October 14, 2023
Day 52. Jan 10. S 87º57.940 W 083º05.636 to S 88º09.228 W 082º43.957. 22 km. 10.5 hrs. 2940 Cal. There was sun on and off in the night and the tent was warm. However, in the morning just as I was packing up, I could see the clouds starting to erase the sun and the light. Not again I thought. How many white outs can there be on this trip? But it did not turn out like that as it must have been a thin mist of low cloud and although my shadow almost disappeared, the visibility remained tolerable. It stayed like this for a couple of hours until my first break. After 5 km I crossed out of the difficult 87 degree and into the reputedly easier 88 degree. The terrain was quite easy, but it was slow. All that new snow which had fallen yesterday was like white iron filings, shards of ice, and they clung to the pulk as I pulled it over them. It was hard slow work, almost like pulling a tyre on a wet sandy beach. The sun never really disappeared though, and it shone through the veil of mist with a halo round it and more iron filings in the mist fell to the ground.
I was dreading my second break as I anticipated cold fingers preparing and eating it. It was cold, about minus 25, but the ferocious bitter winds of the last few days had dissipated, and it was now a gentle breeze and the wind ribbon waved half-heartedly. Preparing lunch, I must have looked like a scientist handling flasks of liquid nitrogen. I had big clumsy mitts on and with them I was filling the Nalgene bottle and the macaroni cup with steaming water from the thermoses. In the end it worked OK, and the macaroni was great. It started hot but I had to finish it within 5 minutes, or it would start to freeze.
I was quite empowered by the lunch and set off well. I could feel the surge of energy from the 1000 calorie meal. Instead of stopping after 5 km I continued for 7 km. The terrain got easier with less sastrugi and dunes or drifting, and, if you could see them, there were also strips of harder glazed snow which were aligned in the direction I was going. More and more blue sky was appearing and yet behind me from where I had come looked dark and almost certainly a whiteout. I wondered if I really had climbed out of one weather zone into another which was the high pressure which was frequent on the polar plateau, where there was more of a continental climate. Frequently I looked back, and the sun was still there but beneath it on the ground was a tremendous glow as if there was a nuclear explosion. I assume it was the optics of the veil of mist and the reflection from the snow. It was there all afternoon whenever I looked back.
126. It looked like a nuclear explosion on the ground but was obviously a reflection of the sun on the icefield.
During my third break a hand got very cold. I think some moisture got onto the glove and into the mitt liner while I was preparing a drink. Luckily, I had the redline mitts to hand in a pocket in the green bedding bag. I ripped off my damp glove and plunged my hand into the lamb’s wool and down feather of the redline and prevented any damage. I was glad now I had an abundance of gloves. I skied another 5 km after that across a plain filled with dunes of snow about a metre high. There was hardly a flat patch there. It looked like ocean would look like in a force 3 breeze just before the white caps of a force 4 started. They were easy to ski over but there was plenty of soft snow between them to slow me down.
At last, the 22 km mark for the day came and I pitched the tent at once in this choppy frozen ocean. There was no wind, and the tent was a dream to put up even with mitts on. It took just 15 minutes instead of the windy 30 minutes when I was much more cautious. As it was, I could feel the heat of the sun on my face as I started to boil the kettle. I had still 205 km to ski to the South Pole and had 9 day’s worth of food which I could stretch to 10 with a bit of rationing and 11 with a lot. It seemed quite plausible. I had already done over 950 km since I started. Once the weather improves in a few days I might put in some early starts to get the average milage down a bit. It had been a great day, and I was delighted to have started the final section and put the rough climb section behind me.
Day 53. Jan 11. S 88º09.228 W 082º43.957 to S 88º20.805 W 082º46.888. 22 km. 11 hrs. 3070 Cal. Although the sun was out it was very cold at minus 28 outside. Luckily there was virtually no wind otherwise it would have been serious. As it was, I could feel the cold creep through my salopettes. I had pretty much every item of clothing on when I left at 0700. In the unlikely event it got too hot I could always ventilate using the zips on the salopettes and pit zips on the jacket. It remained chilly all day and even hit minus 30 when I stopped to put the tent up. The one item I lacked were really good gloves for tent work. The Hestra Alpine Pro were not up to the job as the shiny leather absorbed the cold and the lining was too thin. Much the same way a steel toecap boot is cold in the winter as the toecap absorbs the cold.
I did not have a plan when I set off but wanted to cross the 88 degree and 20-minute line. It was about 21 km away. All the 4 sessions today were quite similar. The spindrift had settled everywhere on the flat ice between the gentle climbs. On these flatter bits with new spindrift the going was very sluggish and the ice crystals lying in the dunes did not let the pulk pass easily. However, where the ridges of the dunes had been polished the pulk slid beautifully. The trouble was there were few of these polished areas and they were mostly on the climbs.
127. The moonscape of waves on the ice sheet. Mostly they were dunes but some were carved into sastrugi
As the wind was now quite negligible it was easy to prepare my food and eat it sitting on the pulk. I had made a mistake of taking such preparation intensive food for my midday meals and would have been better off having a nose bag of easy snacks I could just tuck into. When I did have my macaroni, I did feel a surge of energy which lasted a couple of hours before the mouse was back gnawing at the walls of my stomach. I was quite well nourished though but my main complaint was tiredness.
I don’t know whether my pulk is heavier or slides less well than the others? Probably both but at the moment I am putting in 10-11 hours days every day without respite and have to do so to complete my 22-24 km each day. I wake at 0500 and the cycle begins and start skiing at 0700. I don’t finish until 1900 and then have to set up the tent and put everything on the drying racks. If the sun is not out to warm the tent, I have to bring the stove in to warm the tent for an hour or so to dry everything. Then I have supper, write the blog, and try and get to sleep by 2200 but it is often later. I should have 8 more days of this before I reach the South Pole. People might ask what I am going to do when I reach the Pole and the ALE camp there. Overwhelmingly what I would like to do is sleep. I will sleep for days hopefully.
The weather now is much more continental with dry, sunny, cold. The forecast for the next week is more of the same. But it comes at the price of cold. It is now on average between -25 and -30 centigrade outside. But without the catabatic winds that is not too bad if you wrap up well. I do have a problem with my breathing mask and general condensation from my breath. It ices up the windstopper flap I have sewn onto the bottom of my goggles to protect my nose and cheeks. icicles hang from the bottom of it. When I lift them slightly to my forehead so I can eat I feel I am in the mouth of a predator fish looking out past the teeth. However, the real condensate is around the mask and at the end of the day it is thick with ice. I should have brought 3 or 4 of them really to swap out every break.
128. It was a particularly cold day. Between minus 25-30 ?C The ice built up on my goggles and breathing mask was severe.
Today I skied until about 1900 and as soon as I had done my 23 km put the tent up. I was tired, too tired to write the blog, so I am writing it the next morning before breakfast at 0430. Hence the slight rambling. On the bush telegraph the FireAngels, Bex and George have finished with a massive 37 km day and have reached the Pole. Congratulations to them they have had a well-organised and well-disciplined expedition and have done stunningly well. Poppis and the Finns are about 2 days ahead of me and Al and Dave about one and a half, so I am still managing to keep in touch with them. They both had resupply caches left for them near here. Also about are Per the Swede and Robert the Polish skier who started at the shorter Messner start and are a few days ahead. And then there is Patrick who started at Berkner Island and is doing a really huge trip. Patrick is going very well and should be at the South Poe in a few days. We are all put to shame by Frenchman Vincent Colliard who reached the South Pole yesterday beating the previous record which had stood for a while. He did it in 22 days beating the record by 2 days. It will be nice for Pierre (already at the Pole and waiting to fly back to Union Glacier) to meet him. 2 record breakers, both French, the fastest and the youngest.
Day 54. Jan 12. S 88º20.805 W 082º46.888 to S 88º32.724 W 081º46.847. 23 km. 10.5 hrs. 2800 Cal. Distance to Pole 162 km. Food Left 7 days. (ED: note the 2 new stats for the final countdown!) Again, it was very cold in the morning. Down to about minus 30. I got cold fingers packing up the tent. I noticed that although it was clear and quite wind still, the air was full of shards of ice glistening in the sun like stardust. Every day the terrain in degree 88 has become easier and today it started off pretty uniform with small dunes, drifts really. You could have skied here in a whiteout without trouble. However, the snow was abrasive, and it was hard to pull the pulk except for the rare bit of more glazed snow. I guess that as the sastrugi, and the dunes get smaller it means the winds are not so strong here and maybe that’s why the snow was a bit looser and still sharp and angular as it had not been battered and rolled by the wind as spindrift. I felt desperately tired as I skied in the morning both physically and even more mentally. There were times where I could easily have fallen asleep and carried on skiing I felt, like sleepwalking.
I had my breaks sitting on the pulk with the very slight breeze in my back and the sun in my face. It was like the weeks before Thiel Fuel Cache when the weather was good. except now it was probably 20 degrees colder. I easily made the macaroni and the hot chocolate drinks with the mitts on as I was getting more used to it. I had to eat the macaroni quickly, like a dog lapping up its dinner and without finesse as I had to get it down before it froze.
In the second half of the day the temperature rose to about minus 15 and it was noticeably warmer. It was more to do with the sun being at its strongest than with any weather change. Whereas yesterday I felt I was going uphill the whole day while not really doing so, today I felt I was skiing on the level. Either my legs were less tired, or the snow was a bit easier. Once I had been going for about 12 hours in all with 10.5 on skis I decided to camp. I wanted 24 but was happy with 23.
I had wanted an early night but as I was melting snow the stove started to splutter. It needed a bit of maintenance. The other one had already been put aside for maintenance, so I had to strip the burners from both stoves and get them going again. It took well over an hour. I also filled my fuel bottles from the dodgy ones in the pulk. I had about 2.5 litres of fuel to cook and occasionally heat the tent if the sun was not out. It would be enough to get me to the South Pole. I only have 7 days of food left now and am aiming to be at the Pole on the 19 January which assuming there are no weather problems is quite feasible as it is 162 km away. However, in the next 4 days I want to do 100 km just to add a comfort buffer. It means getting up earlier. I am afraid the blog might suffer, and become more perfunctory, but we will see how time goes. As I put my tent up a plane flew north in the distance. It was carrying Pierre, Bex and George and, I assume, Vincent Colliard back to Union Glacier, so the bush telegraph will be very depleted as they were part of the mainstay.
Day 55. Jan 13. S 88º32.724 W 081º46.847 to S88º45.800 W 081º53.839. 25 km. 11 hrs. 2770 Cal. Distance to Pole 138 km. Food Left 6 days. I woke naturally at 0400. The tent was warm, and the sun was out so I decided I might as well get up and make an earlier start. I had planned to do this anyway. It took me two and a half hours to get ready and set off which is a bit ridiculous really and I will have to be more efficient in the mornings. It was very cold when I packed up the tent, I reckon it was minus 30, but there was no wind which was lucky. I got very tired in the first session and almost got the “nods” where you are desperate to stay awake but can’t. Despite skiing and pulling the pulk, the experience is the same as when you are on a long drive and can’t keep your eyes open. At least then I would have had the chance to pull into a stopping place but there was not the same option here.
Since I came into the 88th degree the conditions have gradually got easier. I likened my first day in them like an ocean frozen in a force 4 just before the whitecaps start to break. Then it was a force 3 and yesterday was like a force 2 and very benign. Well today it was almost flat calm. This can only mean one thing and that is the prevalent winds in this area are gradually diminishing as I head up to the Pole. I would say this area seldom receives the big winds to create the sastrugi and dunes of the lower sections.
I had been going for a good hour when I noticed some cloud formations and mist to the east. I thought nothing of it until suddenly the snow lost its luminosity. I looked round and the sun was being swallowed by a large cloud. Not again I thought as I assumed I had finished with the compass now I had reached the sunlit uplands.
129 The last of the dunes and sastrugi halfway through the 88th degree as the terrain became yet more flat and calm.
At the time I was experimenting with the neoprene facemask, as the Cold Avenger breathing mask produced so much moisture which ran down to my chest making the five layers of clothing damp. However, the neoprene FRX racing mask had its own issues and steamed up the goggles. As I was wondering how to revert back to the cold avenger the skies darkened, and a small wind appeared. It was absolutely freezing and despite having all my clothes on I could still feel the cold. It caught me unawares like a squall at sea while you are sunbathing. Luckily, I had a spare pair of goggles but as soon as I put them on, they started to fog up also. I decided to revert back to the partially frozen Cold Avenger. However, the switch over was fraught in the minus 30 with the wind. Eventually I managed but I sacrificed 2 pairs of gloves as they got covered in frozen condensed breath and got a bit wet. Eventually the switch to the breathing mask was complete and luckily my googles started to clear again.
The cloud only lasted for a couple of hours and then the sun returned. I caught myself starting to smile when the first shard of sun approached. I carried on to the south, coming across numerous ski tracks from my colleagues. Some I followed for a bit, others I ignored. They were no easier than the rest of the ice field. I noticed my pulk, which squeaked and crunched over the snow was starting to fall silent. I had climbed imperceptibly and was now at the 88th degree and 40 minutes and this was the end of the climb which had been going on the undulating steps from Thiel Fuel Cache. I was now going onto the Polar Plateau at last.
The snow was like castor sugar or sand, but it was not so abrasive as the same type of snow in the 86th degree. The grain of the snow was very small and almost powder. It was OK to ski on and it continues for the next 150 km all the way to the south pole. I skied perhaps another 10 km across the plateau till I hit the 25 km mark and then put the tent up. The snow was deep and loose, and the tent pegs would struggle if a wind arrived, so I used the skis as tent anchors. Since the squall passed early in the morning the weather had been nice again and now in the evening it warmed the tent and dried my damp clothing. It had been a great day and despite the tiredness I enjoyed the peace and solitude of the plateau, smooth and luminous bright, it was vast and almost seemed to follow the curvature of the earth like an ocean view does. If I had 6 more days like today, I would reach the pole before my food ran out.
Day 56. Jan 14. S 88º45.800 W 081º53.839 to S 88º58.377 W 082º44.961. 24 km. 10.5 hrs. 2740 Cal. Distance to Pole 115 km. Food Left 5 days. I woke naturally at 0400 again and the sun was out. I was a bit quicker this morning and got away just after 0600. It was immensely bright outside on this Polar Plateau, yet far to the north where I had been in the last 2-3 weeks was cloud. I wondered if there were the same whiteout conditions there now, similar to the ones which had plagued me when I was there. The snow up here was like caster sugar again, but some people compared it to sand. It was quite a remarkable consistency and not unlike the snow of the 86th degree which was deep and abrasive. Except here it was not so abrasive and the pulk slid a bit more easily. However, I was never going to get any sort of glide on my skis before the end of the expedition as the snow was too sharp and granular. Perhaps even without a pulk I would have had little glide. So, I was resigned to plodding along for the next 5 days or 115 km. What was remarkable about the snow was the silence of it. Unusually the pulk runners squeak as they get dragged over the snow but with the Polar Plateau snow it was silent as if riding on a bed of feathers.
It was pretty flat all day according to my instruments, but I felt I was going uphill. I was quite fatigued. I thought perhaps I had some sort of illness or lethargy but had no fever. I felt very sleepy and could have easily put the tent up and fallen asleep at once. It was the same as yesterday. This was probably because I am not getting enough sleep. I ski for 11-12 hours, put up or take down the tent for 4 hours, cook for 2, blog for 1 and the remaining 5 hours are sleep. For most of the morning I felt slightly delirious and plodded along in automaton mode with my eyelids often heavy. Even when clouds came and blotted out the sun and the temperature plummeted to minus 30, I did not get any invigoration. Nor after the snacks or meal. It was only towards the end of the day after the last break that I became livelier. People might say, I bet you can’t wait to have a beer or pizza. Actually, nothing is further from my mind. What I am really looking forward to is falling asleep in front of the fire in my cosy living room with Fiona, my partner, practicing the piano in the corner.
I came across more tracks and even some campsites today. I think they were from Al and Dave- the ex-marines, and then later Robert and Per, 2 soloists from Poland and Sweden respectively who appear to have teamed up. They began from the Messner Start, which is slightly shorter and meets the Hercules Inlet route at Thiel Fuel Cache. Thereafter they would have done the rugged 86 and 87 degrees which I did. They are not on my bush telegraph but they seem to be averaging 18 km a day so I might catch them up. In the meantime, I am still last.
I was going to do 25 km today but as I reached 24, I saw a wave of castor sugar looming. It was not the climb which concerned me but the cold wind coming down the slope as the evening air chilled. This catabatic wind would have stripped any solar gain the tent was producing. So, I stopped well before the bottom of the slope. This slope rose up pretty much on the 89th degree and also coincided with the 2700 metre contour line. I got a message from Poppis saying he had recorded a temperature of minus 32 just up the slope. So that, and the catabatic wind, would have been fiendishly cold.
The tent was up quickly in the gentle, but bitter breeze and I was soon inside the tent feeling the sun on my face. Without the sun this expedition would have been very difficult. There would be no way to dry clothes or have a clear vision of the terrain. The forecast said sun, lots of it, for the next week, but the temperature would be about minus 30-35. With it minus 30 outside the temperature in the tent could be plus 20 and all that separated the two was a layer of ripstop nylon.
Tomorrow, I start the Last Degree. The others already have. There is a definite excitement in the air now with everybody remaining, about 9 of us about to finish in the next week. I plan to finish on the 19th of January primarily because that is when my food runs out. The forecast is good, 5 days is average for a degree and the last degree is relatively easy and flat, so it is within my sights. But things can always go wrong.
Day 57. Jan 15. S 88º58.377 W 082º44.961 to S 89º11.566 W 082º19.116. 25 km. 10.5 hrs. 3010 Cal. Distance to Pole 90 km. Food Left 4 days. I woke at 0430, a bit later than I wanted but still OK as I was quite fast and still managed to set off by 0630. It was a beautiful morning with just a slight breeze but cold; very cold at below minus 30. As I got to the bottom of the slope that I had stopped before yesterday, the breeze started to pick up and it went from a force 2 to a 3. It really made a difference, and my fingers were getting cold, so I had to put the OR Alti Mitts on. As I skied south it appeared that this rise was just one of many rises. They were less than a kilometre apart and there must have been a down slope the other side of each rise. I barely noticed the ups and downs other than visually. It was like a huge mid ocean swell created by a distant storm. I must have crossed some 15 of them in the first 12 km.
The wind had now increased to a force 4 and the spindrift was certainly on the move, although it stayed close to the ground. The patterns it produced on the surface of the snow were just like sand where water was moving over it. There were ripples in the snow everywhere. Although this was a southern wind, I noticed that there were some dunes here, and these were all aligned South East – North West indicating a South East wind. These South East winds would have been cyclonic when large depressions from the Southern Ocean extended this far. They must have been ferocious weather events. Luckily, I just had to cope with this cold catabatic southerly wind as the cold air flowed downhill from the plateau. My wind soon increased again to force 4. The wind chill must have been in the minus 40’s. I had to change gloves again for the Redline Mitts. I have never been more thankful to Bjorn at Pitteraq in Oslo for thrusting them upon me. They are so warm and give instant respite.
In the UK when we say a “bitter wind” we probably have a cold easterly in February coming off the North Sea. However, this morning’s wind took that to a whole new level. It was more like an industrial blast freezer where food is rapidly frozen. If I took a finger sized chipolata sausage at room temperature and threw it on the ground here, I am sure it would be frozen solid in a couple of minutes. A bare hand, perhaps 10 minutes, and a hand in my Hestra gloves, perhaps half an hour before there was frostbite. I had to plan every move that involved any dexterity and stopping for a snack or rehydrating the macaroni was out of the question. Hence, I did not stop for nearly 6 hours by which time I had done 13km. At one stage I could feel the cold even coming through the Redline Mitts and thought I would have to call it a day and put the tent up or risk frostbite. It was the most intense cold I think I have experienced. However, I managed to get the Redline Mitts into the poggies and that brought some respite.
After 6 hours the Force 4 had abated to a Force 2, and I took the opportunity to have the macaroni and hot chocolate. It was delicious and I managed to finish the cup of macaroni before it froze. This boosted my energy, and I did another 8 km with the wind easing all the time. I came across some tracks and worked out they were from Al and Dave and also from Robert and Per. They were just a day old but already covered in small dunes. It was not a great help to follow them as the new spindrift was more abrasive than the snow I was on. However, it did mean I could park my mind in neutral and not have to worry about navigation. I followed their tracks past their campsites and across more rolling swell until I had done 25 km. As yesterday I noticed a large wave or ridge to the south which would be the first thing tomorrow.
It was just a force 2 but still below minus 30 when I quickly put the tent up and went inside to sort myself out. My mask had frozen to my small beard which took a while to pull apart but the piece of drybag I had sewn onto the mask did seem to have diverted the moisture away from my chest. Despite the blast freezer raging outside at minus 30 the tent did get up to nearly 20 degrees inside which will dry my damp clothing. It had been a good day despite the wind and the most noticeable achievement was passing into the “Last Degree”. ALE and private firms run mini guided expeditions across the relatively easy but cold last degree which takes a week or so for those who want a shorter Antarctic adventure. But these had just finished for the season. At the scheduled 2100 ALE phone call I spoke to Louis Rudd who had just finished guiding a group for his company called Shackleton.
Day 58. Jan 16. S 89º11.566 W 082º19.116 to S89º25.296 W 081º44.483. 26 km. 11 hrs. 2740 Cal. Distance to Pole 65 km. Food Left 3 days. I woke at 0400 and left at 0630. Initially it was great but then a southerly wind developed. It was not as bad as yesterday but still one of the coldest days I have experienced. The whole day was similar to yesterday really except the wind was just low enough to give me the confidence to prepare the chocolate drinks and the lunch. I continued skiing over the vast undulating icefield which sat over the pole and spread out in every direction.
Around lunch I thought I spotted someone away in the distance, about 5 km away. Of course, it could just be my eyes playing tricks on me. But I lined it up with 2 distinctive patches of snow and it did in fact move. In fact, it seemed there were two people. It must be Robert and Per, Polish and Swedish respectively. They had started at the shorter Messner start and were going quite slowly. After some 4 hours I finally caught up with them when they camped early because Per’s foot was sore. I had not seen anyone since the end of November so as I approached the tents, I was anxious. It was indeed Robert and Per, and they came out to meet me. I suppose a snippet of social chat was all I could hope for in my “Man Friday” moment. However, it was very perfunctory. I would have been better going round them and saved the epiphany of social interaction for the camp at the South Pole. They took a few photos of me, and I skied off after 10 minutes.
130. Arriving at the campsite of Per and Robert who took the photo.
I wanted 26 today and I got them. Once the tent was up, I did all the chores and then had my delicious Expedition Foods fish and potato. After the meal I tried to write but kept falling asleep so made the blog for today short and succinct.
Day 59. Jan 17. S 89º25.296 W 081º44.483 to S 89º38.363 W 081º17.103. 25 km. 11 hrs. 2610 Cal. Distance to Pole 40 km. Food Left 2 days. When I looked at my watch and it said 0400, I knew I had to get up, but I would dearly loved to have spent another 4-5 hours sleeping. I could see from the rippling on the tent there was a slight breeze, but the sun was out, and the tent was not cold. The solar gain of the tent is an absolute Godsend and without it this trip would be totally different with tens of litres of fuel to heat the tent and dry things.
I set off at 0630 and already the wind had dropped a bit as per the forecast. by lunchtime it had all but ceased. The view from my hermetically sealed face area and out of the goggles was almost of a tropical paradise with smooth white sand under an even light turquoise sky. It could have been a poster for a white sandy Hebridean beach or Whitehaven Beach in Australia. The “sand” was brilliant white, almost luminous, and it sparkled as I went along it. There was immense solitude and mystery here on the Polar Plateau nearly 3000 metres above sea level. It was quite a magical place. But then if you took a glove off or unsealed part of the face the reality of minus 30 soon made its presence felt with a stinging reminder.
131. The problem of condensation is that it freezes on the breathing mask and on the cheek and nose protection flaps sewn onto the goggles.
As I skied my thoughts inevitably turned to finishing in a couple of days. There will be a team running the camp as a satellite from the main hub at Union Glacier. I wondered who was in that team as inevitably there would be someone there who I’d known previously or was a friend of a friend, either American, Norwegian, or British. Then there will be the “expeditioners”. Pierre and the FireAngels had already left but in their place will be Patrick the Canadian who I hung around with in Punta Arenas before we left. Then there would be the Finns who arrived at the South Pole today. Then Al and Dave (the ex-marines) and I would probably all arrive in 2 days. I should imagine the comradeship between us will be overwhelming. Apparently, Patrick has already said he would bring me breakfast in bed on the first morning. I am not looking forward to luxuries that much other than having time to relax and write. I don’t think I have had a whole day off since I thought I had badly damaged my knee and that was perhaps 7 weeks ago. I am also looking forward to the very simple things like having a chair to sit on or readily available hot water.
However I will also miss the daily expedition life and the routine I have established. Everything in the tent has a place and this order has evolved over the last 8 weeks. As long as the sun is out it gives me great joy to ski in Antarctica and I have enjoyed being in my bubble of exclusivity. But there have also been some significant hardships and it will be a delight not to contend with these for a while.
I did my 25 km by 1900 and then put the tent up. once inside I soon started to warm up as the evening sun shone onto the west side of the tent and radiated it heat. It was a very simple luxury, but I would not swap it for all the chocolate in Belgium. After the scheduled 2100 call with ALE I ate my delicious fish and potato stew and then wrote the blog but had difficulty staying awake. I still have 40 km to do which I hope to do the majority of tomorrow leaving me with a short day to finish on the 19th. All in all, it had been a great day, but I was tired and fatigued.
Day 60. Jan 18. S 89º38.363 W 081º17.103 to S 89º50.151 W 079º55.617. 22 km. 10 hrs. 2490 Cal. Distance to Pole 18 km. Food Left 1 days. When I looked at my watch it said 0300 so I rolled over for another hour. Unfortunately, I slept on to 0500 partially due to the tent being so warm due to the sun outside. I eventually got going at 0730. It was too late a start to do the intended 25 km, but it would be close. It was a beautiful, very bright and quite still morning and I had to vent the salopette legs to stop myself overheating despite the temperatures hovering around minus 30. From one horizon across to the other there was not a cloud in the light turquoise sky. There was just the sun in it. I have not seen the moon at all on this entire trip and it is something I will have to look up. Perhaps its orbit is in more restricted latitudes of say below 80 or even 70 degrees.
I split the day into four times 6 km sessions. On the first I approached the 2800 contour line and there was wave after wave of rolling ice waves to gently climb and then even more gently descent to reach the next. Each wave was about half a kilometre apart. The pulk felt heavy and difficult to pull or perhaps I had become quite feeble. It was now only about 50kg with a day’s worth of food and 2 litres of fuel. I tired very easily and also noticed how short of breath I was. It was nearly 3000 metres, but I had acclimatised in a text book manner and also at 3000 metres in the Himalayas I don’t have any issue. Maybe there was less oxygen in the air at the poles. I have not seen my torso for nearly 2 months as I never change clothes however, I notice the tremendous weight loss. I started probably 103 kg and I would say now I am approaching 80 kg. Just when the New Year’s resolution of Keto or Atkins or Huel diets are running into the sand in the general population with little to show may I recommend dragging a 100 kg sledge for 2 months across 1200km in Antarctica for guaranteed weight loss.
On the second session I felt a bit perkier as the waves eased off onto a very broad ridge. The weather had not changed but suddenly it felt colder. Much colder. I had my hand bare for 15 seconds doing something and it started to sting. I also noticed the cold suddenly creep through all my clothing. I have become used to it being minus 30 over the last week but this was much more, and it frightened me. An hour or two later I warmed up so I can only conclude it was a cold bubble of air that had dropped from a very high altitude. Like the opposite of a thermal. During its worst I had the redline mitts on and the poggies and still my fingers were cold.
During the third session I reached the top of the broad rise which the waves of the morning led up to and the skiing was easy. I think there was a slight descent because I was getting a glide on my skis here and there. In the distance I noticed 2 white stripes on the ice cap which looked a bit unusual. They could not be drifts. They were a long way away and perhaps there was some sort of mirage. it was warm enough now for me to take my phone camera out and I set it to 100 zoom and took a few photos. There were black things and when I looked with the eye again, I could make them out. Then it dawned on me it was the South Pole Station. There it is. THERE IT IS!! It was about 24 km away still but that was the South Pole and the end of my journey. I aimed to get there tomorrow.
From here there was a lovely barely perceptible descent for a couple of km down into a dip where the building disappeared. I stopped here for my snack and was amazed now how warm it was. I could virtually eat the whole energy bar without gloves on. This is what I would expect though on a sunny afternoon. I was going to do 6 km after the snack but in the end only did 4 km as I wanted the time to do the blog and enjoy a sunny evening in the tent. It was my last evening in the tent. I would miss the routine and order from boiling the kettle with my legs in the hole in the snow to then turning the stove off to retreat to the inner chamber which the sun had warmed nicely. I then had a host of things to do including eat my delicious dinner, check in with ALE, spread the solar panels out on the tent floor to charge, do some maintenance and write the blog. It was a routine which had developed over the last 60 nights which I have been in the tent consecutively. The tent has really been my home and I have got quite fond of it in the same way a prisoner might get fond of his cell. There is stability and order here while just outside is danger and chaos.
And so, I began my last night in the tent. Tomorrow I will be thrust back into society again having been detached from it for two months. During that time, I have virtually been entirely on my own like an ascetic monastic monk in a stone house on a rocky outcrop. I am usually a keen follower of current affairs, yet I know nothing about what has happened in the world since mid-November when Hamas launched an attack on Israel and Israel had just started to respond. I have lived in a complete cultural void where the only things that matter are the weather, snow condition, temperature, and visibility. It will be quite a shock to go back into society again after my supercharged Lent. I can imagine when I reconnect with my phone there will be over a thousand emails waiting for me but there will also be people to laugh and share jokes with and rejoice with and that excites me. I have done my time as a spiritual hermit and now it is time to re-enter society again. I have done it a few times in my life, not least with my 249 day Norway trip, but there is always an anxiety with change and change will happen tomorrow when I get to the South Pole Station. When I arrive there, I will be the oldest person to have skied solo to the South Pole and also the oldest person to have skied there unsupported. That is taking all my food fuel equipment and doing all my own repairs and maintenance without any outside help. I am pleased with that as it is quite an achievement for a 64 year old.
Day 61. Jan 19. S 89º50.151 W 079º55.617 to S 90º00.000 W 000º00.000. 21 km. 8 hrs. 2210 Cal. Distance to Pole 0 km. Food Left 0 days. I managed to get up a little after 0400 and the sun was shining into the tent heating the black insulation I had on the floor and this in turn was warming the tent and heating my boots. I packed everything and placed it all outside the vestibule and then turned and sat with my legs in the pit and looked inside my tent with some sadness. It had been very good to me and had been a solid and secure home for last two months. I then did the zip up of the inner for the last time and went out to pack the pulk. Although it was sunny there was a crescent of light grey cloud to the east. All the forecasts said it would be great today except for the one which I got on the Iridium Go. which said it would cloud over at 0900. Unfortunately, the Iridium Go forecast was the one I had leant was by far the most accurate and so it seemed today also.
132. In the freezing fog semi whiteout which enveloped on my last day as I skied towards the pole.
I decided to split the day into 3 times 6 kilometres and have two breaks. At each break I would have the last of my food, a packet of macaroni cheese. The 1000 calories in each would power me through the day. The trouble was it was a faff to prepare with mitts on. It was lovely as I set off, but the crescent of low grey cloud was moving towards me like a dust storm consuming all as it swallowed it up in its misery. I braced myself for it as the joy of the morning started to fade and within a short time the lights had gone out and where there was once sparkling snow there was now just a dull uniform greyness. It was not a proper whiteout, the likes of which plagued the 86th degree for me, but a semi whiteout and I could still see 100 metres. Without the sun to temper the cold the temperature dropped considerably as the freezing fog enveloped me. When the 6 km mark came up for the first break, I thought it is just not worth getting cold for the sake of a bowlful of macaroni so decided to bin the break and just have one at 9 km.
The closer I got to the South Pole the more and more tracks there were. Just as you could not move anymore with crossing over a longitudinal line it was the same with ski tracks and even vehicle tracks left by scientific vehicles. Most of the ski tracks came from ALE or private groups doing the “Last Degree” to the South Pole. Given the poor visibility, I decided to follow one of them where I guessed some 20 skiers had been altogether. It was fast and easy. With the longitudinal degree lines, what was 60 minutes or 60 nautical miles on the equator, was now just tens of metres. I should have been able to see the South Pole buildings from here become imperceptibly closer with every kilometre but could not see them at all.
Beside the ski track I was following there had been a single skier a few metres off to the side. I went over and followed this track for a while. There were a few things I noticed about it. It was so shockingly straight it would have made a Roman Road look like a meandering country lane. The pole baskets of the skier hit the ground every 2 metres rather than every metre like mine, so this skier had a great glide and technique. The pulk they were towing was a Paris Pulk. I soon deduced it was the track of Vincent Colliard who passed this way a week ago on his record-breaking speed run. he was making his own track as he did not want his record questioned. His technique was simply superb.
133. Arriving at the Ceremonial South Pole after 61 days alone on the ice if Antarctica.
At 9 km I did stop for my macaroni and as predicted I did get cold. I could feel the minus 30 even creep into my boots with the separate liners and 2 pairs of socks. I could feel it permeate 6 layers on top and 4 on my legs and I could certainly feel it come through the mitts. However, once I had the macaroni inside me I felt empowered and sped off to try and warm up again. After a quick 4 km, almost racing an imaginary Colliard beside me on his razor-sharp track, I had warmed up again. Then out of the grey, to the west of the track, appeared some small structures with flags on. I assumed these were scientific data or collection points. They continued for a kilometre or so when the freezing fog started first to thin and let some more light in and then to lift slightly. Suddenly before my eyes some 2 kilometres away the South Pole Base Station, dozens of small scientific structures, a large telecoms dish and the brightly coloured tents of ALE’s South Pole Camp appeared. ALE’s camp was about half a kilometre to the east of the South Pole Base Station, and it was my immediate destination. All the ski tracks were leading to it like spokes on a wheel. I had been told when I got to it someone would come out to meet me and point me in the direction of the South Pole itself.
It took a short hour to reach ALE’s brightly coloured camp, almost a pageant in contrast to the stark authoritarian structure of the US administered Amundsen Scott South Pole Station. I can imagine someone in the ALE camp saw me and announced “incoming single skier with pulk” as soon an ALE jeep came out to meet me. The camp manager Cedar from Whitehorse and his good friend Devon from South BC, Canada, got out and strolled over to intercept me. I recognised both from Union Glacier 2 months ago. It seemed appropriate that Devon should welcome me as he was the person who put me in touch with ALE (Antarctic Logistics and Exploration) 8 months ago when I first enquired about an adventure in Antarctica. There was a hearty handshake and congratulations, but I was covered in ice and did not want to take my mask or goggles off because it would take so long to realign everything. They pointed me in the direction of the Ceremonial South Pole and the Geographical South Pole which were adjacent to each other a short kilometre away up an icy road. They told me to go there, and they would come up in 15 minutes and meet me and take photos and then drive me and the pulk back.
134. With the glint of victory in my eyes at the Ceremonial South Pole. The tape on the nose is to cover some frost damage.
I went up to the flags of the Ceremonial South Pole and as I got there Devon arrived in the ALE truck. There were more handshakes and then he took some 30 photos of me getting his hands cold in the process. We then walked over to the Geographical South Pole a few hundred metres away and I set off my check in to register the 90-degree reading. I walked round the world a couple of times and stood with one foot in one time zone and the other in a time zone twelve hours ahead. Devon took more photos. Then we loaded the pulk onto a trailer and I climbed into the truck and drove the short km back to ALE’s camp. Here Devon showed me a large yellow tent with 2 beds, a heater, 2 chairs, and a table in and said it was mine. I could stand up in it and the warmth was fantastic, both solar and the kerosene heater. I put my bedding on the pack on the bare mattress and then went into the main dining and kitchen tent.
135. With my now very empty pulk with the Thistle of Scotland on the back. My bedding is in the green bag.
As I went in there was a cheer and people came forward congratulate me. First were the two ex-marines Alan Chamber and his friend Dave who arrived a few hours ahead of me. Then Anna, a delightful and calm Kiwi from Te Anau, who gave me an enormous and warm hug, and then Twitty, a Malaysian cook from Sabah. Along with Cedar and Devon, we were the only people here. I had just missed Patrick and Poppis and the Finns who flew back to Union Glacier as I was arriving. I sat with Al and Dave and had a huge plate of food and soft drink. There was beer here too, but it would make me too sleepy.
136. With my skis at the Ceremonial South Pole. I used both Asnes Amundsen (pictured) and Asnes Ousland in the pulk.
I spent the afternoon basking in the euphoria of that dining tent and the seemingly unlimited supply of luxuries of soft drinks, chocolate, and great company. Alan and Dave were in a similar mood and had the sparkle of victory in their very blue eyes. Alan was a Polar veteran and had many North Pole last degree trips under his belt and a few South Pole ones too. He knew everybody and one of his last trips had been to bring the founding owners of Google to Antarctica for a solar eclipse and they were now his personal friends. I had been in contact with Al and Dave almost daily via a Garmin Inreach message and they had helped keep me motivated during my darkest days in the whiteouts in the 86th degree. How lovely it was now to bask with them in the victory of this warm convivial tent looked after by Cedar, Devon, Anna and Twitty the most warm, considerate and delightful hosts. Cedar and Devon were both polar guides and had done this trip so they could empathise with us.
137. At the Geographical South Pole at 90 degrees where all longitudinal lines and time zones meet.
Soon Twitty announced dinner was ready and served us a fusion of Malaysian inspired beef curry and chicken and then the 7 of us, 4 staff and 3 guests ate together. It was the most perfect evening and it only got better when Al produced a bottle of single malt, Wolfburn 46%, from Thurso which the 7 of us shared. I eventually went to bed just after 2100 into my warm spacious tent having been told breakfast was at 1000 the next day. As usual I went to bed fully dressed in 3 layers of leggings and 5 tops. Initially I slept well but then woke after midnight absolutely boiling as if I had fallen asleep in a greenhouse in the mid-afternoon in the middle of a heatwave. The trouble is I could not get my tops off. All the zips were stuck in the done-up position where they had been for the last 8 weeks and then were eroded by salt and time. I eventually forced them off but nearly ripped my ears off. The mesh of the Brynje under garments had left diamond impressions on my torso. I was pleased to see my arms had not withered as much as I feared. after that I fell back asleep and slept well until the alarm went at 0500. The joy of hitting the “dismiss” button should not be underestimated and I slept for another 4 hours.
