Tag: South Pole

Steaming feet in tent Antarctica expedition

Day 15 Onwards, southwards and a 20km day!

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

Putting the pain aside, today was pretty decent. Windy: strong south westerlies so pretty much going into my face. After the first hour of blanket cloud cover it became perfectly clear. The first hour was spent thinking… is it really going to clear? No whiteout today? Really?!?! So it was nice when it cleared up.

I am not a fan of strong winds. Especially headwinds. However it is good when it’s clear (within reason!!) as you can see the spindrift blowing across the surface of the snow. Nice for navigating together with your shadow and compass. So, 20km in these conditions, and it feels like close to half way through the 81st degree already after the labour of 80 degrees south!

steamy feet

I was a bit sweaty by the time I camped though, which isn’t good. I need to be careful with this. If clothes get wet because of sweat then you get colder quicker once you stop moving. In the mantra of my polar instructors: if you sweat, you die! At least when the sun is out here it’s warmer in the tent, which helps dry things out afterwards, but still.

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Antarctic explorer on Antarctic ice

Day 14 Another whiteout and Cottage Pie for diner

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

18km

It started off okay, with stiff winds and a bit cloudy. However within an hour, the Antarctic clouds descended and it was just skiing through a whiteout from then on. Tough but okay progress, another 18km down.  Unfortunately though… and I am so sorry to come back to this… the pain in my neck and shoulders is becoming… well, a pain in the neck! (Again am sorry if I made that joke before… I probably have but ah well, I’m all by myself so you’ll have to forgive me!!) It’s all a bit demoralising. While I try to tolerate it and put up with it, it’s just hard having to be careful with everything I do lest I cause a spasm of pain to ripple through me. Tiring!

cottage pie for diner

So, a short post today. Have just eaten and taken a painkiller which has helped a little. A nice cottage pie for dinner! Just need to sort out the bedding and will try get some sleep. Sounds like the wind is picking up and it’s snowing again, just to make tomorrow even tougher! I am sure looking down at my compass which is on a harness mount in front of me isn’t helping the neck! Also, in whiteouts really need to pay attention to the tips of the skis, in case coming up to any sastrugi or other obstacles that only become visible when you hit them!

wind tapes on ski poles

In today’s image the wind tapes on ben’s ski poles are blowing horizontal giving an indication of Antarctic wind strength.

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Sled and ski poles in the Antarctic snow

Day 13 81 degrees South and a record 20km day.

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

A hard but rewarding day. This is really a nice landmark to reach! I started off at S80 degrees, and had been slow and literally tortured progress. Sometimes it has just been so hard and undermining the confidence with the pain and the enforced rest days. The neck pain remains with the number of painkillers left in the kit going down quite a lot! I had to take one tonight; would have liked to have taken two but have to ration myself. But anyway, back to the point… the landmark! Feels really great to make it this far. I have to travel 10 degrees in total, so there is plenty more to do. The first degree is so hard with all the climbing up from sea level and avoiding all the crevasse fields. It was good to do it today with another personal record and a daily distance of 20km travelled! Super happy with that. Hopefully will be able to really start speeding up over the next degrees and get those miles in.

Today started off well. I did more than 3km in the first hour but then it clouded over and it seemed to get steeper. It was hard to see all the fresh snow patches. I called the snow puddles yesterday but that doesn’t do them justice. Today it was more like snow swamp!! These conditions slowed everything down. In some of the patches I would sink down at least a foot into the snow even with the skis on. Then dragging the sled through that. Oh, and the patches were so deep they would often hide the hardened compact sastrugi beneath. I’d end up running into them, losing balance and taking the occasional tumble! Fun!

Sir sledmond hillary

A word about Sir Sledmund Hillary the Sled! A sturdy steed! He’s 210cm long and around 50cm wide in the middle and 40cm deep. As a result he has a lot of carrying capacity. Without anything in, he’s 9kg or so. At the start of this journey, including the weight of my daily water supplies (I melt snow every day for water) and gas, it was around 135kg. Sir Sledmond definitely needs to go on a diet! I guess around 13 days have gone so he’s probably lost around 17kg or so, which helps. The sled is designed to effectively float over the snow patches… which I guess it does, but it’s still tough!! Sledmund has been around the world already! Made by Icetrek in Australia, I picked him up in Svalbard. Of course, he came back with me to Scotland before flying over to Chile and now Antarctica. A well-travelled Sled! Hopefully we’ll make it to the Pole together… it’s a love hate relationship really. Sometimes I am cursing him and the way I have to really push myself to pull him over obstacles. However at the end of the day he’s a loyal Sled! Arise, Sir Sledmund!

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sled in snow Antarctica with Three Sails Mountains in distance

Day 11 Storms, Sastrugi, Three Sails Mountains and stunning views!

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

14.5km/ 9miles

Last night… wow! That was a terrific storm. As expected, it reached its strongest from around 3-5am and it really was strong. Very happy with the tent – always felt very stable and no problems at all. I have doubled up the guy lines and the tent poles to increase its strength, and yup, all very steady in the midst of the tumult!

The winds did take some time to die down though. Normally I would start getting out my sleeping bag at around 7.30am but there was no point this morning as it was still way too bad. By midday they had eased a little; enough for me to start packing up but still they were strong enough to make life very hard putting the tent away! As I put all the bags into the sled the spindrift would get blown into my face making it hard to see, and into the sled, giving more unnecessary weight to it! By 1.15pm though I was ready to go.

The conditions from then on though continued to improve. Visibility was great so I could see all the sastrugi ahead of me and the winds calmed down further to, within a few hours, effectively just a gentle breeze. Still wind chill of -35C or so apparently though!! There was some uphill for the last few miles, but nothing very steep. The main concern, as it had been for the last week or so, was my neck. Definitely improving, though still uncomfortable. I still have to keep rotating and stretching it, and occasionally when I turn it to stretch I feel a wave of agony that forces an involuntary cry from my mouth… but it’s getting better. The worst is when I camp – maybe because am not moving it so much and it becomes stiffer. But fine… it’s tolerable!

Amazing views

The view from where I am camping tonight is incredible. I can see the mountains of the Horseshoe Valley and the Three Sails that I passed back in the distance… spectacular! I imagine this is the last night I will see them as I will get further away and there will only be flat white snow ahead of me and in every direction. The next mountains will be the Thiel Mountains in around 25 days… if all goes well. Until then… nothing!

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anarctic gales bow across snow and ice

Day 10 Wind like an express train

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

Nothing much happened today: just an Antarctic storm that started blowing up from around midnight last night. It was all so calm as I setup the tent yesterday evening but the storm warning I received from ALE Antarctic Logistics Expeditions was accurate and it was good that I tightened all the guys and made sure the tent was well pitched.

The winds have been terrific! While the sun has been out, giving a deceptive brightness and warmth to the tent, outside has been ferocious – difficult to really show in a static photograph. It has been like an express train passing the tent constantly at full speed. So, no progress. My mobility has been affected by my neck, and putting the tent up and down in winds like this would be hard even at full fitness, it would have been very hard in my current state. I understand several other teams here also took the day off today.

But at least, it has given more time for my neck to recover and this is a definite positive. I didn’t feel the need to take any painkillers today and while this has meant feeling uncomfortable and with very tight shoulders, I am starting to feel my mobility returning. Doing stretching exercises and massages in my neck in the tent is helping with this as well.

The winds are expected to reach their peak strength at around 3am, so hopefully will get at least half a day in tomorrow. Will be good (and essential!!) to get out again.

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Ben Weber relaxing in tent antarctica

Day 9 A slow and painful 10k

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

10k/6.2miles

But at least it is another Antarctic 10km done!! Today was always intended to be a shorter day considering the pains over the last few days. I wanted to see how I’d be able to get on with the neck and how the neck would react to more exertion. At the same time, I didn’t want to overdo it and hurt my muscles even more than they have been.

So, after speaking one more time with the doctor in the morning, I set out at around midday. Complete whiteout for the most part – low cloud meant that only very diffuse light was getting through making it hard to see the obstacles (sastrugi!!) in my path. Fortunately, the sastrugi seem to have eased somewhat; they are smaller than earlier and less prevalent, which is a relief. It still meant also navigating by the compass and using the wind. I am currently wanting to go south southeast and the wind is coming from the southwest, so just keeping the wind coming across from my right helps keep me with the right heading. The cloud also eased a bit towards the end of the day which helped a bit.

Progress was certainly slow. I had to stop every couple of hundred metres or so to try rotating my head around, up and left and down and right; repeat a few times and reverse. It did kind of help. It meant that by the time I did stop to camp at around 6pm I wasn’t in agony this time… which was a welcome relief. Still painful, just not quite as bad!

Storm on its way

So, I have had my evening call with the people at base. I need to come in further east as am quite near a crevasse field to my southwest, but am just about okay where I am. There is also meant to be a storm coming in over next couple of days, with winds getting up to around 100kph. Good test for the tent! And maybe a bit more time for the muscles to recover as it would be dangerous to ski in such conditions!

After note: And now, at 11pm, the sun is bright and high in the sky, making the tent feel so warm; like a greenhouse! Just the wind blowing though it’s easy to forget how it’s -20c outside at the moment!!

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cooking equipment inside expedition tent Antarctica Ben Weber

Day 8 Another tent day

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

It’s definitely frustrating. Another day in the tent. It’s difficult not to think of the time lost and the distance that would have liked to have covered today. The weather has been windy but nothing worse than normal. There has been pretty decent visibility. So, it would have been a good day for skiing. But, the most important is to feel better and allow the muscles time to recover. This is a long expedition and it makes no sense to ruin chances of success by hurting myself at the start and doing too much. This, specially considering the pain I was experiencing. Been sometime since felt something quite like that!

So today has just been spent listening to an audio book (Dune – loved the film, and it’s great listening to the book. Very glad I got it plus Dune Messiah and Children of Dune… and all the nine books of The Expanse series!!) and relaxing. Plus taking the medicines that have in my med kit; the anti inflammatories and pain killers, plus another medicine to protect against some of the negative effects of the ibuprofen. Am definitely feeling an improvement, though I am conscious that I felt this by the end of the other rest day. I will have to be careful when I get back on my skis again tomorrow as I don’t want this to keep repeating.

At least in the tent, with the sun shining outside 24h per day, it is generally quite warm and comfortable. I have also been able to use the solar panel inside the tent to recharge batteries. Plus again, limited food rations considering that not exerting myself!! (Difficult not to feel hungry though!) but still a nice big portion of porridge in the morning and chicken and rice for dinner. Yum!

As I say, in planning for this journey, it was anticipated that some days would have to be spent in the tent. Maybe not quite so soon, but that’s fine. I still have time in reserve. I will hopefully head out again tomorrow though will speak with the doctors and team at base first. If I do, I will try not to push myself too much and aggravate this further. Just ease myself back into it and make sure am comfortable before moving on to greater distances.

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expedition food in tant in antarctica

Day 7 Up on my skis again and again… not

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

15k/9.3miles

So, it was a mixed day today. 15km covered and I felt pretty decent after the rest day yesterday. The pain in neck had subsided; uncomfortable but not bad. Great conditions at the start with a gentle breeze and clear skies. Perfect! Up and all packed up and ready to go by around 10am.

The omnipresent sastrugi was there of course just as you can’t have life too easy here. Really is endless! And Sir Sledmund Hillary has a bit of an issue with them as it’s really hard to pull his bulk over them, and if the sled comes to a large sastrugi at the wrong angle, it basically gets stuck. I have to look for ways around or just use all my strength to get the sled over them.

Looking for ways around the sastrugi becomes harder in whiteouts when you literally cannot see the sastrugi until you are right on top of them. And by around 1pm it had all clouded over and was pretty much whiteout conditions. Fortunately, this seemed to coincide with an easing in the frequency of the sastrugi, but still… not easy.

The last couple of hours I started to feel the pain returning a bit to my neck. Not too bad, enough to continue. But by the time I did camp, when I stopped, the pain suddenly became quite excruciating again when I turned my head from left to right. Frustrating and painful to say the least.

I managed to setup the tent and everything alright, but it was a bit of a tortuous process, and called base camp for my daily scheduled call. Discussed with the expedition manager and the doctor there and we agreed that best taking another rest day and more meds. Most important is for this to get better then get more distance out of the way. I still have plenty of food and supplies so it should be alright. Just a bit of a pain the neck really! hehe!

So, had a nice beef hotpot tonight, some crackers, cookies and a hot chocolate. Time to get ready for bed! Have a good night!

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tent camped in Antarctic snow

Day 5 A pain in the neck!

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

10k/6.2miles

Today (day 5, but the fourth full day!) was tough. The pain in my neck from yesterday had only been temporarily alleviated by the painkillers, and while it was still much better in the morning as I got up, I could definitely feel it. I wanted to get going though and hoped that I’d be able to manage. Hummm! It was a slow and painful day, and I just did 7 hours instead of my 8.25hours on the previous day, and even worse, I only managed 10km. I must have looked like I was practicing yoga in the ice as I needed to stop every few minutes to try and stretched, turn my head from left to right and up and down… definitely not ideal!

I spoke with the doctor at the Union Glacier base and we think it’s muscular: one possibility is that it is a trapped nerve but I don’t have all the symptoms for that. Also, I discovered that I had my harness so that it was too loose around the waist and too tight on the shoulders; which definitely didn’t help. I adjusted that half way through the day, though a bit late to notice any difference. Decided that best to take a stronger painkiller tonight and have a rest day tomorrow, to allow the muscles to recover… hopefully will work. Not ideal, but I have the rest days planned for.

The slow progress was compounded by the terrain and the very strong wind. Tough conditions!! There were just endless sastrugi fields; non-stop!! And pulling Sir Sledmund the Sled through all of that is not easy even without the pain in the neck! The winds just didn’t help, though at least visibility was great and I have an amazing view of the mountains of Horseshoe Valley and the Three Sails from where I camp. Could be worse!

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sled and ski poles on Antarctic ice

Day 4 First steep climb to 900m

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

Today was a day of -25 degrees, blue skies, some light headwinds and 16k/10miles travelled.

Slowly does it! It has been great to get up the first steep climb up from Hercules Inlet – I am around 900m altitude now and it will stay like this for a while which will be nice. 15km travelled yesterday and another 16km today… slowly increasing!

It’s not easy though – the terrain is anything but flat. The sastrugi are everywhere and every time I go over them I can feel the weight of the sled biting into me. I have reached a nice landmark though – a series of nunataks called the Three Sails are right in front of me and from here I start to make my way slightly southeastwards to 80 degrees west. The curved route until now has been to avoid major crevasse fields which would not be pleasant to go through!

Hopefully will be able to increase speed further, though I have to be careful. As I travelled today started to develop a bit of a neck ache which got very bad by the time I camped. It was nice to have a couple of iboprofin for some pain relief though hopefully this doesn’t get worse as I ski. I imagine the weight of the sled is not helping!!! Anyway, hope everyone is well!

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Day 2 First full day on the ice

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

Distance travelled 12km/7.5miles

17th November. Today has been all uphill and slow, but steady! Could see the wall of the glacier I had to ski up ahead of me as I packed up tent to leave. Set off at 10.15. But for the most part while it was tiring, I didn’t feel too bad. At one point the wind had blown away all snow cover so it was just over ice which made it very tricky, but fortunately that only lasted a couple of hundred metres or so.

Visibility deteriorated in the afternoon as cloud cover came in and a bit of snow started. Am finding my compass very unresponsive due to the high latitude, and the GPS can be a bit slow as it is harder for it to get the satellites to pinpoint the location, but just about managing! Have now eaten and about to go to bed; will be good to get some sleep but happy to have reached 80 degrees south!

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Long Road South

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

57 N to 90 S

The long journey south starts here at Inverness Airport. 57 degrees North to 90 degrees South. Ben will travel to London and then onto to Punta Arenas, Chile and on 10th fly to Union Glacier base in Antarctica.

If the conditions are good, on 11 November he will fly to Hercules Inlet on the Antarctic coast, 702 miles (1,130km) away from the Pole.

Ben lost his mother to cancer and is raising funds and awareness of the work carried out by Cancer Research UK. Please donate below.

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Hard Yards

by alanpolar, posted in South Pole

The clock ticks towards my departure to Antarctica. There have been some fun hours spent in the local woods here in Carrbridge in the Cairngorms National Park. Dragging my four friends around the woods has raised some eyebrows and conversations with dog walkers, bikers and runners. #PolarWeber

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