
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Jan 2, 2004. Punta Arenas, Chile
We are in PUnta until Monday monday at least, that is the first possible
fly day. We are busy packing up freeze dried and other supplies, carefully
weighing everything, preparing every detail, learning some safety
techniques, tent assembly rapid action,...
The team is great, a mixed bunch for sure...the two tents will house 3
people each and will be our only refuge from the bighting cold - around
minus 30 degrees where we are starting without the effect of wind chill.
Nice! we are all novices apart from Mike, and we are all nervous...between
us we have a Builder, a Pharmacist that works for Boots, an event manager
about to start working for PowerBurn ski company, a lecturer, and Mike our
leader who is a Copper! No misbehaving here honest...My tent will start out
with Steve the lecturer, Vicki the skier, and me. On our bags of food,
divided in per day and weighing just 2.2kg each bag (but about 15000
calories in each bag!), we have written a joke of day, a song of the day,
and a theme for debate for each night in the tent. the themes start very
sensible and intelligent, and by day 23 have sunk quite low!!
The sleds look like they will weigh about 65kg, a lot less than the one
fiona has just dragged very fast across Antarctica, which started at 100kg!!
Cheers from Punta Arenas...
Mark
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Checking in....
well l am off...first time since the Mini Transat that I have really done this...a month without email...wow!A good start, my sister and hubbie Steve took me to airport and assisted with the task of try to check in 50kg without a penalty....thanks to a gay check in attendant who thought Steve and I were gay we succeeded! Who says only women can use their sexuality! So here I am in Madrid waiting for my 5 colleagues to arrive from the UK loaded up with.300 Snlckers enough thermat wear for the entire aged population of the Isle of Wlght...first the long flight....chamonix...geneva...mad rid...santiago...punta arenas...then a wait for weather window for the slightly trlcky hop to Antarctlca across the Magellan Straits......
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In Punta with bags!
Well got this thing going finally - yuk pc software - already lost this email once!
The good news is that we are all in Punta Arenas, Patagonia WITH all our bags...albeit with a small amount of excess baggage strife in Santiago
tent practice done, food packed, pulks packed, ALE briefing tomorrow and then the waiting begins for weather window to allow us to fly to Antarctica some 5 hours south of here the other side of Cape Horn....
Team bonding just fine, conversation already sinking to levels of an offshore sailing race and we are not even in the tent yet....Bob the builder, Vicky the ex chalet girl, Linnea the pharmecist, Mike the copper, Steve the lecturer and me! initially our tent is me vicky aand Steve which suits fine. Bob the builder has a serious problem of flatulence!
ok, so next time you hear from us we should be in Antarctica!
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