Posted: Dec 11, 2007 05:02 pm EST
(ThePoles.com) British Jason De Carteret and American Todd Carmichael were headed to the South Pole in an unsupported and unassisted, two-man team. Todd is now the only one left to try realize the expedition goal; breaking the current speed record.

Expedition recap

On December 5, day 8 of the expedition, Jason and Todd had to make a difficult decision. “The team had attempted over the last several days to work through the lower body injuries Jason has suffered, but these injuries only seem to be worsening," the expedition web master reported.

"Due to the pace they were trying to maintain in an effort to achieve the fastest possible trek to the South Pole, they both knew there would be no days of rest and healing ahead of them. The two regrettably decided it would be best for Todd to continue on alone,” ended the message and Jason was airlifted by plane while Todd continued on his own.

Todd’s first two days alone were white-out days, still he skied 18.7 nm and 20.8 nm. He also paid tribute to the current solo, unsupported world record holder, Hannah McKeand, for the job she had done. Todd next continued his charge across the ice with another 20+ mile day and then 7 nm in a blizzard. He reached the 83rd parallel yesterday, Dec 10, in 40 knot winds.

AdventureStats definitions for emergency evacuations

The question now is, will Todd qualify for a team or solo record?

There are many examples of emergency rescues of team members, changing the expedition definitions as follows:

1. The expedition status changes from "Unassisted" to "Assisted - emergency."

2. The expedition is not Solo - as it started out as a non solo and also lost its "Unassisted" status with the evacuation.

The regulations aim to prevent "dumping" of slower members in record attempts, or cheating in other ways. Although valid injury is most often involved in emergency evacuations (as in Todd's and Jason's case), the rules must still apply.

The present record

The present unsupported (no wind, dogs, motors) record from the coast to SP is 34 days. The record was set by Bae, Skog, Knudsen, Melchior and Kreuger in 2005. The team started closer to the Pole: from Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf at 82S .

The present record on the classic route (Hercules Inlet to SP) is 40 days set by British Hannah McKeand in 2006. Females have been dominating this area; the second fastest was Fiona Thornewill (42 days).

Todd can not claim solo (which he didn't intend to from the start anyway) and he can't claim unassisted as the expedition received emergency evacuation assistance. Todd however definitely qualifies for the overall speed record and he is still unsupported - using only human power (no kites etc).

Founder of Americas premier coffee roasting company La Colombe, Todd Carmichael 44 is a distance runner for the University of Washington. Post graduation, Todd redirected his focus from running to trekking, chalking up numerous exploits from Africa to the Antarctic.

“Running gave be the love for chewing up miles, day after day, and the faith that persistence and determination guarantee success. What worked for marathons, certainly applies to my present long haul treks,” Todd says.

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