Category: South Pole

Ben Weber polar expedition visor with ice against cold blue sky

Illustrated talk 23rd February

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

Solo to the South Pole

Carrbridge Hotel

Thursday 23rd February 7.30-9.00

Illustrated talk by Ben Weber who recently returned to Carrbridge after succeeding in a 58-day, 700 mile solo expedition to the South Pole.

This will be Ben’s first talk on his epic solo expedition to the South Pole. Ben will share his thoughts and reflections of the challenge of a life-time.

The talk will include the preparations, logistics and practicalities of planning such an undertaking. The audience will then be taken to the starting point at Hercules Inlet where Ben is left totally alone on the Antarctic ice facing 700 miles of unrelenting conditions ahead.

Ben’s grinding daily routine revolved around hauling his fully laden 135kg sled, eating 6,000+ calories and pitching his tent for overnight protection from the elements. All the while preventing frostbite form temperatures as low as -40c.

The account shares the agony and ecstasy of a chronic agonising neck injury that nearly ends the dream, the never-ending hurdles of sastrugi ice fields, careful food rationing through to the last few meters to the South Pole.

Ben, originally from Orkney undertook the challenge to raise funds for Cancer Research UK in memory of his late mother. “This has been such an incredible and challenging expedition. I thought at the start – from day five, when my neck started to become painful-that I might have to give up, and it was so hard. The pain just wouldn’t go away, and I was getting slower and slower. While I was able to get that under control, then there were the daily challenges. The extreme cold, the whiteouts, the sastrugi and the wind; soft snow slowing things down; the climbing… going from sea level to eventually get to 2,800m.”

carrbridge hotel

The Carrbridge Hotel is hosting the evening. Doors open at 7.00, there will be an open bar and whilst there is not entrance charge, we suggest a £5 donation to Ben’s chosen charity Cancer Research UK.

Ben Weber skiing towards the South Pole

17th January Reflections

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

The 57 days, 10 hours and 22 minutes it took me to ski the 700 miles from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole were, to sum up in one word, intense.

Every day presented incredible challenges. From the steep climbs up from Hercules Inlet at the start when the sled was at its heaviest, to the gradual climbs up towards the plateau. The sharp and short snow “dunes” as you get past the half way mark and get ever closer to the end.

Incredible variations in snow conditions

The incredible variations in snow conditions, with all the sastrugi – from the small, irritating formations to the massive structures as large as buses that you had to work out a way to go around, through or over. The soft snow that sapped the energy and slowed you down to a snail’s pace, and the compact snow over which you could fly! Sawdust snow, hard ice. Whiteouts hiding all the different obstacles that rested metres in front of you. 

Worrying about frostbite to my  fingers and crevasses

Skiing into strong headwinds and putting the tent up and taking it down again in these conditions. Worrying about the temperature of my fingers especially and the risk of frost bite. Being aware of the risks of crevasses. What were the best layers to have on at a particular time? Do I need to ventilate and cool down? Am I going in the right direction..?!  Any combination of the above!!

Even the rest days were intense experiences. Trying to help the body to recover, thinking about things to improve on the next day’s travel, planning how to progress considering the limited rations and ever decreasing number of days available to complete the expedition. Will the tent be okay in the storm..?!

Thoughts of giving up…

My neck made the challenges even more acute and there were times I truly did think about ending it and asking ALE to extract me from the ice. After the first two weeks of constant pain, I did ask ALE about my “options”, with a view to a possible pickup from where I was. 

As I got closer to the Pole, more doubts crept in, despite having made really good progress since the early days, though exacerbated by the number of rest days and half days I had taken as I had tried to help my neck improve. I felt myself hitting a wall, going ever slower in the soft snow, struggling as it snapped my energy. Unfortunately the old maxim of “slow and steady” really does not apply to polar expeditions: rations have to be considered; the length of the polar season has to be respected as conditions deteriorate. Time was always a slow but omnipresent background enemy, lurking and waiting to end the expedition.

More doubts would creep in. Could I really do this??? Was I really cut out for this?? Could I just return to normal life and leave this all behind, content that I had “tried my best”?

I couldn’t give up.

Though while the thoughts went through my head, there was no way I could seriously entertain them. I had to do this. I couldn’t give up. Had I really tried my best? Could I still move? Was I able to function? How much of the pain could I tolerate? How long could I tolerate it for? Was it worth it?!

I felt great in my body aside from my neck. Fit and strong and able to go, so while the pain was demoralising, the only answer I could come up with for whether I had tried my best; whether I had tried and done everything I could was… no. I hadn’t: I could manage this, I just had to keep going. This was a dream of a life time and yes while there was pain, while there were the daily intense challenges, it was absolutely worth it and I couldn’t let myself abandon the journey so easily. 

Medical support

Obviously I had to have ALE’s medical advice and consent. They are extremely safety conscious. I was in constant contact with the doctors: had they thought it was too dangerous for me, I would have had to have ended the expedition. That would have been it. But I couldn’t end it without doing everything I could first. Being so close to fulfilling a dream, it would have been devastating. There were small sacrifices that had to be made: I had wanted to do this without assistance or resupply though it quickly became apparent I needed both, as my own pain medication ran out and I was taking longer than planned due to the pain. But the goal was always the Pole and those were easy sacrifices to make. 

Concentrating on the positives

I always had to believe that I could make it and push the self doubts to the background. Concentrate on the positives: the daily challenges actually helped make the journey so fantastic. Where would be the challenge or the fun if there were no obstacles?! If it was all just smooth and compact snow? I could just walk in the park if I wanted that. 

Getting through those sastrugi fields! Getting through those whiteouts! The feeling of navigating some of the most difficult ice formations I had ever seen. Managing to get up those climbs and reach that gorgeous and incredible plateau.

A Beer at the end

Taking each of those challenges and at the end of each day reminding myself that, wow! I had got through the day! I had made great progress! I was a quarter of a degree closer to the Pole! If I could do this today, why couldn’t I manage tomorrow? I got the tent up in strong winds and there were no problems! Of course I could do it again! I managed to get through temperatures of -20C without frostbite, what’s the problem with -25C?! Yes, it was hard and I was cursing the conditions at the time, but then the sense of fulfilment that came with getting through it all… it reminded me of what I always say about a long hard bike ride: the beer at the end is always that much more rewarding and delicious the harder it is!

I had to remind myself of who I was, what I had done and what I knew deep down that I could do, no matter what the challenge was. In managing this, while I was truly exhausted by the time I got to the Pole, I was truly ecstatic and elated. One of the best feelings I have ever had. I am still feeling it and it is out of this world. 

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Ben Weber standing at the south pole

South Pole 90 Degrees South

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

Oh wow!

Wow wow wow wow wow The |South Pole . 90 degrees south!!!! I am still pinching myself! I am so exhausted. After starting skiing at 7.40am, I finally arrived at the South Pole the following day Friday 13th January at 1.30am, 18 hours later. That’s a sizeable day in anyone’s language !! I’ve made it to the Bottom of the world!

The hardest journey I have ever done in my life.
Ben Weber standing at south pole holding orb

32km after having skied 30km the previous day. My neck hurting more than anything, my body exhausted. But reaching the Pole…! The feeling of elation is incredible! 58 days. 1,260km skied in total. A journey spanning 700 miles. Through gales, mega sastrugi, whiteouts, soft snow, ice, fog, windchill below -40C…. I am so tired but I am so happy!!

Ben Weber polar explorer on skis pulling a sled
Flying back to Union Glacier on the way home

I have probably slept around 6 hours in the last 60 or so, so I won’t write much now. The day was the hardest day of the expedition but undoubtably the best and there is so much to say. It is 6am local time and I will be flown back to the base at Union Glacier at 9am, so will try get some shut eye then and write more afterwards.

Thanks for your support

I just wanted to let you know that everything is fantastic and thank you all for all your support!

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Cancer Research support
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Ben privately funded the expedition to realise a lifelong ambition to reach the South Pole. The trip aims to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. Ben had wanted to take on a personal challenge for some years.  However, the shock of losing his mother Marian to cancer in 2018 made him finally decide that the time was right to undertake a fundraising challenge. Donations can be made through Just Giving links on the website www.polarweber.com

Ben said to the press: “My mother was always so incredibly supportive of me with my journeys and expeditions. I wish I could be able to celebrate this achievement with her. Sadly, after she passed away due to cancer four years or so ago, this is not possible, though I know she would be so proud.

While I have always wanted to fulfil this dream and make it to the Pole, I really want to make this expedition mean much more than my own ambitions: I truly want to help raise funds for Cancer Research UK, to help research into diagnosing cancers before it is too late like it was with my mother. To help with treatments so people don’t have to go through so much pain like my mother. I am so grateful for any donations that people can make to my campaign for this – everything counts and can make a huge difference. “

Visit Ben’s blog site to hear Ben’s audio diary from his overnight camp and donation links to Cancer Research UK at www.polarweber.com

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Day 59: The push to the Pole

by Ben Weber, posted in expeditions, South Pole

It started when my alarm woke me up at 4am, though on thinking that I only had three more kilometres to ski than the previous day, and I wouldn’t have to worry about cooking or anything like that, I put off getting up for another hour. Still, I merged two days’ worth of snacks (all I had left) into one bag to make sure that I would have enough food to get me through the day, and gave myself a 600kcal lunch which would have been one of my evening meals (mushroom pasta) instead of a 360kcal (noodles) lunch… the pasta was so much nicer as well!

Everything was packed up and ready to go by 7.40am. I even said goodbye to all the items I had used during the expedition that had served me so well – no real equipment failures – congratulating them on their performance and thanking them for their efforts! Sanity had gone out the window a long time ago!

The first three 1hr 20m sessions of the push to the Pole went pretty well. Conditions started off cloudy and overcast though within a few hours had become perfect, with glorious blue skies and only a gentle headwind. My legs were a little tired but I felt okay. Decent pace; managing around 3kph or so, and making good distance. I didn’t feel bad. By midday I saw Matheusz’s tent in the distance.

We had talked through InReach earlier in the expedition, after I had passed him at Thiel Corner, and said that as we had started at the same time, it would be funny if we were to end up finishing at the same time, despite our separate rhythms and routines. And so it came to pass… we chatted and as Matheusz was almost ready, we decided to ski the rest of the day and finish the journey together.

A really nice way to end.

Tortuously slow progress

However, the rest of the day’s journey was far from easy. My earlier pace started to drain from my legs as more climbing started. Subtle but steady and noticeable hills. We could see some buildings of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station from 20km away but it was obvious they were higher than we were. And as we skied and got to the bottom of the climb, they disappeared and then it was just a long, slow slog, on snow that was dry, like sawdust and hard to glide through.

Sledmund becoming twice his weight yet again. Pace dropping to below 2kph. Neck starting to hurt even more and, as I had been finding for a while now, it was hard to keep looking up towards the horizon for a sustained period; the only way I could look was downwards and to the tips of my skis. Hard to look to either the left or the right. Hard to keep a good posture.

And it just went on and on. Eventually with around 12km to go, the research station buildings reappeared and we could make out how by the place looked. An extensive outpost in the middle of the white expanse. But still so far away. On and on. Even some little sastrugi. The time ticking by as 12 hours passed since leaving camp. 8pm becoming 9pm as the buildings became larger. It was made harder the way that we could not go directly to the Pole due to scientific protection zones.

We had to go to the left of the station, away from the buildings; the direction to the waypoint seemingly taking us so far away from our ultimate destination. 9pm became 10pm and it still seemed like we were no closer. The pain in my neck making everything even more draining than it should have been. The food in my snack bag nearing an end and the water in my Nalgene bottles starting to freeze; needing hot water from the thermoses to stop becoming blocks of ice.

to the bottom of the world

We could tell more than ever how we were at the bottom of the world: It was bizarre seeing how the rotation of the sun had taken it to move in front of us for the first time the entire journey, glaring into our eyes. It had always been to the north during the expedition but north was always behind us. This time, every direction was becoming north!! 11pm… 12 midnight. The sun still bright. The GPS showing just half a nautical mile… 1km to the waypoint. So close.

30 more minutes, and the entrance to the South Pole station. There was still more climbing to do, but I was effectively there.

Shortly afterwards, I entered and climbed up to the camp buildings, and saw other people. The South Pole Camp manager Ceder together with Caroline— the lady who had sped passed me the other day! — and a couple of others. Mateusz, who was unassisted in his expedition, went straight to the Pole for his photos. But I was shattered.

I needed to sit down. I needed to eat. I needed to rest my legs and my neck. The actual Pole could wait a little while longer.

Ceder took me into the camp dining tent so I could rest and there must have been 20 or more people there eating and chatting, all of whom had completed final degree expeditions. As I entered, people looked and the word spread and the entire room burst into cheers and applause. It hit me: I had done it.  A total of around 1,260km or so with all the meandering … more than 700 miles. 10 degrees of latitude. 58 days. Camping and skiing alone. Through some of the harshest distances on this planet. I had made it. I felt overwhelmed with so many people; all the noise, the friendly faces. My legs failed and I collapsed onto a chair that had been taken out for me.

A short rest and chat with some of the people there. Talking with doctors who looked at my neck and even gave me a massage. Then… both the ceremonial and the geographical poles awaited. 

I had finally done it.

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Ben Weber wearing full Antarctic expedition gear and reflective face visor

Day 58 So close now!

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

I am so close now. It was hard to sleep last night. Despite it being -30C outside, in the tent it must have been around 20C! It wasn’t possible to stay in the sleeping bag: way too hot. I ended up lying on top of it in my base layers with all the doors open to try and ventilate and cool down. At the same time, the excitement of it all; gradually approaching the Pole, was difficult to stop thinking about!

Early start to get the miles in

So as planned, I started to get up a couple of hours earlier than normal to get ready for a long day. Up around 4.30am and eventually all packed up and ready to go just after 7am. And it was a long but good day. The conditions at the start continued to be glorious but by around three hours later, they deteriorated into semi-whiteout with fog descending; though the sun was able to get through a little to give okay visibility.  It cleared up by the time I camped though. There was a little bit more of a breeze than yesterday but nothing much. I ended up looking like the abominable snowman again, the way my breath would just freeze onto me!

I just want to get to the bottom of the world.

12 hours later and time to pitch the tent again! 30km covered and a happy me! Pretty much what I wanted. I now have just over 31km to get to the Pole! So so so close, it’s unbelievable!! I spoke with ALE again tonight and there will be two flights from the Pole to Union Glacier on the 13th: one in the morning and one in the afternoon, so it would be alright to arrive in the morning if the 13th. But I just want to get there! I want to enjoy being there, at the bottom of the world!!! Getting there tomorrow evening and..  yes it will be tiring but…wow! It will be over! I will have done it!!! The weather forecast is okay: calm with sun and cloud, so the conditions should be fine… hopefully everything will be okay!!!

Photo: The Abominable Snowman part 2: more abominable and more snowman!!

Visit Ben’s blog site to hear Ben’s audio diary from his overnight camp and donation links to Cancer Research UK at www.polarweber.com

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Antarctic horizon with tent in the distance

Day 57 Perfect conditions but one more challenge awaits!

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

The conditions now on my part of the plateau are incredible. An absolutely beautiful day. -29C but you’d hardly be able to tell as skiing away, pulling the sled: soon after starting, I had to open up all the zips on my layers to make sure I didn’t overheat. Even during the breaks, I didn’t need to put on any extra layers as the time sitting down on Sledmund (poor Sledmund!!) helped me cool down!

More uphill climbing today

I still find it tiring; possibly more tiring than it should ideally be. Though yeah, after 56 days… I think I can forgive my body for being a little bit upset with me and tired! I managed 24km today; not much more than yesterday—just less than a kilometre more, with half an hour or so extra skiing: indeed, my pace today was a tiny bit slower than yesterday. At the same time I think there was a bit more uphill climbing today: the last hour or so, Sledmund became heavier and the ice was a little bit more messy, with wannabe sastrugi peeping through! This is generally a sign of a climb as the winds accelerate on the downhills, cutting more into the snow to create features like sastrugi. (Just looked at the degree profile in the route briefing document I was sent! Yes, today was pretty much ALL uphill! Makes me feel a little less bad about my efforts! Haha! Yes it was gradual… but definitely perceptible. At least tomorrow by the looks of it, the climbing should ease.)

Bump into the neighbours?

As I skied I could see another team of three people almost directly to my east. Difficult to judge distances here though I’d say they’re about a mile away. Not sure what route they are doing; most likely just the final degree as those expeditions largely start further east. Difficult to really meet them, though I can see their tent nearby. I wonder if we will eventually bump into each other. It seems a lot of expeditions have passed through this part: you can see the tracks of their sleds and skis in the snow all going towards the Pole like meandering longitudinal lines!

40 miles to go

So yes, I am now at S89 27s, which means that I have 33 more nautical miles (around 40 miles/60km) to go. So so close and truly very exciting! I keep imagining seeing the research base appearing on the horizon… but I still have a lot of skiing to do before that happens!

There also looks to be another challenge…!

Getting home

I spoke with Antarctic Steve of ALE earlier and apparently there is a flight from the Union Glacier base to Punta Arenas on 14th – weather permitting. Otherwise, the next flight is on the 20th. The problem is that my tickets home are on the 17th! This means I definitely have to get to the Pole by the 13th at the latest to be able to fly back to Union Glacier. I possibly MIGHT have to get there by the 12th… though am awaiting confirmation from the ops team about that, and will have to wait until tomorrow. There are “a lot of moving parts” apparently.

Early start tomorrow

Getting there for the end of the 12th would be a real push. 60km in two days. I’ve managed it before in my normal skiing day, though my body was much happier back then! So just in case, I am going to start out very early for a longer day tomorrow, to hopefully cut that distance in half. Then I’ll be well placed for a final push on the 12th. If they end up telling me I can arrive later, then no problem – I’d be able to take it easier on the 12th and enjoy it more. At least at the Pole I won’t have to worry about cooking or anything, as ALE have a base there where I’ll be able to relax! Wish me luck!

Photo: not sure if you will be able to see considering the low resolution of the photos sent through the satellite connection, but in the distance you should hopefully see the tent of the other expedition.

Visit Ben’s blog site to hear Ben’s audio diary from his overnight camp and donation links to Cancer Research UK at www.polarweber.com

Ben Weber fully clothed for Antarctic expedition visor and face mask

Day 56 Steady progress!

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

Hopefully, the difficulties of the last few days are behind me now. Today was… good! Cold again at -29C but I wouldn’t expect anything much warmer than that now up here on the plateau, though there was a bit of stiff headwind, with windchill down to -40C. Absolutely had to make sure that no skin was exposed to the air!

Moving more freely

From the start I could feel a difference in the snow; much more compact than it had been though still various patches of soft snow. (Am sure the soft snow over the last few days has not helped me at all as you really do feel the difference, even when there is less than a centimetre. Sledmund just becomes… reluctant to move on!) The conditions allowed me to naturally move that little bit faster and more freely, without Sledmund feeling so heavy, with an average speed of around 2.4kph, up from 2.1 yesterday and 1.9 the day before. Doesn’t sound massive but it’s a big difference over the day!

23km day

I just did 9.5 hours rather than 10-I didn’t sleep very well last night (maybe excited about being in the 89th degree!) so took a little bit too long to get out of the sleeping bag this morning! But still, I managed just over 23km (12 nautical miles), and I was definitely happy with the progress! It means I am now a quarter of the way through the degree. Just 45 more nautical miles to go…!

Abominable snowman

I got into the tent this evening looking a bit like the abominable snowman; my breath in my face mask kept on getting blown under my jacket and turning to snow inside my lower layers. A bit annoying as it melts and gets your clothes damp – never good in these temperatures! The photo shows a little but a lot of the snow had already melted by the time I took it!

Good weather forecast

The weather over the next few days looks like it will be good. Not much wind tomorrow which is wonderful! Hopefully it will stay like that for a while though my forecast doesn’t give wind forecasts for more than 24 hours.

Ear worm back in service

Ear worm! It’s been a while since I’ve had an ear worm, probably because of the frustrations!! Am definitely in a better mood as well now, which is nice. So yes, in the morning… does anyone remember The Singing Kettle! Loved them when I was little!!! Classics like Train to Glasgow and… Ya Canny Push Ya Granny Off a Bus! No idea why they popped into my head!

Visit Ben’s blog site to hear Ben’s audio diary from his overnight camp and donation links to Cancer Research UK at www.polarweber.com

Ben Weber on Antarctic ice in full polar gear

Day 55  A special thanks to you all

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

Thank you to you all, everyone who has sent me wishes, given their support, made jokes, and helped give me strength.

Last few days have been tough

Seriously. The last few days have been tough. I felt like crying a couple of times because of the stress, the strain on my body, the pains in my neck, and the feeling that I was going nowhere and just not able to get in the distances I need to.

Getting emotional

I get to read your messages at the end of the day when I download mails from Alan, who is being fantastic and passing on your comments. I really do appreciate you taking the time to write, and it really does help give me the strength to keep going when I read your words. Rather than crying from desperation, more tears to the eyes with the warmth I feel as I read your words and thoughts. Sorry… getting emotional!!

So, thank you all so much for your support and for helping me to keep going. Thank you!

Today was a good day and in 89th degree!

Today was a good but shorter day having spen d an extra 2.5hours rest in the morning after what has been a very difficult time. Weather has been fine, cold at around -40 and very light breeze. As I said a good day and not so drained as yesterday and managed 17 km and now in the 89th degree which is a huge landmark – the final degree and super happy to be here less than 60 nm or around 70 miles from the pole. The end is almost in sight, 5 or 6 days at the most and very eager to get there and not needing to ration my food supplies.

Visit Ben’s blog site to hear Ben’s audio diary from his overnight camp and donation links to Cancer Research UK at www.polarweber.com

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Antarctic plateau sun haze in sky above ice

Day 54 Another painfully slow day

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

Yeah, am going through a bit of a tough patch at the moment. Am at S88 55, which means I am five nautical miles away from the last degree; 65 nautical miles away from the Pole (at a rough guess around 75 miles). So close! Yet it really does feel so far away.

All too happy to setup the tent at the end of the day

I only managed 19km today, probably one of the lowest distances across a full day since the start of the expedition almost a couple of months ago. Really felt it as an endless struggle and I was all too happy to setup the tent at the end of the day. This was despite the near perfect conditions with the sun out shining over the plateau (see photo!) and relatively little wind.

Seeing Mateusz again

Mateusz, who I last saw at Thiel Corner, passed me—super nice guy! Was great to see him going so well, and he should arrive at the Pole pretty soon as well. Really happy for him! A lady doing a solo expedition also from Hercules Inlet, who started after both Mateusz and I also passed! She’s amazing-she’s taken only around 30 days to get this far!!! Incredible! I know I was not looking to go for speed with this expedition, but still, seeing her disappear off into the distance… yeah, it just made me feel more tired!

88th and the 89th degrees are much harder than they look

Same issues as yesterday, with Sledmund feeling heavier than he should, and just feeling drained. My neck and shoulders are definitely not helping things and I have found myself stopping more frequently again to try and stretch. According to ALE the 88th and the 89th degrees are much harder than they look: while they are relatively flat with hardly any sastrugi, the cold conditions together with the altitude issue I mentioned yesterday make it much harder. I spoke with them earlier and I might consider another day off; maybe that would help me acclimatise better and relieve the fatigue. Will see how I feel and speak with ALE again in the morning about that; bit worried about remaining food though will see what can be done.

Am sure I will get back to decent distances; just need to breathe!

Big Thanks to you all

Really great to have everyone’s support and it was so nice to read your comments on Alan’s nightly email. I really do appreciate everyone’s thoughts and wishes. They really do mean a lot to me especially during this difficult part of the journey.

Visit Ben’s blog site to hear Ben’s audio diary from his overnight camp and donation links to Cancer Research UK at www.polarweber.com

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a view from inside of the tent as the snow accumulates around it outside.

Day 53 A hard day’s work

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

Today was pretty tough. The conditions were lovely; around -25C with very little wind, and I thought as I packed up the tent and sled that I’d be able to get a good distance in. How lovely it would have been had that been the case!

Weighed down

Right from the off, Sledmund felt like he weighed as much as he did at the start of the expedition. I know I got a few days extra meals, but they’re not that heavy!! As I mentioned yesterday, a fair bit of snow came down over the last couple of days—and there was a fair amount of digging to get the tent out!—so I guess that didn’t help. Not sure about other reasons. I felt a bit breathless at the start, possibly due to the altitude: I mentioned in a post some time ago (at least I think I did! Sorry if I didn’t!!) that while the plateau is around 2,700m-2,800m above sea level on my route, the effect of the extreme latitude makes it feel closer to around 4,500m.

50 days on the move

Another factor could also simply be fatigue, considering I have been skiing for over 50 days now. Some stomach problems also didn’t help… needing to relieve myself twice after once already in the tent vestibule before leaving was really annoying! While the rest yesterday was good, the strain on the body has been immense and I think I’ll need some time to recover once this is over!

Doubts creeping in

So I just managed to ski 22km—far below the “glory days!” of 32km! It raises confidence issues again, especially while am skiing. Struggling to move forward and seeing how my pace was so much slower than it has been… Those doubts creeping into my head despite being less than 100 miles from the Pole. Do I have the strength and endurance left to manage this? What if it’s like this the rest of the way? Can I really manage? Not nice thoughts to have right now!

ETA 12th January

Worked out that I do have enough provisions to keep going at this pace and reach the Pole, which is comforting! Though that would be by the 12th January… better late than never I guess, but hopefully I’ll be able to manage to make better progress than this over the coming days.

Photo: a view from inside of the tent as the snow accumulates around it outside.

Visit Ben’s blog site to hear Ben’s audio diary from his overnight camp and donation links to Cancer Research UK at www.polarweber.com

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Antarctica white out conditions from tent

Day 52 Time to recover for the final push

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

After I sent the last blog post and prepared to get into my sleeping bag and go to sleep last night, I had some pretty bad cramp in my legs. I also woke up pretty achy this morning, so decided to take the day off to recover. Which has been nice. I have been thinking about it for a few days, and with the conditions today also not being good, now was as good a time as any! So, just relaxing, sleeping and listening to the second audio book of The Expanse series, Caliban’s War. Great series!

Fresh snow building around the tent

So not much to report really! A lot of fresh snow being blown around by the strong winds, building up around the tent, which regularly requires shifting. Not quite whiteout conditions, but pretty cloudy and foggy limiting visibility, today but they were not nice at all. Hopefully the new snow won’t slow travel down too much tomorrow. Same old! Haha!

Technical gremlins

The only thing of real annoyance, however, is that the application I use on my phone to interface with my Garmin InReach locator, and send messages to friends and family, has logged itself out, and I am unable to log back in because I have no internet connection. My iridium device is limited to minutes for sending emails and that’s it. This means that while I can still receive messages on the actual InReach, I can only send messages on it, which is through selecting one letter at a time with arrow keys… a slow and laborious process. Extremely upset with Garmin. Good job this has only happened close to the end of the journey.

Get to the Pole!

Still have my satellite phone and the Iridium Go! that I use to send these blog posts to Alan to post, so it’s not the end of the world. It’s just annoying. I want to get going and get to the Pole!

Photo: snow building up at the back of the tent as the haze hovers around the plateau

Visit Ben’s blog site to hear Ben’s audio diary from his overnight camp and donation links to Cancer Research UK at www.polarweber.com

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Ben Weber polar explorer expedition on Antarctic ice

Day 51 On to the upper plateau!

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

Another 26.5km travelled and I have reached my resupply cache! I am pretty much on the upper polar plateau now at just below 2,700m above sea level. The Pole is close to 2,800m but any climbing will be in the next degree and only be gradual.

Additional food supplies and biscuit treats

With my resupply, I now have an extra few days’ worth of food just to make sure I have enough to get to the Pole. ALE also included little Christmas treats; a couple of bear shaped biscuits with my name on! So sweet! The guys at ALE are amazing – great support! I definitely enough food now to be able to take a day off if I want as well. And if conditions tomorrow are similar to today, I’d be very tempted.

Ben Weber Antarctic polar expedition biscuit treat
Fog and clouds closed in and the wind increased

It just wasn’t nice! Okay at the start it was good, a bit of wind, cloud and sun. I was lucky for it to stay like that for a couple of hours or so. But then the fog and clouds closed in and the wind increased. I was a little worried about the wind strength and putting up the tent, but fortunately everything was alright.

Answering the call of nature

Also—I don’t know if you remember but I mentioned in one post about how I always make sure that I make a toilet in the tent vestibule, so I can relieve myself inside—while I did just that… my bowels insisted on wanting to be relieved yet again during the middle of the day. Which.. Is. Not. Pleasant. Especially in strong wind—wind chill approaching -40C— and having to work out all the layers. Again, fortunately I avoided any cold injuries but I was pretty worried!

Happy to be in the tent now for sure. The forecast isn’t great for the next few days so I will have to think about the day off and see what it’s like. Obviously, I won’t stay put the entire time the weather isn’t great, but a rest day would be nice before the final charge to the Pole!

A bit more about clothing

I talked yesterday about my mittens (I prefer them to gloves as they keep the fingers warmer), though with my main clothes, I dress relatively lightly, so as to not overheat. It’s amazing how much heat your body generates as you travel pulling the sled!

Over the last weeks, while travelling in temperatures reaching -25C (ex wind chill), I have mainly worn a thin fish net base layer. The gaps in the fabric help make it light and easy to dry as well as warm—for both upper and lower body. Then, aside from my normal underwear underneath, over that a pair of thermal shorts to help protect against frost bite with “polar thigh”. On my torso I have just been wearing a light mid-layer.

Then it’s just the outer shell: salopettes and a wind jacket. The way the salopettes come up to the chest also helps keep warmth inside. Though in the Warner temperatures I invariably have had to open up the zippers to ventilate and nut overheat. Again, I don’t want to sweat while travelling as that can be dangerous.

Please support Ben’s chosen charity Cancer Research UK https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ben-weber1

Visit Ben’s blog site to hear Ben’s audio diary from his overnight camp. https://polarweber.com/

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Polar Explorer mits and gloves

Day 50 Last of the sastrugi..?!

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

Could it be?! Could it really be..?!

Could this be the last of the sastrugi? The conditions this morning were not great. Cloudy, windy, cold. At least the terrain was good for the first few kilometres, though whatever hope that I has passed the worst of it all yesterday quickly vanished as they started to reappear and become increasingly dense and large. Just as I got to it, the clouds became thicker and it effectively became a whiteout… typical. And it cleared up just as I approached the end of it all, after around 10km. Again, typical!

Smoothing out

But after that, the sastrugi and the climbing eased off significantly and it has since been really smooth. I have heard reports from other teams that it does get a lot better from roughly where I am, so here’s hoping! I have suspicions that it I might have left the sastrugi behind! Wow!

The Pole is so close

In terms of distance covered, I managed a total of 27km, so am pretty pleased to be getting back to the distances I was reaching prior to the climbs and sastrugi fields of the 86th and 87th degree. The forecast for the next three days is, however, not good, with whiteouts, snow and wind. But if the terrain is okay… then let’s see; hopefully can keep this up. The Pole is so close!!

Position: S88 18.8271 / W082 26.5886

Total distance covered today: 27km

Actual progress: 14.3 nautical miles

Distance remaining: 101.2 nautical miles

Keeping hands and fingers warm…

I mentioned yesterday about my mittens and  I realize that I haven’t really talked much about layering. With my hands, as I say, I am particularly worried as I have had frostbite in my thumbs before and it is incredibly painful warming them up, as the blood starts flowing again and the nerves start to feel. Everybody has their own preferences for gloves and how they layer up as well. So what’s good for me isn’t necessarily great for others.

Keeping fingers in good order

While I need to keep my hands warm, if they sweat, the water will get into the mittens. For the liners, that’s not the end of the world, as they can dry quickly. If that sweat gets into the larger mittens though, then they are much harder to dry. If they don’t dry properly then the water will freeze and the mittens become less effective in keeping you hands and fingers warm. So I can’t just wear the big mittens constantly: I need to take them off if I feel my hands getting too warm.

Snug mits

But then, with the liner gloves, they can be great for a while but depending on temperatures—it was fine a -10C—I can feel my hands cooling. It’s a constant monitoring process; just to make sure of the balance. Combining the woollen mittens with my liners seems to have created a nice solution for the colder temperatures. Especially as both dry so easily and wool keeps the warmth in even when wet. At -22C with no wind, I can wear them both together, without needing the larger mittens so often. Then when it gets windy, the larger mittens fit snugly over them.

I am constantly on the lookout for more effective means, and I have several other gloves and mittens with me. Though yes, this seems to work. I also have a spare pare if larger mittens in case I am unable to dry my main pair. Better safe than sorry!

Photo: mittens mittens everywhere!

Please support Ben’s chosen charity Cancer Research UK https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ben-weber1

Visit Ben’s blog site to hear Ben’s audio diary from his overnight camp. https://polarweber.com/

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Ben Weber Antarctic expedition gas stove in tent

Day 48 A day of two halves and 88S

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

What a day! As always… tiring! A little bit colder at around -22C but with a stiff southeasterly wind, the windchill was around -34C or so. I always find days like this tough with the extra worry about making sure I don’t get any cold injuries. I ended up using my woollen mittens under my large liner mittens with a pair of comfy over-mittens for if and when my hands got a bit too cold and that worked a treat. It’s a bit colder in the tent now as well because of the clouds blocking out the sun. Miss those blue skies already!

Crossing into the 88th and 120 miles to go

But yes, the day started with me leaving my camp on the side of a sharply rising snow dune and in the middle of a mega sastrugi field, and the first 12km or so were a series of these short sharp dunes, covered with the sastrugi. It was constant! As I left the 87th degree, however, and got into the 88th (yay!!!! Less than 120 nautical miles to go and I am on the edge of the plateau, around 2,600m above sea level!), over the next 12km or so both the dunes and the sastrugi started to fade away and pretty much transformed to flat snow ahead! Could it be that I have left all that behind..?! Fingers crossed!!!

The Pole by the 9th; maybe even the 8th

So, 26.5km travelled! My best distance for a while now, and hopefully the conditions (and my body!) will allow me to sustain and build on this! I still think I can get to the Pole by the 9th; maybe even the 8th but that might be too hard. I will just go at the pace my body and the conditions allow. However, I do feel like I could do with one more rest day as I am starting to feel drained. 48 days skiing is a long time! I just want to make sure that any rest day coincides with bad weather: it would be terrible to take it on a good day only to have to travel in horrible conditions on the next.

Veered a little to the east

If you look at the map you will see I veered a little to the east: this is because I have my resupply at pretty much the same longitude that I have now reached. Still 30 nautical miles away so I veered too sharply!! So I should be heading pretty much directly south now. To the resupply, and to the Pole!

Thanks for the jokes and support

Glad to hear you are better JoJo! And as always, thank you so much to everyone for your support, your jokes, your Christmas and new year messages! It really does help me to keep going!

Photo; getting the stove ready

Photo: getting the stove ready. Need to pump the valve in the bottle, prime the stove by letting a little fuel into the cup at the bottom of it and lighting. Once it has heated up enough, you can hear the sound change to a kind of hissing, then you can open the valve again to let the fuel flow!

Ear worms! For some reason I had the Imperial March from Star Wars in my head. No idea why!

Position: S88 04.7342 / W082 35.9281

Approximate distance travelled: 485nm

Approximate distance remaining: 115nm

Please support Ben’s chosen charity Cancer Research UK https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ben-weber1

Visit Ben’s blog site to hear Ben’s audio diary from his overnight camp. https://polarweber.com/

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Audio Diary