83:49.436S 73:13.202W
Another tough day at 'the ice office'. Well, it looks like it's going to be nail biting a bit earlier than I imagined.
I awoke quite relaxed as I thought I had a very good pole repair solution. There was quite a strong headwind, so it was pretty cold with wind chill, but by 6h30 I was on my way, fired up for a 30+ km day, and happy that I was now post capitulation and starting to enjoy the unfolding game of this expedition. The days before this I was constantly trancing off into the past, thoughts about going sailing again, and the inevitable male fantasy world! (Haha, just covering myself, not sexist!) These are signs one isn't in the now of the adventure, but today was different.
I was thinking about nature, how it all works so amazingly, and how extreme the range of weather / temperatures are for what is really quite a small place. I aked myself: "So do you really think there is a Mother Nature? Why do you always refer to her then?" I got quite carried away with the whole earth thing, and how bad we REALLY are treating our planet. Much of it is just linked to greed, fame, and instant pleasures, without real appreciation. I looked at all this ice - I was walking on hundreds of metres of ice - and we say the world is short of water... It's not. Nature has stacked all this ice for us to use when we get really short... The day will come when we need this water, and will be prepared to pay the price to use it, just like we pay for other scarce commodities. It hasn't got to that yet... But 'Nature' has provided and then I wondered what I should be doing to try and increase awarenes of how much waste takes place....? I guess you get the gist of my thoughts at the beginning of today, being out here in Antartica was starting to move to a more spiritual journey.. The exploring was starting in earnest. Then....
Well 4.5 hours into the skiing, after performing amazingly, I hit a huge sastrugi precipice and lost my balance, and in strying to stabilise myself the repaired ski pole took all my weight, bowed like they do, but then just snapped with a devastating rifle shot sound. The design concept was good, except for the two tent poles inside the pole, they surprisingly are very brittle. Fortunately I'd thought through the scenario, had even practised walking / skiing with one pole, which was sort of manageable. I had decided I'd resist setting up tent to fix it, just soldier on and try do 25+ km.
I started that, still with the strong headwind, but soon my left arm, the one I couldn't use (no confidence that side on the pole!) started getting really cold, from the now lack of use. Amazing how fine in heat balance one gets! My arm started aching, even after adding another layer of mitts to that hand. I tried poling with the left hand, but the sastrugi was real bad again today, and it just felt awkward. I sensed I was risking falling and damaging my one and only pole. I had no option but to take a break and don another top layer. I made this decision just in time, because just as I was finishiing the rather lengthy process I was VERY cold, shivering and my left arm felt 'strange'. This was a good practice, as unlike the North Pole where other team mates were around in emergency, I was here alone and need to be just that much more proactive.
In this whole process of breaking the pole, I went through lots of 'stuff' of wondering if this is the start of the end of my expedition, but my spirit of adventure rebounded me and I made a commitment to myself that: You WILL get to the Pole, and it WILL be UNASSISTED. That was important and sucked me deep into this new game, making it a real challenge. Knowing that, I knew I had a single pole ski to at least 4pm and hope that's about 25km. Then I'd have 2-3 hours for a new repair solution. I finished early yesterday, and cannot afford to lose these part days in this Race against fuel and food.
I struggled for 4 hours, and made it to 4pm, with the GPS showing 25.3km, almost 'normal' pace but very tiring and awkward.
I used the time on the ski to think through new repair solutions, going through each piece of 'stuff' I have in my sled, backpack, and on me, trying to find a stronger replacement for the spare tent poles. It was amazing how effective and valuabe that exercise was. It turned up 4 potential sources, and by the time I got to my tent stop site, I was tired, yes, but more importantly excited at setting up tent as a workshop so I could try all the options. Well the best one turned out to be a combination of the shaft of my razor, wrapped in a few layers of stove reflector tin, to make it a real snug fit inside the two broken pole tube sections. I had the stove going, heating up the pole ends to make them round and then shrink them onto the shaver connector. The job was soon completed with the final attachment of a hose clamp over the join. It seeems really strong, but tomorrow and another 28+ days is still the real test.
I also managed to repair the other one, but because of its bad bow, it will always only be a backup. Tell you tomorrow how it went? Hmm, it's QUITE important!
Lastly, on the pole problem, there is always a story behind eveything, and this one I'm not proud of but I better share it: As Peter from Wadongah. Oz, supplied me two brand new poles and I know will be following the Blog, is probably wondering how I could break two brand new poles! Well Pete, I'm embarrassed to say your ONE hasn't broken, it's been my two old ex-North Pole ones that have broken! The Arctic / North Pole is REALLY demanding on poles. Mine survived, and being sentimental, and preferring their long cork handles (can't get them anymore) they had a few dings, but looked OK, for what I thought was pole friendly terrain! The truths are, firstly, those poles shud have been retired off, and secondly, the pole environment is not as easy as first imagined! Lessons, lessons, lessons, so obvious in hindsight!
I have one brand new 'spare' pole, the partner to the other one I bought from you, Pete, at Union Glacier, waiting my return! Geeeeee!
Ok, hope the detail wasn't boring... Tthis is my life at the moment, and writing this helps me prepare for the VIP day ahead! The wind is still blowing outside, strangely it makes music as it whistes through my tent guy lines, but I'm snug in my tent!
Cheers
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Day 7: So much variety today, I think I'm overstimulated now!
-83:37.259S 72:17.606W
I haven't been mentioning my climbing, but today
(see below) reminded me: I'm camped here tonight at 923m, so I've climbed 795m
from the start... All on skis I remind those who think skis are for going
downhill!
Some other stats: I’ve come 174 km from my start point. I
estimate I have 766 km still to go. I'm still on a SW course not heading
directly to the South Pole, as the Thiel Mountains and some crevasse have to be
passed before I can turn left and just head South.
After so many days of the
same, today produced so much variety, I felt closer to 'you guys' in normal
life with its entire stimulation overload! Not all was good but I'll leave that
for last.
Firstly, before leaving I repacked my sled for better weight
distribution, and improved the sled bag tie system, in an attempt to reduce the
tipping over problem. A minor job in normal conditions, but on my own in the
cold with mittens on it takes a while, fumbling and missing for the finer more
precise stuff. Anyway I think it helped as I only had 5 capsizes today.
Soon
after the start I hit this pretty smooth, largely sastrugi free zone, so did
away with my ski skins, and for the next two hours I hit a new record hourly
average of 3.4km an hour.
The terrain soon changed:
I discovered Sastrugi
City, a quite remarkable place: The gentle never catchable horizon climb that
has been part of everyday was suddenly a finite reachable horizon, actually the
top of the hill that then sloped gently down to a valley that formed the first
part of the UNDISCOVERED Sastrugi City! Yeah, I was the first person to
discover it...haha, but it really does feel like nobody has EVER been to these
places.
As I approached the bottom of the valley, it became a huge
obstacle course with dense and large sastrugi. It's clear that with the slope
the ice is all flowing down to the valley bottom, and the flow is the precursor
to the vast sastrugi.
The other side of the valley was a pretty steep
(relative to what I've had) hill, where the 'rich' sastrugi live, with views
back over the valley which was quite special with the sun angle highlighting
the expansive white enormity of where I'd come from. This was the first time I
had a varied hill and valley terrain and it was quite refreshing, even the hill
looked 'interesting'! The sastrugi was amazing sometimes having a height of
over 1.6 m, and its wind carved tail stretching for 10s of metres long. With
this serious obstacle course ahead it was back to skins for traction. As the
strain of the hill bit in, my mind searched for better ways to tackle it, and
as the ice hardened it was soon time for skis off completely and I just fitted
my small crampons that jus slip over my ski boots (Richard Weber's good idea.) Now this was fun and fast...It took me back to snowshoeing in the Arctic, I
seem to be built more for that than skiing. The change of motion, was refreshing,
and the pace awesome...I was hitting 4km/h at times. So now I have a 3rd option
for travel, which makes me excited as long as there are not crevasse around!
After about an hour the ice got too soft, and I was back on skis. Blog
Question: Why do we use skis to walk on ice? I was into the last two hours of
the day, confident today will be a record when Mother Nature decided to teach
me a lesson: I slipped on some glass-like ice, and in the process of trying to break
my fall, I put all my weight on the one ski pole which was now caught under the
sled and snapped! Hmm, I'd looked at fixing the other one, was confident I
could with a few options, but decided to wait and see if / how another breaks,
because I could maybe use parts of it.
Anyway, initially it was a huge feeling
of despair; irrationally thinking my solo UNASSISTED status was lost. I soon
got all rational, there was nothing else but to set up camp early and start
repairs. I've done that, and managed to make what I think is a pretty good
repair, using spare tent poles and a hose clamp. We shall see... I haven’t been
as lucky with repairing the second one as it's really bowed. I'll have it fixed
by tomorrow evening to, just need a bit more thinking time.
Funny, I think
today I crossed the capitulation line... All this variety helped, but more
importantly I have became 110% taken by the challenge game, and the daily
distance goals. I have come 178 km, almost 20% and am now COMMITTED. An example
of this flip is how I go about marches: I add on time for sled capsizes,
clothing change, ski change, because I want max skiing time, so I can get max
daily distance. Initially these stop times were all part of march time, and an
opportunity to rest. Now they are time thieves that prevent me skiing... So
that's all good news.
Last night I had a lovely chat with Ruth by satphone. I
think that also helped... Solo but not Alone!
Some have asked if I put up my tent
during my rests during the day? No, it would steal too much time. I just rest
in the cold and wind, but I try and hide in the wind lee of my sled.
Hold
thumbs for my ski poles!
Time to hit my sack!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Day 6: Sastrugi and sled problems, but another 30km day!
 |
| File pic of Howard training on Muizenberg beach: No sastrugi in sight! |
Hey sorry about the late Day 5 Post... One of the problems of sat phone comms. I thought it had been sent, but it hadn't. Quite frustrating when one stays up to try give you something live and special! Anyway, as I commited, I will send one every day, at least to 'The Diary'. I can't guarantee comms delivery though!
Ok, so here is Day 6:
I started out at my new 06h30 start time, all very positive about another 30+ day ahead, with my new shorter march times (yes, the skis are called marches, because of the military discipline needed!). It was another beautiful, clear, crisp, and light wind morning, the stage was set!
Well within 20 minutes my sled had hit a small, 'badly angled' sastrugi and it was pushed right over upside down. That's how the day continued - more than 20 sled capsizes forced me to look at better balancing the sled content but no real improvement! This is what goes with taking a 'non-conventional' performance sled! The sastrugi didn't help as today I saw by far the talest sastrugi of the trip....it was like an obstaacle course for much of the day, although there were a few great flat (relative!) sections.
When I get focus in the zone, and am well caloried up, with good terrain, I feel my body remove itself from me and become machine-like. That happened quite a few times today, so I feel capitulation point maybe near. For the first time ever on an adventure, I have thought that I may never hit capitulation point, and that this might be just a mammoth no fun struggle, like I have never had to deal with.....! Hmm, that's a scary scenario.... However, I do get glimmers of hope that within the week I'll be looking forward to each day.... The two things that are providing hope that I will master this life out here on the ice cap: The first is how lovely it is getting into my tent after a good distance day. It's really quite warm in the tent with the sun on it all 'night', and also I'm well into a cooking routine, and love my tent food now. Sleep is bliss, I'm sleeping well, and if I wake in the night for a pee, (in my pee bottle in my sleeping bag ofcourse!) I'm always surprised how many hours to the alarm there stil are to go... That's a good sign. Mornings are never 'grumpy' - I almost loook forward to getting on the road. Emphasis on "almost"! At capitulation one can't wait to get out there and ski everyday!
The second ray of hope is that today I could feel my body getting stronger and like a racehorse wanting to 'train' and get stronger. The first few days it basically was in shock, pains everywhere, and resistance from every area. I think it said: Ok, 'he' has gone crazy for a day or two again, just do what 'he' says, and it will all go away in a few days. The 'new' food was resisted, to its own detriment, but now that it believes this is a SERIOUS 30+ day struggle, the new food is welcomed, and the muscles are learning their new 10-hour a day job! I sense that now this body strengthening is happening, the 'enjoyment' wil soon come, and it will become a game rather than this current suffering slog. (I am choosing to share with you exactly how I feel, rather than sugar coated, positives!)
These polar expeditions are all essentially a race, a race against time, when your food and fuel runs out. Take more food and fuel, and you go slower, so you still have to race just a different one. Very few life activities are so single mindedly focused for the duration of the expedition: Everyting I do out here has ONLY one SINGLE purpose: To enable me to ski as productively as possible each day, almost machine like so I can win my race against the Antarctic Ice Cap. So when my sled overturns it distracts the machine, takes it off rhythm, and that's why it's so frustrating. Moving to the machine-like and being at one with the ice is my post-capitulation goal, I just hope it comes quick!
Today, quite a strong and chilly headwind, about 18-20 knots popped up, luckily only spoiling for only 3 hours, another perfect weather day.
You may wonder what I wore today? 3 pairs of socks, 1 long thermal pants, 1 fleece pants, 1 windshell high cut oilskin style pants, 1 thermal underwear top, 1 full face balaclava, 1 pair dark ski goggles, 1 set inner gloves, 1 set outer mittens. I prefer to be 'cold' on my upper body, as the ski work soon gives a temperature balance. When the headwind picked up I added a full wind shell top, with hood and wolverine fur ruff.... Very cosy, and I can deal with anything like that!
Regarding Penguins: No I won't see ONE, this is the first environment where I have been where there appears to be not one single other living thing here. I do have a penguin for Ruth in my resupply bag - a surprise for her at the pole. Penguins are only found where there is sea ice, and close to food for them. That question from my all-time favourite class in Alberta, Canada!
Time to hit the sleeping bag....
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Day 5: An epic struggle but the whiskey cocktail is well deserved tonight!
83:26.048S 71:06.44W
So what you been up to today? Seen lots of people, chatted to many...?? Well I haven't seen a soul, I swore at myself, shouted and punched the air with joy, but all alone. In fact the only colours I've seen are ice white and sky blue! I was so desperate of needing to see another human I took a photo off myself....! I looked a bit scary too... Totally unkempt and a bit wind chilled!
When I wake up, first thing I do is go outside and appreciate the remote vacantness Often on the ski, I just stop and wonder at this sterile beauty. This is the REAL experience I was referring to yesterday: I couldn't experience this heightened feeling if I was flown in, and dropped at one of my campsites. It's because I'm experiencingg it each day walking and seeing its endlessness. My ears ring from the silence, I'm sure they can't believe there is no sound so they create one! It's tough here, but STRANGELY special.
A big day today, it's been coming!
So I finally managed my 10 hours skiing - going back to skins and the tortoise approach worked. It definitely was trying to go too fast yesterday. Fortunately it was very icy at the start, forcing me to switch back to skins... Thanks for forcing me, Mother Nature, as I wasn't going to change.
A lo..oong day, but I broke through my goal of +30km in a day: 30.5 to be exact! I'm ecstatic, and see how changing my marches helped. 2.5 hrs is too long to try and stay focused in a trance. It's now 1.5 hours, with speed breaaks inbetween: I don't remove my backack, and just sit on the ice with it on. It's a schlep putting it on each time with mittens and my hands-free compass. Anway we shall see how this new approach works tomorrow. I sense I maybe JUST fine tuning, and there is not breakthrough panacea!
The weather has been ABSOLUTELY amazing, another warm, virtually windless day. This can't last forever, and I'm sure "epic day" will take on a new meaning from today's level, sometime before the 'end'. I guess that does sit as a constant worry in my mind....Things could get quite a bit tougher!
Today was also pretty eventful relative to the other days I've had, and one event is of concern and has reduced my safety margin:
My sled turned over 4 times today, I think the sastrugi was taller and more 'evil' shaped today, but it's quite a pain turniing it back and finding all the fuel cans had dislodged. (The fuel is kept outside the sled bag which keeps all the other contents from falling out!) Maybe I was just driving badly today... bored with tortoise pace!
I also ended up falling on my arse 4 times, the once real bad, that resulted in me breaking a ski pole! I think it's my heavy backpack causing the problem when I suddenly hit sheer glass like ice, and the sled at the same time, a few metres back hits a sastrugi obstacle and rudely yanks me back. Backpack pulls me over backwards, feet and skis shoot up in the air, and whoopsie I land on the ice, quite angry... a few swear words usualy machine gun out! It's funny, but it's not funny!
The broken pole is not good news, as although I am now using my only spare, there is now less scope for more awkward falls. I spent some time tonight working through a repair solution and will implement tomorrow night.
I talk a lot about sastrugi, and I'm sure many of you know what it is, but as it's very much part of the Anarctica ice cap, here is my description:
It's ice that has been eroded into wonderful aerodynamic carvings by the wind, just like sand dunes of the desert, except much smaller. The biggest sastrugi I have seen here so far is probably 0.75m, but most are less than 0.3m high. The ice is really hardened from the wind, and so they are pretty serious obstacles, that force skis and sled over / around them usually. The shapes are amazing, sometimes there is a whole patch that looks like a mini Grand Canyon, then another patch as sharp and mountainous as the Alps, then others just like minatures of the Namib desert sand dunes...All fascinating, but because the wind generally blows from SE the sastrugi furrows run at aboout 70 degrees to my ski course making for very rough, bumpy, and constant obstacle crossing skiing. I'll try send through a photo over the next few days....Sorry, photo's are just very time consuming on the satphone and my sleep hours are vital... I hope you understand?
Tomorrow I plan to wake at 04h30 Punta Arenas time, a half hour earlier than I have been, as my new 1.5 hr strategy means more breaks, and more time out there, to get the s 10 hours march (ski) time. The next day I'll do another 1/2 hour earlier, so I can wake at 4am, with the goal of leaving for skiing by 6am. Yeah it takes 2hrs to wake, make breakfast, water, packup, pull down tent etc... Quite a mission, and I'm perfecting it each day!
That's it for today, my body just aches everywhere, and each night I wonder how my feet are going to recover so they can 'produce' again tomorrow... Hmmm, I'm asking a lot of them... Lovely foot massage after all tthis!
Thanks for all the new emails and comments. Dominique shared some with me.... Just wonderful, you have no idea how much I think of many of you each day out here... Lots of thinking time!
Bye till tomorrow
So what you been up to today? Seen lots of people, chatted to many...?? Well I haven't seen a soul, I swore at myself, shouted and punched the air with joy, but all alone. In fact the only colours I've seen are ice white and sky blue! I was so desperate of needing to see another human I took a photo off myself....! I looked a bit scary too... Totally unkempt and a bit wind chilled!
When I wake up, first thing I do is go outside and appreciate the remote vacantness Often on the ski, I just stop and wonder at this sterile beauty. This is the REAL experience I was referring to yesterday: I couldn't experience this heightened feeling if I was flown in, and dropped at one of my campsites. It's because I'm experiencingg it each day walking and seeing its endlessness. My ears ring from the silence, I'm sure they can't believe there is no sound so they create one! It's tough here, but STRANGELY special.
A big day today, it's been coming!
So I finally managed my 10 hours skiing - going back to skins and the tortoise approach worked. It definitely was trying to go too fast yesterday. Fortunately it was very icy at the start, forcing me to switch back to skins... Thanks for forcing me, Mother Nature, as I wasn't going to change.
A lo..oong day, but I broke through my goal of +30km in a day: 30.5 to be exact! I'm ecstatic, and see how changing my marches helped. 2.5 hrs is too long to try and stay focused in a trance. It's now 1.5 hours, with speed breaaks inbetween: I don't remove my backack, and just sit on the ice with it on. It's a schlep putting it on each time with mittens and my hands-free compass. Anway we shall see how this new approach works tomorrow. I sense I maybe JUST fine tuning, and there is not breakthrough panacea!
The weather has been ABSOLUTELY amazing, another warm, virtually windless day. This can't last forever, and I'm sure "epic day" will take on a new meaning from today's level, sometime before the 'end'. I guess that does sit as a constant worry in my mind....Things could get quite a bit tougher!
Today was also pretty eventful relative to the other days I've had, and one event is of concern and has reduced my safety margin:
My sled turned over 4 times today, I think the sastrugi was taller and more 'evil' shaped today, but it's quite a pain turniing it back and finding all the fuel cans had dislodged. (The fuel is kept outside the sled bag which keeps all the other contents from falling out!) Maybe I was just driving badly today... bored with tortoise pace!
I also ended up falling on my arse 4 times, the once real bad, that resulted in me breaking a ski pole! I think it's my heavy backpack causing the problem when I suddenly hit sheer glass like ice, and the sled at the same time, a few metres back hits a sastrugi obstacle and rudely yanks me back. Backpack pulls me over backwards, feet and skis shoot up in the air, and whoopsie I land on the ice, quite angry... a few swear words usualy machine gun out! It's funny, but it's not funny!
The broken pole is not good news, as although I am now using my only spare, there is now less scope for more awkward falls. I spent some time tonight working through a repair solution and will implement tomorrow night.
I talk a lot about sastrugi, and I'm sure many of you know what it is, but as it's very much part of the Anarctica ice cap, here is my description:
It's ice that has been eroded into wonderful aerodynamic carvings by the wind, just like sand dunes of the desert, except much smaller. The biggest sastrugi I have seen here so far is probably 0.75m, but most are less than 0.3m high. The ice is really hardened from the wind, and so they are pretty serious obstacles, that force skis and sled over / around them usually. The shapes are amazing, sometimes there is a whole patch that looks like a mini Grand Canyon, then another patch as sharp and mountainous as the Alps, then others just like minatures of the Namib desert sand dunes...All fascinating, but because the wind generally blows from SE the sastrugi furrows run at aboout 70 degrees to my ski course making for very rough, bumpy, and constant obstacle crossing skiing. I'll try send through a photo over the next few days....Sorry, photo's are just very time consuming on the satphone and my sleep hours are vital... I hope you understand?
Tomorrow I plan to wake at 04h30 Punta Arenas time, a half hour earlier than I have been, as my new 1.5 hr strategy means more breaks, and more time out there, to get the s 10 hours march (ski) time. The next day I'll do another 1/2 hour earlier, so I can wake at 4am, with the goal of leaving for skiing by 6am. Yeah it takes 2hrs to wake, make breakfast, water, packup, pull down tent etc... Quite a mission, and I'm perfecting it each day!
That's it for today, my body just aches everywhere, and each night I wonder how my feet are going to recover so they can 'produce' again tomorrow... Hmmm, I'm asking a lot of them... Lovely foot massage after all tthis!
Thanks for all the new emails and comments. Dominique shared some with me.... Just wonderful, you have no idea how much I think of many of you each day out here... Lots of thinking time!
Bye till tomorrow
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Day 4: The rules have all changed
82:58.08S 68:48.5W
Early finish today, I was just VERY tired and demoralised in the last session, and with my performance dropping off rapidly, I thought it best to stop early. 8.5 hours skiing and 9.5 hours out there.
I'm not sure what happened but I hit a huge mental and physical wall about 3 hours before I had planned to stop for the day.
The weather was amazing, clear blue sky. Very light SE wind, and really warm....coldest it got was -10C. So I can't blame the weather....oh maybe: It was so warm I didn't feel like eating fat foods, I almost had a craving for a coke and carbos! I never felt that in the Arctic, I was continously hungry....must be the temperature. I'm also drinkiing a lot, finishing my 2 litre flasks just over half way through the day, and that's after adding lots of snow and ice to my mug to make it more than 2 litres.
I think the problem was the terrain: The sastrugi reduced significantly today, so much so that my wonderful 'beacon' strategy of yesterday was useless today. I literally could pick out ONE beacon on the near term horizon to aim for, there was just bland ice nothingness, with insignificant sastrugi patches dotted around but providing no beacon help for me. I was suddenly lost with no beacon to aim for. The game went back to JUST skiing to oblivion, and an ever replacing itself horizon that never gave me the pleasure of saying I had got there.... This for Howard Fairbank is character building of the extreme level, and mind blowing to say the least. However this wasn't the only problem associated with the light sastrugi, it caused another self inflicted Howard Fairbank character problem:
Always keen to 'push the pace', I saw that the flatter surface would make it possiblle to glide ski, rather than walk ski, like I have been forced to do with my heavy sled. So I excitedly ripped off my ski skins (good for climbing and grip, but bad for glide) and now was ready to glide along and watch the miles really fly by! Well what a huge difference this made, I could actually ski for most if the time, but with a lot of effort. Well I couldn't resist, the glide skiing fellt so good I gave it a real shot. I estimate my speed increased 30% but it was tiring as I sennsed that while the surface was generally good, the effort to get me and my heavy sled gliding consumed me. It was such fun and the speed amazing thatt I was like a kid with a new racing bicycle. I think the 2hours of this just burnt me out, and I learn for the 100th time about me! Oh well early whisky cocktail tonight! Maybe I didn't deserve one, hey! Freedom in Antarctica, just me to set the rule! I do feel VERY exhausted, sore feet, and a litle sorry for myself!
I guess tomorrow is another day, but I do need a new beacon strategy, and I can't wait for my sled to get lighter so I can effortlessly glide when tne terrain is right, and afterall it is a ski to the South Pole not a walk!
Now the answer to the question of why I do such a horrendously thing like walking in nothingness on my own for 35+ days to get to the South Pole?
There are two parts to the answer, the first:
I love exploring, and this is an extreme version of that. I have often quoted the book called The Ulysses Factor, The Human Need to Explore, and I found it rang so many chords for me, it helped me understand me. We all have a need to explore, some small amounts, others huge amounts, and and for the explorer, it's nnot enough to readd about exploration, they have to go and experience it, because it's not just about exploring the physical terrain, it's also about understanding what it REALLY feels like to do it, this is the real exploring. What I am experiencing now is priceless for me, as I'm experiencing what it REALLY takes to walk to the South Pole. Yes, with technology aand many before me it's not as severe as the early explorers, but it's close enough for my explorer need to be satisfied. Clearly seeing first hand EXACTLY what Antarctica is all about is another huge explorer need being satisfied.
The second reason is the male (?) competitive thing: Yes, I read about these expeditions and how difficult and demanding they are, and from witthin me comes this call to see how tough you really are and where you rank on the explorer / adventurer tougghness scale. When one reads about these extreme adventures, particularly these days, where drama and toughness are both exaggerated and valued, I want to find out for myself how difficult these things REALLY are, and also rank myself in the process.
So there we go my answers. I hope you value my honesty, and don't see the second reason as egotistical, because it's n0t ment to be...The world is a competiive place, and we all fit in soomewhere!
Finally, explorers generally only do something once, for the exploring, and I fit right into that, I could never see myself doing this trip a few times, I'll rather look for the next exploring opportunity. This does beg the question why others DO do this trip and other extreme ones multiple times! It must be about love....
Ok, I'm ealy to bed tonight, I really need the body and mind rest break....! Pretty sure I'll wake with a body that was stiffness in new places, and a mind that has been restlessly rying to solve the no sastruggi beacon problem for tomorrow!
I must make a 30+ kilometre day tomorrow as I cross the 83rd South parallel .
Bye for now...
Early finish today, I was just VERY tired and demoralised in the last session, and with my performance dropping off rapidly, I thought it best to stop early. 8.5 hours skiing and 9.5 hours out there.
I'm not sure what happened but I hit a huge mental and physical wall about 3 hours before I had planned to stop for the day.
The weather was amazing, clear blue sky. Very light SE wind, and really warm....coldest it got was -10C. So I can't blame the weather....oh maybe: It was so warm I didn't feel like eating fat foods, I almost had a craving for a coke and carbos! I never felt that in the Arctic, I was continously hungry....must be the temperature. I'm also drinkiing a lot, finishing my 2 litre flasks just over half way through the day, and that's after adding lots of snow and ice to my mug to make it more than 2 litres.
I think the problem was the terrain: The sastrugi reduced significantly today, so much so that my wonderful 'beacon' strategy of yesterday was useless today. I literally could pick out ONE beacon on the near term horizon to aim for, there was just bland ice nothingness, with insignificant sastrugi patches dotted around but providing no beacon help for me. I was suddenly lost with no beacon to aim for. The game went back to JUST skiing to oblivion, and an ever replacing itself horizon that never gave me the pleasure of saying I had got there.... This for Howard Fairbank is character building of the extreme level, and mind blowing to say the least. However this wasn't the only problem associated with the light sastrugi, it caused another self inflicted Howard Fairbank character problem:
Always keen to 'push the pace', I saw that the flatter surface would make it possiblle to glide ski, rather than walk ski, like I have been forced to do with my heavy sled. So I excitedly ripped off my ski skins (good for climbing and grip, but bad for glide) and now was ready to glide along and watch the miles really fly by! Well what a huge difference this made, I could actually ski for most if the time, but with a lot of effort. Well I couldn't resist, the glide skiing fellt so good I gave it a real shot. I estimate my speed increased 30% but it was tiring as I sennsed that while the surface was generally good, the effort to get me and my heavy sled gliding consumed me. It was such fun and the speed amazing thatt I was like a kid with a new racing bicycle. I think the 2hours of this just burnt me out, and I learn for the 100th time about me! Oh well early whisky cocktail tonight! Maybe I didn't deserve one, hey! Freedom in Antarctica, just me to set the rule! I do feel VERY exhausted, sore feet, and a litle sorry for myself!
I guess tomorrow is another day, but I do need a new beacon strategy, and I can't wait for my sled to get lighter so I can effortlessly glide when tne terrain is right, and afterall it is a ski to the South Pole not a walk!
Now the answer to the question of why I do such a horrendously thing like walking in nothingness on my own for 35+ days to get to the South Pole?
There are two parts to the answer, the first:
I love exploring, and this is an extreme version of that. I have often quoted the book called The Ulysses Factor, The Human Need to Explore, and I found it rang so many chords for me, it helped me understand me. We all have a need to explore, some small amounts, others huge amounts, and and for the explorer, it's nnot enough to readd about exploration, they have to go and experience it, because it's not just about exploring the physical terrain, it's also about understanding what it REALLY feels like to do it, this is the real exploring. What I am experiencing now is priceless for me, as I'm experiencing what it REALLY takes to walk to the South Pole. Yes, with technology aand many before me it's not as severe as the early explorers, but it's close enough for my explorer need to be satisfied. Clearly seeing first hand EXACTLY what Antarctica is all about is another huge explorer need being satisfied.
The second reason is the male (?) competitive thing: Yes, I read about these expeditions and how difficult and demanding they are, and from witthin me comes this call to see how tough you really are and where you rank on the explorer / adventurer tougghness scale. When one reads about these extreme adventures, particularly these days, where drama and toughness are both exaggerated and valued, I want to find out for myself how difficult these things REALLY are, and also rank myself in the process.
So there we go my answers. I hope you value my honesty, and don't see the second reason as egotistical, because it's n0t ment to be...The world is a competiive place, and we all fit in soomewhere!
Finally, explorers generally only do something once, for the exploring, and I fit right into that, I could never see myself doing this trip a few times, I'll rather look for the next exploring opportunity. This does beg the question why others DO do this trip and other extreme ones multiple times! It must be about love....
Ok, I'm ealy to bed tonight, I really need the body and mind rest break....! Pretty sure I'll wake with a body that was stiffness in new places, and a mind that has been restlessly rying to solve the no sastruggi beacon problem for tomorrow!
I must make a 30+ kilometre day tomorrow as I cross the 83rd South parallel .
Bye for now...
Friday, November 25, 2011
Day 3: Nature shows me a sample
82:47.679S 67:36.002W
Just in case you are wondering why on The Diary map, I appeared to go north, it was because 'they' now have better information as to the exact position under the ice where the line between continent and sea is, and this is further north than was previously thought. So I was dropped off further north than the Start Point shown! This will be rectified. Ok, now for the day's stories:
Well, let me just ask you all to think through all you got to in the 11 hours from your 7h30 to 18h30? Well ALL I did was ski on my huge alone, in nothingness, taking 5 X 15 minutes breaks, that are so cold, and rushed I sometimes wonder if they are worth it! And for all this all I achieved was 29 back wrenching kilometres. I bet you did a huge amount more, and must seriously wonder: "Why he does it?"
Well on top of that Mother Nature decided to present me with a 'plate' of samples of some of Antarctica's weather that awaits:
I left this morning with a 20 knot east wind (crosswind) biting through every open crack and not sealed garment. Bitterly cold with the wind chill, and so I dressed appropriately. As normall happens, I over compensate, so 10 mins into the ski, I have to take off a layer as I can feel I'll soon start sweating. This taakes a few minutes and exposes myself through the changeover!
The wind increases up to 35 knots, but all in all I feel good.... well until the break: All on my own in the middle of nothingness, after 2.5 hours of skiing I stop, and seek refuge behind my sled as I take a drink from my flask, and load up on Josee's lovely fruitcake, and my butter ration. To eat I have to take off my goggles, so I can force my fask mask down till the eye section is at my mouth, so I can eat....The mouth 'hole' isn't big enough. I feel shivering coming on and know it's time to get back on the road...mainly so I can warm up again! By the time I have my skis back on, back pack on, and sled ready my fingers are solid frozen, and ache, my feet are moving that way,, but I know this is 'normal' and I have a blood flow struggle to manage for the next 20 minutes. To incrrease the odds of my body winning, just before I ski off, I do a series of arm windwills that forcee the blood to my finger tips. Quickly grab my poles, and ski off, working like mad to keep the blood flowing to my hands Eventually the pain subsides, and I can feel the battle has been won and it's just time before my hands are back to normal. So that's a polar break...fun hey! So why do I do it: After 2.5 hours I just need to stop and sit, rest my body from the trauma! It's noth just worth it it's critical.
Soon after that first break fog started coming in. It went from a lovely blue sky day, to almost no visibility. All I bit disorientating and forcing me to naavigate virtually only on compass, which isn't very user friendly. This lasted for about 3 hours then it lifted, the wind dropped to 15 knots, and then the end of skiing brough perfect conditions where it was so warm I could literally hadd a barbeque outside. Wow, what a beautiful 'evening' its absolutely spectacular, and raised my spirits, probably contributing to the length of this blog....
Also contributing to my high spirits, is the fact that I managed to achieve my goal of a 10hour ski day. Capitulation is nearr now...that point when I accept that this IS my life, skiing 10 hours a day, building my house everyy day, cooking dinner and breakfast everyday, not seeing nor talking to anyone, and sleep being one of my real highs of the day...oh that whisky cocktail too...This is my life, I am one of thhe most unencumbered people on the earth, lots of freedom of choice and I have chosen this life for now....so I had better make the best of it! When one accepts this and starts to 'enjoy' the routine within one's capacity 'capitulation' has taken place and one starts to be powerful and enjoy the journey! I must say this nothingness did have me worrieed yesterday, I seriously doubted whether I would find the capitulation point, but today I had breakthroughs....The secret is to find beacons ahead..targets, and focus on them, and suddenly the nothingness become somethinness. With the morning sun angle many sastrugi become clear beacons shining in the sunlight, so I pick one on my compass course some 4-500 metres off and suddenly with that 'miilestone' I become focused and engaged, and the hours fly by, well not jet sped, probably balloon speed, but at least flying by! And then the fog comes, and destroys this system...oh well, pray for not too much fog! Then afterrnoon sunlight provides the next hole in my strategy: the ice is now largely free of significantt different, standout form... Imagine a terrain to stark that one can't find a suitable beacon within it to use as a navigation reference? I have learnt, and will become much more proficient at finding slightly different tinge patches that I can now use as references, but thhese are quite challenging as ones angle of approach changes....
Ah, the fun of the Antarctic polar expeditioner....
"This sounds all bloody horrendous?" Yes, I agree!
"Why would anyone VOLUNTEER to go through all this?" A really good question....but I believe there is a REALLY good answer from me, an for me, how many others might also find it 'good' I can't say! Tomorrow I'll give you my answer, and let you decide!
With some 876 km still to go the task seems awefully daunting, but luckily much less so than yesterday
I'm TRULY knackereed, my body aches deeply all over, and as I sit here my back rocks back and forth as though it's still being jerked by the sled. So bye, I 'm off to sleep now, with a sun blazing into my tent!
Thanks for the therapy of letting me write this too you... It's been good for me, I hope you find something of interest and fun for you!
Just in case you are wondering why on The Diary map, I appeared to go north, it was because 'they' now have better information as to the exact position under the ice where the line between continent and sea is, and this is further north than was previously thought. So I was dropped off further north than the Start Point shown! This will be rectified. Ok, now for the day's stories:
Well, let me just ask you all to think through all you got to in the 11 hours from your 7h30 to 18h30? Well ALL I did was ski on my huge alone, in nothingness, taking 5 X 15 minutes breaks, that are so cold, and rushed I sometimes wonder if they are worth it! And for all this all I achieved was 29 back wrenching kilometres. I bet you did a huge amount more, and must seriously wonder: "Why he does it?"
Well on top of that Mother Nature decided to present me with a 'plate' of samples of some of Antarctica's weather that awaits:
I left this morning with a 20 knot east wind (crosswind) biting through every open crack and not sealed garment. Bitterly cold with the wind chill, and so I dressed appropriately. As normall happens, I over compensate, so 10 mins into the ski, I have to take off a layer as I can feel I'll soon start sweating. This taakes a few minutes and exposes myself through the changeover!
The wind increases up to 35 knots, but all in all I feel good.... well until the break: All on my own in the middle of nothingness, after 2.5 hours of skiing I stop, and seek refuge behind my sled as I take a drink from my flask, and load up on Josee's lovely fruitcake, and my butter ration. To eat I have to take off my goggles, so I can force my fask mask down till the eye section is at my mouth, so I can eat....The mouth 'hole' isn't big enough. I feel shivering coming on and know it's time to get back on the road...mainly so I can warm up again! By the time I have my skis back on, back pack on, and sled ready my fingers are solid frozen, and ache, my feet are moving that way,, but I know this is 'normal' and I have a blood flow struggle to manage for the next 20 minutes. To incrrease the odds of my body winning, just before I ski off, I do a series of arm windwills that forcee the blood to my finger tips. Quickly grab my poles, and ski off, working like mad to keep the blood flowing to my hands Eventually the pain subsides, and I can feel the battle has been won and it's just time before my hands are back to normal. So that's a polar break...fun hey! So why do I do it: After 2.5 hours I just need to stop and sit, rest my body from the trauma! It's noth just worth it it's critical.
Soon after that first break fog started coming in. It went from a lovely blue sky day, to almost no visibility. All I bit disorientating and forcing me to naavigate virtually only on compass, which isn't very user friendly. This lasted for about 3 hours then it lifted, the wind dropped to 15 knots, and then the end of skiing brough perfect conditions where it was so warm I could literally hadd a barbeque outside. Wow, what a beautiful 'evening' its absolutely spectacular, and raised my spirits, probably contributing to the length of this blog....
Also contributing to my high spirits, is the fact that I managed to achieve my goal of a 10hour ski day. Capitulation is nearr now...that point when I accept that this IS my life, skiing 10 hours a day, building my house everyy day, cooking dinner and breakfast everyday, not seeing nor talking to anyone, and sleep being one of my real highs of the day...oh that whisky cocktail too...This is my life, I am one of thhe most unencumbered people on the earth, lots of freedom of choice and I have chosen this life for now....so I had better make the best of it! When one accepts this and starts to 'enjoy' the routine within one's capacity 'capitulation' has taken place and one starts to be powerful and enjoy the journey! I must say this nothingness did have me worrieed yesterday, I seriously doubted whether I would find the capitulation point, but today I had breakthroughs....The secret is to find beacons ahead..targets, and focus on them, and suddenly the nothingness become somethinness. With the morning sun angle many sastrugi become clear beacons shining in the sunlight, so I pick one on my compass course some 4-500 metres off and suddenly with that 'miilestone' I become focused and engaged, and the hours fly by, well not jet sped, probably balloon speed, but at least flying by! And then the fog comes, and destroys this system...oh well, pray for not too much fog! Then afterrnoon sunlight provides the next hole in my strategy: the ice is now largely free of significantt different, standout form... Imagine a terrain to stark that one can't find a suitable beacon within it to use as a navigation reference? I have learnt, and will become much more proficient at finding slightly different tinge patches that I can now use as references, but thhese are quite challenging as ones angle of approach changes....
Ah, the fun of the Antarctic polar expeditioner....
"This sounds all bloody horrendous?" Yes, I agree!
"Why would anyone VOLUNTEER to go through all this?" A really good question....but I believe there is a REALLY good answer from me, an for me, how many others might also find it 'good' I can't say! Tomorrow I'll give you my answer, and let you decide!
With some 876 km still to go the task seems awefully daunting, but luckily much less so than yesterday
I'm TRULY knackereed, my body aches deeply all over, and as I sit here my back rocks back and forth as though it's still being jerked by the sled. So bye, I 'm off to sleep now, with a sun blazing into my tent!
Thanks for the therapy of letting me write this too you... It's been good for me, I hope you find something of interest and fun for you!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The struggle to accept the wide open nothingness
82:35.258S 66:28.4W
I'll start by thanking you all for the amazing amount of well wishing emails. That's just great! Dominique, my back room blog manager has filled me in, but sorry I can't reply to them from my tent on the ice. I will do when I get normal again!!
Well I did 27km today, it probably doesn't sound like much, but believe me it was hard work, and took 8 skiing hours for a total day 'out there' including breaks of 9 hours.
Last posting I spoke of the amazing feeling of nothingness out here, well today I experienced 'chasing the flat horizon' of that nothingness.... It is very challenging on my one, nothing really changes, there are no landmarks, just 360 degrees of flat ice to the horizon. Thankfully it was a clear, blue sky day, with little wind until late afternoon when it picked as a westerly crosswind, that made tent building a very cold affair. Up till then it was pretty warm, averaging around -10 C, so in many ways I'm really lucky to have these mildish conditions st the start, so I can slowly adapt to the harshness of Antarctica.
I set out to do 10 hours skiing today, but my mind and body just couldn't rise to the last 2 hours, I must say the monotony is one huge challenge! I knew this would be one of this trips biggest challenges, but I didn't expect it to be hitting me this early. The Arctic / North Pole was so totally different, the scenery was dramatic, and always changing...
Anyway, I'd prepared for this and now it's about trying the different strategies. Being on my own, highlights how important self discipline and setting goals and sticking to them is so important. In the group situation I find there is a team goal, and all team members feel obliged to perform and be a good team member. The leader sets the day's plan, and a good leader will be disciplined in 'forcing' the plan. This sets a check and balance, where onee just 'does it'. On one's own, with no other people to consult, its all to easy to decide to adjust the plan based on ones feelings, and thiss is some6hing I'll have to watch from tomorrow! I accepted today was a step in getting to the full 10hr march days, and maybe my goal to go straight in to 10hr days was too aggressive, but hey I thought I was a highly disciplined, high personal integrity guy, but today I couldn't do it! This is the learning Antarctica will bring...Tough though for an 'old man' who doesn't HAVE TO learn nor prove himself anymore!
On a lighter not: There is lots of sastrugi around, running almost right angles to my ski direction. This sastrugi does vary a lot, and has amazing shapes, carved by the wind.. In different sun angles, and with my dark UV goggles on these sometimes take on real life shapes. Firstly a saw a whole lot together that looked like sizeable dead fish lying ready for sale, their silver scales glistening in the sun. Later I saw a lone, grey dove, one, that initially really caught me....yeah, this nothingness is effecting me!
I'm pretty sure I'm not imagining things, but at least 3 times today I heard this huge thunder liike rumble from the ice. The sled does make some strange noises, but neither me nor it is large enough to create the sounds I heard. Must be ice movement around the area!
In a few days, I guess quite a few days the scenery should change as I get into the Theil Mountain valley. Can't wait for that...
Lastly: Solo but not Alone! You have heard quite a bit about that, but really I'm not alone, as I have my sled! We had three arguments today, and eachh time it won, as I landed on my a.....e on the ice! Not sure what I did wrong but 'her' tugs at the time were quite violent! I can't wait for her to lose more weight too. I fantastic dieet losing 1.5 kg a day, by the Pole, 'she'll' be less than half her weight!
Bye for now
H
I'll start by thanking you all for the amazing amount of well wishing emails. That's just great! Dominique, my back room blog manager has filled me in, but sorry I can't reply to them from my tent on the ice. I will do when I get normal again!!
Well I did 27km today, it probably doesn't sound like much, but believe me it was hard work, and took 8 skiing hours for a total day 'out there' including breaks of 9 hours.
Last posting I spoke of the amazing feeling of nothingness out here, well today I experienced 'chasing the flat horizon' of that nothingness.... It is very challenging on my one, nothing really changes, there are no landmarks, just 360 degrees of flat ice to the horizon. Thankfully it was a clear, blue sky day, with little wind until late afternoon when it picked as a westerly crosswind, that made tent building a very cold affair. Up till then it was pretty warm, averaging around -10 C, so in many ways I'm really lucky to have these mildish conditions st the start, so I can slowly adapt to the harshness of Antarctica.
I set out to do 10 hours skiing today, but my mind and body just couldn't rise to the last 2 hours, I must say the monotony is one huge challenge! I knew this would be one of this trips biggest challenges, but I didn't expect it to be hitting me this early. The Arctic / North Pole was so totally different, the scenery was dramatic, and always changing...
Anyway, I'd prepared for this and now it's about trying the different strategies. Being on my own, highlights how important self discipline and setting goals and sticking to them is so important. In the group situation I find there is a team goal, and all team members feel obliged to perform and be a good team member. The leader sets the day's plan, and a good leader will be disciplined in 'forcing' the plan. This sets a check and balance, where onee just 'does it'. On one's own, with no other people to consult, its all to easy to decide to adjust the plan based on ones feelings, and thiss is some6hing I'll have to watch from tomorrow! I accepted today was a step in getting to the full 10hr march days, and maybe my goal to go straight in to 10hr days was too aggressive, but hey I thought I was a highly disciplined, high personal integrity guy, but today I couldn't do it! This is the learning Antarctica will bring...Tough though for an 'old man' who doesn't HAVE TO learn nor prove himself anymore!
On a lighter not: There is lots of sastrugi around, running almost right angles to my ski direction. This sastrugi does vary a lot, and has amazing shapes, carved by the wind.. In different sun angles, and with my dark UV goggles on these sometimes take on real life shapes. Firstly a saw a whole lot together that looked like sizeable dead fish lying ready for sale, their silver scales glistening in the sun. Later I saw a lone, grey dove, one, that initially really caught me....yeah, this nothingness is effecting me!
I'm pretty sure I'm not imagining things, but at least 3 times today I heard this huge thunder liike rumble from the ice. The sled does make some strange noises, but neither me nor it is large enough to create the sounds I heard. Must be ice movement around the area!
In a few days, I guess quite a few days the scenery should change as I get into the Theil Mountain valley. Can't wait for that...
Lastly: Solo but not Alone! You have heard quite a bit about that, but really I'm not alone, as I have my sled! We had three arguments today, and eachh time it won, as I landed on my a.....e on the ice! Not sure what I did wrong but 'her' tugs at the time were quite violent! I can't wait for her to lose more weight too. I fantastic dieet losing 1.5 kg a day, by the Pole, 'she'll' be less than half her weight!
Bye for now
H
Monday, November 21, 2011
From my 1st camp on the ice!
82:25.90S 65:04.84W
Today was the REAL start to the adventure!
Knowing I was going to be flown to the Messner start point today, I had a bit of a restless night in the tent, and woke at 05h30, to a strong wind, that reduced outside temperatures to around -20 C and I was thinking that these are not the conditions I was hoping for Day 1! Anyway, it was good wake up call, and shocked me away from the 'beach weather' mindset I'd almost been lullled into believing was what the trip would be about. I then went into a bit of a headless chicken panic, thinking of what to wear and all the normal pre-adventure 'worries'. I have to admit I was feeling very apprehensive and confused. Anyway, a cuppa coffee and some quite time thinking through it all, switched me back into excitement mode.
Magically, 1 hour before we were due to fly, the wind droopped and my world looked a lot rosier...
The two-hour flight in a cramped Twin Otter to the start point started with truly magnificient Antarctic mountain scenery, andd then there was an hour of true nothingness, before we circled and found the official start point, and touched down for a perfect landing, in ideal, virtual windless conditions. It was very special being with Ruth on this flight, and we exchanged special words for our alone togetherness for the next 35 or so days. I felt a strange emotive pang, that ended in a question: " Do we really have to do this apart?" I'll miss her in many ways but I know these 35 days will bring special personal rewards and our sharing of that is where the specialness comes in. It was hard though, saying goodbye at the start as I headed off alone.
Well there is only one way to describe the 1st day ski: Very hard, and very sobering! The snow is quite soft, so the sled rails dig in deep making pulling a back breaking toil...I never expected this, I thought I'd be flying along, gliding effortlessly on the ice, clocking up the kilometres. I ended up having to stop and put my skins on the skis to give me more traction. Sometimes I just came to a stop as the sled hit soft snow and sunk in.... Hmmm, I'm sitting in my tent thinking about doing 10 hours of this tomorrow: It will be REAL tough and I long day!
Anyway, I sit here in my tent having just had a huge, hearty dinner, rewarded myself with a whisky coctial, not sure what for though...probably a morale booster, as I do feel a bit down about how tough the going is. Its stop start stuff so one can't get into a rythm, and that prevents me getting into the 'production zone' when the hours and kilometres fly by... Anyway, it's day 1, and I still have to go through capitulation point....the body and mind will adjust!
On the wonderful side, it's hard to explain what it's like being in my little tent on the ice, no sounds around, perfect silence, flat ice horizons, 360 ar0und me, its 9pm and the 24hr sun is high in the southern sky..just very unique and special.
I'm off to bed now, rest and 5am wakeup, with a big day ahead...an important mind adjusting one!
See ya tomorrow
H
Today was the REAL start to the adventure!
Knowing I was going to be flown to the Messner start point today, I had a bit of a restless night in the tent, and woke at 05h30, to a strong wind, that reduced outside temperatures to around -20 C and I was thinking that these are not the conditions I was hoping for Day 1! Anyway, it was good wake up call, and shocked me away from the 'beach weather' mindset I'd almost been lullled into believing was what the trip would be about. I then went into a bit of a headless chicken panic, thinking of what to wear and all the normal pre-adventure 'worries'. I have to admit I was feeling very apprehensive and confused. Anyway, a cuppa coffee and some quite time thinking through it all, switched me back into excitement mode.
Magically, 1 hour before we were due to fly, the wind droopped and my world looked a lot rosier...
The two-hour flight in a cramped Twin Otter to the start point started with truly magnificient Antarctic mountain scenery, andd then there was an hour of true nothingness, before we circled and found the official start point, and touched down for a perfect landing, in ideal, virtual windless conditions. It was very special being with Ruth on this flight, and we exchanged special words for our alone togetherness for the next 35 or so days. I felt a strange emotive pang, that ended in a question: " Do we really have to do this apart?" I'll miss her in many ways but I know these 35 days will bring special personal rewards and our sharing of that is where the specialness comes in. It was hard though, saying goodbye at the start as I headed off alone.
Well there is only one way to describe the 1st day ski: Very hard, and very sobering! The snow is quite soft, so the sled rails dig in deep making pulling a back breaking toil...I never expected this, I thought I'd be flying along, gliding effortlessly on the ice, clocking up the kilometres. I ended up having to stop and put my skins on the skis to give me more traction. Sometimes I just came to a stop as the sled hit soft snow and sunk in.... Hmmm, I'm sitting in my tent thinking about doing 10 hours of this tomorrow: It will be REAL tough and I long day!
Anyway, I sit here in my tent having just had a huge, hearty dinner, rewarded myself with a whisky coctial, not sure what for though...probably a morale booster, as I do feel a bit down about how tough the going is. Its stop start stuff so one can't get into a rythm, and that prevents me getting into the 'production zone' when the hours and kilometres fly by... Anyway, it's day 1, and I still have to go through capitulation point....the body and mind will adjust!
On the wonderful side, it's hard to explain what it's like being in my little tent on the ice, no sounds around, perfect silence, flat ice horizons, 360 ar0und me, its 9pm and the 24hr sun is high in the southern sky..just very unique and special.
I'm off to bed now, rest and 5am wakeup, with a big day ahead...an important mind adjusting one!
See ya tomorrow
H
Saturday, November 19, 2011
I start tomorrow!
79:45.62S 82:51.50W
Here I sit in a nice warm, heated tent that is the ALE dining room here at Union Glacier. Outside, it's a wonderful day outside again... Blue sky, windless conditions, with uniquely beautiful cloud shapes crowning each of the encircling mountain peaks. Just -8 C, so almost 'beach weather again...
I was so tired after the big day and all its related emotions, that I was in bed by 8pm and slept in my little home tent till 7h30 this morning! After 35 days and no doubt a few storms I'll know this tent backwards, and it will be my primary security 'blanket' for all this time. I must look afer it, and I have full confidence it will then protect me.
Last minute preparations have also included dealing with a technical problem associated with getting this Blog and Diary to you. When you think you have tested everything, Sod's law always proves you haven't! Anyway, I think it's solved now!
So "How am I feeling?", I ask myself? This warm weather is a double edged sword: in it's pleasant warmth it has been great for completing the outside chores, and just feeling less harsh and uninviting. On the other side it can lull one into a fase sense of 'All's good, and it'll be easy'. I brief ski will a 20knot wind popped up for an hour hinted at another world, and then listens to stories of what it was like here last week, and the harsh realities hit like the tip of that sword striking a sensitive body part. There is no doubt, there will be horrendous days, and as long as I remember that I can avoid the current warm weather seduction, but just enjoy it's now experience.
I'm finding the need to be bonding and focused with my team (me and myself), quite difficult when Ruth and her team are necessarily doing their team bonding and systems checking. Partly because last time I was doing this with Richard, but a lot is to do with Ruth and I: With last minute chores and training but for different 'teams', our priorities are different, and sometimes leaves me feeling very alone. They check ideas, talk through plans, and I think through all this stuff knowing it's only me who can decide on what's best for my 'team'. In many ways I now just want to get out on the ice now, and face the music in my own zone, where clarity of purpose and thought will enable me to singlemindedly deal with WHATEVER is thrown at me. It's often all to easy to turn to someone else for help or advice, or inspiration. Today as I woke, I imagined how I'd feel in a few days time: 6am alarm, shock awakening, the wind howling outside, but no the 'machine' must not waiver. I need to get straight up, outside for the loo, quickly back in and start yummy pemmican breakfast, then pack up, pull dowwn the tent, pack the sled, and be motivated for another 10hr, 30+ kilometre day! There must be no 'discipline slippage'....I remind myself!
The backpack decision has been made, I'm taking the big one! My sled was too heavy, and moving weight onto my back will help a lot! Also if I take a tumble, I now have a big pack to fall head over heels on! Not a joke: Today I skied over a sizeable hump, and stopped just over its other side to admire the mountains, when next I was cut down at the knees as my sled came thundering down the hillock smashing hard into the backs of my knees. I was sent straight onto the ice, ski's in the air, bum on the ground! What I great video thatt would have made! I just burst out laughing! Silly me...I've forgotten that the sled has a mind of its own and isnt always your friend or eeven in your team! We will bond too, a funny relationship though, as it doesn't fully accepted it clealy submissive role.
I'm really worried about sweat management as in this warmer weather, pulliing the heavy sled rapidly creates body heat, and too many clothes causes sweat which can causing huge freezing problems when one rests. Richard tells me I'm going too fast, and some of that maybe true, so I'll have to feel this out on the run, free of any outside pace pressures! Ruth's team talk as though it's a fact I'll get to the Pole 'many days before them', but I'm not so convinced about that so it forces me to try and live up to the expectation. I guess I also do enjoy 'giving it a good shot', so all this is amounting to a bit of a bad, go fast mindset. I'll be working on pacing myself, as not finishing is 'disaster' prize!
I'm REALLY ready for the time on my own, and expolring this aloneness with crevasse, and the ice environment around. Not sure how I'm going to deal with the cocktail....but I know it's going to be a huge personal experience!
Thanks for all your emails, comments and suppport so far, I have been overwhelmed...It's been just FANTASTIC, and helps me want to share more of my experience with you.
More at the end of Day 1
Here I sit in a nice warm, heated tent that is the ALE dining room here at Union Glacier. Outside, it's a wonderful day outside again... Blue sky, windless conditions, with uniquely beautiful cloud shapes crowning each of the encircling mountain peaks. Just -8 C, so almost 'beach weather again...
I was so tired after the big day and all its related emotions, that I was in bed by 8pm and slept in my little home tent till 7h30 this morning! After 35 days and no doubt a few storms I'll know this tent backwards, and it will be my primary security 'blanket' for all this time. I must look afer it, and I have full confidence it will then protect me.
Last minute preparations have also included dealing with a technical problem associated with getting this Blog and Diary to you. When you think you have tested everything, Sod's law always proves you haven't! Anyway, I think it's solved now!
So "How am I feeling?", I ask myself? This warm weather is a double edged sword: in it's pleasant warmth it has been great for completing the outside chores, and just feeling less harsh and uninviting. On the other side it can lull one into a fase sense of 'All's good, and it'll be easy'. I brief ski will a 20knot wind popped up for an hour hinted at another world, and then listens to stories of what it was like here last week, and the harsh realities hit like the tip of that sword striking a sensitive body part. There is no doubt, there will be horrendous days, and as long as I remember that I can avoid the current warm weather seduction, but just enjoy it's now experience.
I'm finding the need to be bonding and focused with my team (me and myself), quite difficult when Ruth and her team are necessarily doing their team bonding and systems checking. Partly because last time I was doing this with Richard, but a lot is to do with Ruth and I: With last minute chores and training but for different 'teams', our priorities are different, and sometimes leaves me feeling very alone. They check ideas, talk through plans, and I think through all this stuff knowing it's only me who can decide on what's best for my 'team'. In many ways I now just want to get out on the ice now, and face the music in my own zone, where clarity of purpose and thought will enable me to singlemindedly deal with WHATEVER is thrown at me. It's often all to easy to turn to someone else for help or advice, or inspiration. Today as I woke, I imagined how I'd feel in a few days time: 6am alarm, shock awakening, the wind howling outside, but no the 'machine' must not waiver. I need to get straight up, outside for the loo, quickly back in and start yummy pemmican breakfast, then pack up, pull dowwn the tent, pack the sled, and be motivated for another 10hr, 30+ kilometre day! There must be no 'discipline slippage'....I remind myself!
The backpack decision has been made, I'm taking the big one! My sled was too heavy, and moving weight onto my back will help a lot! Also if I take a tumble, I now have a big pack to fall head over heels on! Not a joke: Today I skied over a sizeable hump, and stopped just over its other side to admire the mountains, when next I was cut down at the knees as my sled came thundering down the hillock smashing hard into the backs of my knees. I was sent straight onto the ice, ski's in the air, bum on the ground! What I great video thatt would have made! I just burst out laughing! Silly me...I've forgotten that the sled has a mind of its own and isnt always your friend or eeven in your team! We will bond too, a funny relationship though, as it doesn't fully accepted it clealy submissive role.
I'm really worried about sweat management as in this warmer weather, pulliing the heavy sled rapidly creates body heat, and too many clothes causes sweat which can causing huge freezing problems when one rests. Richard tells me I'm going too fast, and some of that maybe true, so I'll have to feel this out on the run, free of any outside pace pressures! Ruth's team talk as though it's a fact I'll get to the Pole 'many days before them', but I'm not so convinced about that so it forces me to try and live up to the expectation. I guess I also do enjoy 'giving it a good shot', so all this is amounting to a bit of a bad, go fast mindset. I'll be working on pacing myself, as not finishing is 'disaster' prize!
I'm REALLY ready for the time on my own, and expolring this aloneness with crevasse, and the ice environment around. Not sure how I'm going to deal with the cocktail....but I know it's going to be a huge personal experience!
Thanks for all your emails, comments and suppport so far, I have been overwhelmed...It's been just FANTASTIC, and helps me want to share more of my experience with you.
More at the end of Day 1
This time we are really leaving!
It's 9pm Saturday night, and I just got a call and now its on for real. WE have to be ready in 20 mins to fly to take opportunity of a weather window in Antarctica.... I have to rush.....
This is my last Blog posting using the luxury of 'normal' internet connections. Once I land in Antarctica I'm restricted to satellite phone communications, and so things will be quite different.
If you are wanting the most up to date and 'instant' news from the ice, this maybe a good time to switch to following me on 'My Diary", which you can find at http://blog.mailasail.com/southpolesolo . My daily position will appear on Google Earth on this site. The same info will be available on this blog, although there will be a slight delay in posting the daily reports. If thie delay isn't an issue for you, just continue tracking me on THIS blog. It's up to you...
Talk from Antarctica....
Hey ths is exciting!
This is my last Blog posting using the luxury of 'normal' internet connections. Once I land in Antarctica I'm restricted to satellite phone communications, and so things will be quite different.
If you are wanting the most up to date and 'instant' news from the ice, this maybe a good time to switch to following me on 'My Diary", which you can find at http://blog.mailasail.com/southpolesolo . My daily position will appear on Google Earth on this site. The same info will be available on this blog, although there will be a slight delay in posting the daily reports. If thie delay isn't an issue for you, just continue tracking me on THIS blog. It's up to you...
Talk from Antarctica....
Hey ths is exciting!
Gee we came close..... But it's not going to be today!
It's now 1pm local Punta Arenas time, and we have been given the go ahead: We should be flying by 5pm!
I had this typed out, but now it's 1 30pm and this has just happened:
I have just had another call to say the pilot has decided that they are not flying due to fog that is just moved in on the Antarctica coast near Union Glacier. We won't be flying at all today... so it looks like last night was a karaoke rehearsal and tonight maybe the main show!
This is a bit frustrating and does feel like a bit of a rollercoaster ride..... probably nothing like the ice road ahead, but still quite challenging!
In the mean time I'll try my best to keep you entertained as you also wait for the main show on the ice! I hope to publish my views on Solo adventuring and why its so special for me. Just in case you take a break, I'll make sure an email goes out to all of you a day before I start skiing..... I just hope that is still in 2011!!
Bye for now,
Fog at Union Glacier provides a new twist....
After being told we had to be on 45 minute standby, we have now been told that fog has moved in and although they remain confident we will be off early afternoon, it's not certian when we will fly now.... All interesting plays on emotions, but I feel I am toughening up each play, and the fear seems to have totally subsided and I just want to get out out there now and start the journey.....
I'll be going in my expedition gear to the airport, as once we land it will be FULL On Antarctica, and there isn't any need for 'civy clothing' down on the ice.
Here is the before changing pic, outside our apartment door, with my big backpack....Still haven't made the decision yet!
And here is the after one, not quite full on expedition gear, the down jacket is for 'evenings', and the windsuit top, complete with wolverine ruff, and face balaclav is missing!
Now before you all comment on the 'typical' Howard Fairbank weird colour scheme, the colours weren't my choice, and hey being on my own out there I'll be leading the fashion in my own world!!!
Very soon I'll be packing my laptop away after this post, and it will stay in Punta Arenas until I come back.... I guess we all know the love affairs we have with our LP Tops / iPads etc.... Leaving it for 2 months seems like I am leaving part of me behind!
Last night we had a 'team' dinner at Club Chile Restaurant, and were treated to the traditional Cuaranto meat, sea food, and starch dish..... plus the mandatory few bottles of delightful Chilean Carmenere Vino tinto....!
From left to right: Chris, Michael, Kathy, Ruth, Richard..... Other than Ruth, they will be my kiting team buddies for the adventure back from the Pole!
Close up of Curanto:
From there we 'popped' into our 'favourite' Karoake restaurant pub, where as usual (we have only been there twice now) we were the only guests and made Vincente the karaoke DJ's evening by providing him with both a listening 'crowd' and then his entertainment!
The entertainment being inthe form of me getting up to sing the Uriah Heap classic, "Easy Living".... A song that inspires, motivates, and excites as it strangely seemingly dysfunctionally connects right into the heart of my journey ahead. (BTW, I have never been a big karoake fan, and this was my 1st ever up on the stage, so it must be to do with a craziness in my head at the moment!)
Vincente is this quite remarkable guy, who spends six months on the karoake / club music circuits down here, and then six months working on the serious fishing boats that base themselves in the Falklands islands. He was telling me about his REAL adventures: Three months at a time, out fishing in the Southern Ocean, with no returns back to port in that time...you really get to be friends with the sea and your few buddies onboard!
I guess these last night activities all provide necessary distraction from the sometimes harsh reality of the serious mission ahead. Sometimes I do allow a specific detail of being out there on the ice alone come into my concious mind, and I have to say, I just react by telling myself to put that thought back into the subconcious and awy from my fear zone!!!
I'll be going in my expedition gear to the airport, as once we land it will be FULL On Antarctica, and there isn't any need for 'civy clothing' down on the ice.
Here is the before changing pic, outside our apartment door, with my big backpack....Still haven't made the decision yet!
And here is the after one, not quite full on expedition gear, the down jacket is for 'evenings', and the windsuit top, complete with wolverine ruff, and face balaclav is missing!
Now before you all comment on the 'typical' Howard Fairbank weird colour scheme, the colours weren't my choice, and hey being on my own out there I'll be leading the fashion in my own world!!!
Very soon I'll be packing my laptop away after this post, and it will stay in Punta Arenas until I come back.... I guess we all know the love affairs we have with our LP Tops / iPads etc.... Leaving it for 2 months seems like I am leaving part of me behind!
Last night we had a 'team' dinner at Club Chile Restaurant, and were treated to the traditional Cuaranto meat, sea food, and starch dish..... plus the mandatory few bottles of delightful Chilean Carmenere Vino tinto....!
From left to right: Chris, Michael, Kathy, Ruth, Richard..... Other than Ruth, they will be my kiting team buddies for the adventure back from the Pole!
Close up of Curanto:
From there we 'popped' into our 'favourite' Karoake restaurant pub, where as usual (we have only been there twice now) we were the only guests and made Vincente the karaoke DJ's evening by providing him with both a listening 'crowd' and then his entertainment!
The entertainment being inthe form of me getting up to sing the Uriah Heap classic, "Easy Living".... A song that inspires, motivates, and excites as it strangely seemingly dysfunctionally connects right into the heart of my journey ahead. (BTW, I have never been a big karoake fan, and this was my 1st ever up on the stage, so it must be to do with a craziness in my head at the moment!)
Vincente is this quite remarkable guy, who spends six months on the karoake / club music circuits down here, and then six months working on the serious fishing boats that base themselves in the Falklands islands. He was telling me about his REAL adventures: Three months at a time, out fishing in the Southern Ocean, with no returns back to port in that time...you really get to be friends with the sea and your few buddies onboard!
I guess these last night activities all provide necessary distraction from the sometimes harsh reality of the serious mission ahead. Sometimes I do allow a specific detail of being out there on the ice alone come into my concious mind, and I have to say, I just react by telling myself to put that thought back into the subconcious and awy from my fear zone!!!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Touch down on Antarctica: and a perfect day!
79:45.62S 82:51.50W
Yep, I have now set foot on Antarctica and am the furtherest south I have ever been...79 degrees... 21 to go now, but the rest is on foot!
We left Punta Arenas at midnight, and a pitch black night, when we left, but soon we crossed the 24 hour sun line and a whole new wonderful world opened up below the aircraft First the crackeed sea ice, and then the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsular.
We touched down at 04h30 Punta Arenas time with one of the smoothest 'big plane' landings I have experienced, but then....
... Aircraft sort of bounded down the runway which was clearly not flat but made of undulating 'hills'..It felt like we were a boat riding the huge swells of an ocean.
As the aircraft door opened up the most amazing surprise waited us: A perfect, blue sky, windless, 'beach weather' day, at -13 C. There we were dressed for -20's so it was soon down to stripping layers off.
First task was bulding my tent, and home for the next two days. I was just so excited I couldn't head off to catch up on sleep as most others did, and started the final preparations of packing the sled, etc. After that I strapped on my ski's and went for a freedom test ski... Gee, was it great to get back on the ski's and now 'It's' REAL close now.
I'm needing Monday for final preparations, and busy negotiating a Tuesday morning departure....
That's all for now....
Great to have you 'with me'
Yep, I have now set foot on Antarctica and am the furtherest south I have ever been...79 degrees... 21 to go now, but the rest is on foot!
We left Punta Arenas at midnight, and a pitch black night, when we left, but soon we crossed the 24 hour sun line and a whole new wonderful world opened up below the aircraft First the crackeed sea ice, and then the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsular.
We touched down at 04h30 Punta Arenas time with one of the smoothest 'big plane' landings I have experienced, but then....
... Aircraft sort of bounded down the runway which was clearly not flat but made of undulating 'hills'..It felt like we were a boat riding the huge swells of an ocean.
As the aircraft door opened up the most amazing surprise waited us: A perfect, blue sky, windless, 'beach weather' day, at -13 C. There we were dressed for -20's so it was soon down to stripping layers off.
First task was bulding my tent, and home for the next two days. I was just so excited I couldn't head off to catch up on sleep as most others did, and started the final preparations of packing the sled, etc. After that I strapped on my ski's and went for a freedom test ski... Gee, was it great to get back on the ski's and now 'It's' REAL close now.
I'm needing Monday for final preparations, and busy negotiating a Tuesday morning departure....
That's all for now....
Great to have you 'with me'
Scheduled to fly tomorrow, but the expedition challenge increases
It's REALLY starting to happen now, and there are some new CONCERNS:
I have just returned from helping load all our gear onto a truck that will take it to the airport ready to load onto the Ilyushin when it returns from Antarctica sometime during the night tonight. Each item had to be weighed, and I have about 21kg of gear and 53kg of food, making for a sled weight of about 80kg including the weight of the sled. Fuel still has to be added and this should take it up to about 88kg...Hmmm, that's a bit more than I was expecting, so I'll no doubt be consumed on the flight down working out were I can shed a few kilograms. This may also push me to the larger backpack solution I shared with you in yesterday's posting.
I also took the opportunity of weighing myself on the trucker's scale, and came in at 90 kg: Ok, but I probably should be a bitter 'fatter' and heavier for the start of this expedition. I have been eating like a horse but somehow it has added the weight I was hoping! Anyway, I will definitely be lighter at the end of the expedition, but I'll be interested to se by how much.... I guess at about 5 kilograms. I'll let you know what happens! A picture of my 3 cartons of all my food outside the refrigeration storage we rented:
Now for the Bad News:
I had a long chat to the guy in charge of the transport, and he had just returned from Antarctica after being at the Union Glacier base for the past three weeks, trying to set up the base, and also he was involved in the runway snow clearing operations. He confirmed my worst fears: The snowfall has been horrendous, and the amount of snow has changed the whole skiing terrain, and particularly at the Messner start area. There is now deep snow, that makes the going really slow, and also the snow will have covered what would have been previously visible crevasse areas. This isn't good news for me, and has had a very sobering impact after the initial excitement of the news that we would be flying tomorrow. Apparently the going in the snow is so slow that one expedition hasn't been able to manage more than 16 kilometeres per day! I was planning on 30+ kilometres a day....quiet a difference, and it makes me quite concerned about my food and fuel ration planning. Anyway, I'm busy dealing with this information, and at the moment am thinking that it's probably being made to sound worse than it is.... Afterall this is also an adventure and the unknown and the unpredictable are all part of the 'fun' and adventure challenge equation. I sense this news is going to probably make for a bit of a restless night, and one of those uneasy awakenings in the morning! Oh, well at least I am used to them by now....I was just hoping I was going to have a lovely, relaxed, last dinner with Ruth at the Club de Chile, and then awake excited for the flight ahead, knowing I'm ready and can't wait for the Antarctic ice ahead.
Here is a pic of Ruth and I having lunch at a lovely little restaurant not far from our appartment. Our table was appropriately situated next to a framed map pf Antarctica.
Interestingly, the guy who we asked to take the photograph is currently working for NASA and he flies virtually everyday from Punta Arenas, 12-13 hours around Antarctica surveying the ice, the sea under the ice, as well as the sea bed profile. This all done for 1000 ft above the ice from a DC -8 plane. Today was one of his days off. He certainly had some interesting stories to tell, and confirmed how amazingly beautiful the Antarctic Peninsula is from the air. He then spoke about the boring flat, nothingness in the centre and I had flashes back to my visualisation and how I will deal with the inevitable boring days..... I'm hoping that as in Namibia, when I cycled those long straight, seemingly boring, desert roads alone, I'll also find to my surprise that it isn't boring but hugely spiritually stimulating.
And finally, a pic of one of the many wrecks along the Straits of Magellan. This one is on my running route, a few kilometres form the appartment. The view is across the Strait on a very, very calm day.... We have had a few, but more often the sea is just a mass of whitehorses.
I'll keep you posted on developments, becuase we aren't flying until we are flying!
I have just returned from helping load all our gear onto a truck that will take it to the airport ready to load onto the Ilyushin when it returns from Antarctica sometime during the night tonight. Each item had to be weighed, and I have about 21kg of gear and 53kg of food, making for a sled weight of about 80kg including the weight of the sled. Fuel still has to be added and this should take it up to about 88kg...Hmmm, that's a bit more than I was expecting, so I'll no doubt be consumed on the flight down working out were I can shed a few kilograms. This may also push me to the larger backpack solution I shared with you in yesterday's posting.
I also took the opportunity of weighing myself on the trucker's scale, and came in at 90 kg: Ok, but I probably should be a bitter 'fatter' and heavier for the start of this expedition. I have been eating like a horse but somehow it has added the weight I was hoping! Anyway, I will definitely be lighter at the end of the expedition, but I'll be interested to se by how much.... I guess at about 5 kilograms. I'll let you know what happens! A picture of my 3 cartons of all my food outside the refrigeration storage we rented:
I had a long chat to the guy in charge of the transport, and he had just returned from Antarctica after being at the Union Glacier base for the past three weeks, trying to set up the base, and also he was involved in the runway snow clearing operations. He confirmed my worst fears: The snowfall has been horrendous, and the amount of snow has changed the whole skiing terrain, and particularly at the Messner start area. There is now deep snow, that makes the going really slow, and also the snow will have covered what would have been previously visible crevasse areas. This isn't good news for me, and has had a very sobering impact after the initial excitement of the news that we would be flying tomorrow. Apparently the going in the snow is so slow that one expedition hasn't been able to manage more than 16 kilometeres per day! I was planning on 30+ kilometres a day....quiet a difference, and it makes me quite concerned about my food and fuel ration planning. Anyway, I'm busy dealing with this information, and at the moment am thinking that it's probably being made to sound worse than it is.... Afterall this is also an adventure and the unknown and the unpredictable are all part of the 'fun' and adventure challenge equation. I sense this news is going to probably make for a bit of a restless night, and one of those uneasy awakenings in the morning! Oh, well at least I am used to them by now....I was just hoping I was going to have a lovely, relaxed, last dinner with Ruth at the Club de Chile, and then awake excited for the flight ahead, knowing I'm ready and can't wait for the Antarctic ice ahead.
Here is a pic of Ruth and I having lunch at a lovely little restaurant not far from our appartment. Our table was appropriately situated next to a framed map pf Antarctica.
Interestingly, the guy who we asked to take the photograph is currently working for NASA and he flies virtually everyday from Punta Arenas, 12-13 hours around Antarctica surveying the ice, the sea under the ice, as well as the sea bed profile. This all done for 1000 ft above the ice from a DC -8 plane. Today was one of his days off. He certainly had some interesting stories to tell, and confirmed how amazingly beautiful the Antarctic Peninsula is from the air. He then spoke about the boring flat, nothingness in the centre and I had flashes back to my visualisation and how I will deal with the inevitable boring days..... I'm hoping that as in Namibia, when I cycled those long straight, seemingly boring, desert roads alone, I'll also find to my surprise that it isn't boring but hugely spiritually stimulating.
And finally, a pic of one of the many wrecks along the Straits of Magellan. This one is on my running route, a few kilometres form the appartment. The view is across the Strait on a very, very calm day.... We have had a few, but more often the sea is just a mass of whitehorses.
I'll keep you posted on developments, becuase we aren't flying until we are flying!
Second flight just left....WE are next up!
After a 6 hour delay in leaving becuase of Antarctica runway issues, the second flight has just left Punta Arenas a few minutes ago. It should return before midnight (Punta time), and we have now moved to first in the que, hoping for a very late Saturday night departure.
When I say "we", I am flying with Richard's expedition (Ruth's one), plus some mountain climbers.
We have had to pack our bags for the flight and they will get picked up in three hours so they are ready to go when the plane comes back and the pilots have rested.
It's all getting very close now, but once I get the exact flight plan, I'll let you know...
Bye for now
When I say "we", I am flying with Richard's expedition (Ruth's one), plus some mountain climbers.
We have had to pack our bags for the flight and they will get picked up in three hours so they are ready to go when the plane comes back and the pilots have rested.
It's all getting very close now, but once I get the exact flight plan, I'll let you know...
Bye for now
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The big plane is flying again...Saturday looking ever likely
The good news is that earlier today
the Ilyushin left for Antarctica on its first flight for a while, and with one
other flight scheduled before ours, a Saturday departure is looking very
promising! This is not official yet, but I am really
hopeful....
I have just been putting the 4
waypoints for my course into the two GPS's I'll be taking along! I must say
this together with the Saturday news, pushed the excitement levels up a few
notches....!
Yesterday I met up with three seasoned polar expeditioners, who
have done the Messner route, and we went through their experiences of the
dangerous crevasse areas with a view to me being able to decide on the route
I'll take. I had this mixed feeling of fear and excitement as they spoke
through their experiences, but once again I did feel this sense of “I’ll be OK,
I have taken on the unknown many times before alone, and provided I use my instinct
and experience I’ll be ok!”. The main fear I have is being alone in a whiteout
with crevasse around, but now having rehearsed the situation many times in my
head, I have to just get out there on DEAL WITH IT! And as
I often remind myself, I may never have to, and if Mother Nature feels I have
been a good boy, I’ll ski by these crevasse area in perfect weather giving me
wonderful views of what her huge power at can do! Gee, this is going to be exciting!
I’ll take you right into the minute
detail of my current life here in Punta Arenas:
Another issue I have been dealing
with today is whether to take a large back pack, the one I used in the North
Pole or stick to the much smaller one I had planned for this expedition. “Gee,
why is he still undecided about these seemingly expedition critical pieces?”
Well, yeah it is a critical, but I know both will do the job, however one will
be better than the other: A lighter sled
is easier to pull up inclines / over pressure ridges etc, and that’s why for
the North Pole I used a big back pack: To make the back breaking job of hauling
the sled over the mountainous pressure ridges a bit easier. Antarctica is
different, smoother and while a climb it’s fairly gentle each day. So the
feeling is that one doesn’t need a backpack and everything goes into the sled,
or at most one has a small backpack for ease of access to ‘stuff’.
Well going
solo, means my sled is already heavier than those in a team where team
equipment weight, like stoves, shovel, tent, electronics, fuel etc is shared
between team members, I have to carry it all myself. Secondly, I am planning to
use ski’s that only have fish scales, and not the traditional skins. These are
to provide grip to help one climb and have traction to pull the sled. Skins
defeat the purpose of smooth gliding ski surfaces, and so slow one’s progress
down when skiing is possible. With the fish scales one doesn’t have as much traction
as the skins, but the resistance when wanting to ski fast is much lower. So the
lighter my sled the better, and so the more I can take in the back pack the
better...well to a point, and I’m currently weighing up that point!! Like I have experienced many times before on
expeditions, one thinks these decisions have been made months before and put to
bed, but as the realities and a bit of fear / apprehension kick in the
decisions get revisited. It’s a fascinating mind game!
At the moment the small one is still
ahead on my preference, based on ease of handling, but how my ski’s perform on
the real ice in Antarctica is the test. I’ll probably wait to see how I feel on
the ice in Antarctica before making the final decision on the backpack. So that's my little world for now!
Gee, and I used to be a big businessman
making huge decisions each day, and now indecisive on something seemingly so
insignificant and simple! Haha, it feels good for now! It’s because
there is little scope for error, and expedition success depends on all these
little details....!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Antarctic Weather and Flying....
Of some concern is the news that this Antarctic expedition season has started off as the worst one on history as far as the weather is concerned. I'm told by the weather experts here, that this is the other side of Global Warming, and for Antarctica what this means is more frequent fronts coming through, and with them significantly more snowfall than 'normal'. Apparently the snowfall at the Pole is the highest its been for many years, and so contrary to what many would think Global Warming is increasing the ice cap in many parts of Antarctica. So how does this all affect me flying to Antarctica...?
The Wedell Sea, and where the warmer ocean temperatures are causing more moist air and snowstorms.
You can see the extent of the Ronne Ice Shelf (the lighter blue, and where it meets the Wedell Sea. The darker blue is the continent of Antarctica. the land, and you can also see Berkner Island in the middle of the ice shelf . I'll be starting at a point just off the map at the end of the southern end of The Foundation Ice Stream which is shown as the piece extending off the bottom of the map.
Flying from Punta Arenas to Antarctica is not just a regular flight.....: Firstly, the flight is some 4 and ¼ hours long, and it crosses the Drake Passage, probably the most inhospitable piece of ocean in the world. On crossing the passage, the flight goes down the Antarctic Peninsula, passing over Shako Island, before coming to Antarctica ‘proper’ and then landing on the Blue Ice runway at Union Glacier basecamp.
The landing is 100% visual without the aid of instruments, and this is where the weather issues play a huge role. Essentially the decision to fly from Punta Arenas is only made one there is a virtually guaranteed weather forecast situation of good visibility, and wind of less than 35 knots for on the ground at Union Glacier some four or five hours into the future. The weather prediction is pretty sophisticated, but so it the weather these days...! This makes for some challenging decions by ALE management and the pilot captain. If on arrival at Union Glacer, landing is not possible, huge costs and risk is involved in having to return as a nonstop 9 hour flight, so these decisions are not taken lightly.
There are currently two flights scheduled before the one that will take me and Richard's group to Antarctica. The currently problem is the unprecedented amount of snow on the runway. The snow storms and winds stopped a few days ago, but the snow dump was so severe it's providing a huge challenge to be removed. Snowblowers are used, and we are told that the guys on the ground are working as hard as they can to get the runway snow free and 'landable'. With a bit of luck the first flight out will leave within the next day, and so maybe from Saturday, we will be on standby ready to fly at the short warning call, that is the mark of being next in que.
The aeroplane we fly in is an amazing Ilyushin IL-76, which is many a freight / cargo plane, with huge load carrying capacity, seating only 26 passengers, and with virtually none of the comforts of a normal passenger aircraft. Apparently the fly in is amazing, from the spectacular views and the adventurous nature of this huge bird landing on the blue ice of the runway. I can't wait.....
I guess the one shock I'm preparing myself for is stepping off the plane and into the Antarctic tempreature. This will definitely provide a real dose of reality, and from thatb point on it will be the start of life on the ice, as we set up our tents and live there, merely using ALE base for eating purposes. Fingers are crossed, and I'll keep you updated as I get more news....
The Wedell Sea, and where the warmer ocean temperatures are causing more moist air and snowstorms.
You can see the extent of the Ronne Ice Shelf (the lighter blue, and where it meets the Wedell Sea. The darker blue is the continent of Antarctica. the land, and you can also see Berkner Island in the middle of the ice shelf . I'll be starting at a point just off the map at the end of the southern end of The Foundation Ice Stream which is shown as the piece extending off the bottom of the map.
Flying from Punta Arenas to Antarctica is not just a regular flight.....: Firstly, the flight is some 4 and ¼ hours long, and it crosses the Drake Passage, probably the most inhospitable piece of ocean in the world. On crossing the passage, the flight goes down the Antarctic Peninsula, passing over Shako Island, before coming to Antarctica ‘proper’ and then landing on the Blue Ice runway at Union Glacier basecamp.
The landing is 100% visual without the aid of instruments, and this is where the weather issues play a huge role. Essentially the decision to fly from Punta Arenas is only made one there is a virtually guaranteed weather forecast situation of good visibility, and wind of less than 35 knots for on the ground at Union Glacier some four or five hours into the future. The weather prediction is pretty sophisticated, but so it the weather these days...! This makes for some challenging decions by ALE management and the pilot captain. If on arrival at Union Glacer, landing is not possible, huge costs and risk is involved in having to return as a nonstop 9 hour flight, so these decisions are not taken lightly.
There are currently two flights scheduled before the one that will take me and Richard's group to Antarctica. The currently problem is the unprecedented amount of snow on the runway. The snow storms and winds stopped a few days ago, but the snow dump was so severe it's providing a huge challenge to be removed. Snowblowers are used, and we are told that the guys on the ground are working as hard as they can to get the runway snow free and 'landable'. With a bit of luck the first flight out will leave within the next day, and so maybe from Saturday, we will be on standby ready to fly at the short warning call, that is the mark of being next in que.
The aeroplane we fly in is an amazing Ilyushin IL-76, which is many a freight / cargo plane, with huge load carrying capacity, seating only 26 passengers, and with virtually none of the comforts of a normal passenger aircraft. Apparently the fly in is amazing, from the spectacular views and the adventurous nature of this huge bird landing on the blue ice of the runway. I can't wait.....
I guess the one shock I'm preparing myself for is stepping off the plane and into the Antarctic tempreature. This will definitely provide a real dose of reality, and from thatb point on it will be the start of life on the ice, as we set up our tents and live there, merely using ALE base for eating purposes. Fingers are crossed, and I'll keep you updated as I get more news....
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