Tracking
the Journey
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Distance to go:
0 Mi
Distance
Ben and Tarka will cover 1800 miles starting from Scott's Terra Nova Hut at the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole and back to the coast again. That's equivalent to 69 back-to-back marathons hauling up to 200kg each (the weight of roughly two adult men) of kit and supplies necessary to survive.
Distances here are shown in statute miles.
A Very Long Walk (Day 97)
Day 97: S80° 12' 34.67", E168° 34' 30.36"
Duration: 9 Hr 30 Min
Daily distance: 24.2 Mi
Distance to go: 198.5 Mi
Temperature: -12 °C
Wind chill: -17 °C
Altitude: 197 Ft
I don't have an awful lot to tell you today, as we spent all of it battling into a full-blown, emulsion-thick whiteout, so we didn't see a single thing. We lost our old tracks within the first half hour, we both have splitting headaches from peering into the gloom as we navigated, unable to focus on anything, and shoulders and necks knotted into spasm from hunching over our compass bracket (that straps around our chests to leave our hands free for ski poles). We managed to clock 39km, which we're pleased with, and which means we're still on track to hit our depots and make it back to Ross Island on schedule.
One thing we are excited about is that Andy informed us on our evening check-in satellite phone call that we appear to have become the longest man-hauling (i.e. human-powered, sledge-dragging) polar expedition in history, by more than 335km.
Lastly, in today's gloomy weather there was nothing that inspired me to take a photograph. "Take one in the tent," said Andy, "People love that. Even a food bag or something." So that's what you've got: a still-life taken from the position of my head. As you can see, it's Thai chicken curry tonight (we peeled off the food bag labels in Chile to save weight) and as I'm not cooking, I'm in charge of overseeing battery charging from the solar panels.
Comments
# Leigh, January 30th 2014
Guys, both of you are an inspiration. What you’re doing is barely imaginable to most of us. And to boot, you’re still entertaining even when you’re clearly bored stupid. You’re both so close - I’m getting very excited for you now! (Warm) hugs from Mexico.
# Willie Hannah, January 30th 2014
Ben and Tarka, sub 200, HOOFING!!!!!. A fantastic achievement, setting records now with every step that you take. Lots of very esteemed commentators have already said lot’s so just thought I would add my congratulations and best wishes. Don’t take your eyes of the ball, still a long way to go, be safe, be strong. Regards, Willie
# Janet Stanley, January 30th 2014
Great mileage again guys & congrats on the record! Thank you for posting your wonderful poem on here Richard as I tried reading it on my IPad & it kept dying so much appreciated :)
Stay safe guys :)
# Richard Pierce, January 30th 2014
Thank you, Janet, :-) R
# Juno Kwak, January 30th 2014
Dear Ben & Tarka,
I’ve been following your journey since you guys started, and it’s been such an inspiration.
You are almost there! And congratulations on setting the record for the longest man-hauling polar expedition. I pray for your safe journey until the very last step.
Yours truly,
Juno
# AlisonP, January 30th 2014
Stupendous effort and achievement walking into the history books! And now you have less than 200 miles to go. I continue to be amazed and stunned at your strength and determination no matter what the adversity. How you two manage to get up each day and endure what you do for nine hours on the snow (and then everything else involved in preparing for that) is amazing and inspirational for me. Yesterday I was hiking up my local “mountain”, a mere (but beautiful) 2500 feet from sea to the peak, and I was tiring near the top. I thought of you two and the conditions you were walking in and it inspired me to push harder and stop whining inside!
I surely hope, and I assume that others do as well, that after you are done with this part of the journey, you will continue to blog about the next part of the journey—what it is like to have completed what you set out to do, and how your firsts are (e.g., first real food, first shower, first sit-down loo!, first hugs with your loved ones, first restaurant meal, first good sleep, so many more). It has been so amazing and wonderful to hear of your adventures and thoughts and feelings every day,and to revel in how beautifully and vulnerably you write. Please keep writing!
And when that book is out (we can hope!) and you are on book tour in San Francisco, my husband and I will be happy to host you in our home!
# Phil Satoor, January 30th 2014
Yes, I would certainly be interested to read a continuation blog, but Alison, are you really sure you want full details of their first sit-down loo?!!
# Heidi, January 31st 2014
I hope the San Francisco tour includes a stop down in Southern California, too! And I agree with Phil Satoor….
# AlisonP, January 31st 2014
I only included the comment about the sit-down because that is something that Ben referred to in one of his blogs and said he was very much looking forward to it :-)
# Andrea, January 30th 2014
We are very sorry for the headaches and spasms, there is a must to allways hold the chin in the chest, for keeping the neck stretched so as to prevent the cervical contractures (they descends down at shoulders) as the kinetotheray would explain.
# Richard Pierce, January 30th 2014
The boys are now at 79.52S. Will they push on to 79.51, where Scott’s final camp was?
SEARCH PARTY, 1912
flames in the wind
a mirage of warmth
across the ice
an illusion of safety
we found the tent
when we had given up searching
only the very top remained
a hidden monument
to those we had hoped
were still alive
hope is left wanting
in this climate of reality
we had to dig
to uncover them
and the horror on his face
when death had fetched him
and dig again
to bury them where they lay
a cairn over a cairn
a cross in a white desert
wooden bars above
their final prison
and turned from them
to march north
left their bodies to flatten
under unremitting snows
R
# Rebecca, January 30th 2014
The map marker now says 79° 51, so they are there, indeed, and I am glad. Even with all traced of the final camp buried so far below, it’s a fitting tribute to spend a night in that terrible place, then wake in the morning, pack camp, and push on in the steps that Scott’s party weren’t able to make.
# Andy, January 30th 2014
Hi Richard and Rebecca
We were under the impression that Scott’s final camp was at S79º40 E169º and One Ton Depot was located at S79 28’53"E169 22’4”(Coordinates of One Ton Depot copied from Charles Wright’s map). I believe Scott never recorded his final position so we will never know the exact position sadly. Please do correct me if you have better information.
Andy
# Andrea, January 30th 2014
And the nature’s virtue from there, when they have could no more match her so the spirit has dissipated there, treats them gently.
# Richard Pierce, January 30th 2014
Andy, Rebecca,
I’ve just gone back to the books I have and the most orecise reference I can find is in Crane’s Scot bio, where he quotes the note from Atkinson which actually says 79.51S (nothing more). I’m not sure if anyone did make an exact notation. I’d be really interested in where yours came from. Sorry if I’ve been misleading people with my 79.51; I got that from Worst Journey, I think.
R
# Jarda, January 30th 2014
Rebecca,
it must be somewhat uncomfortable feeling to spend the night at this place (where was Scott’s grave). Bad feelings from this place were well expressed in a book of Reinhold Messner (about his journey with Arved Fuchs)...
# Andy, January 30th 2014
Richard,
You are not being misleading at all and I am more than likely wrong! We were working off a location where a memorial service for Scott was planned several years ago and I know a fair amount of work went into trying to narrow down the exact position. It is a shame we do not have an exact position.
Andy
# Richard Pierce, January 30th 2014
ANdy,
You’re very kind.
I’ve just gone back to all the piles of papers I accumulated when researching my novel. Amongst them is a paper by Lester Chaplow who did a piece on where Scott’s body might be in 1999. He, too, uses the 79.50 reference from Atkinson.
I’ve also got a transcript of Frederick Hooper’s diary, kindly provided to me by the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch. Hooper was a part of the search party that found the tent, but, frustratingly, there’s no geographic reference at all in there.
We’ll just have to setlle for there or thereabouts.
BTW, assuming the boys complete on schedule, when are they due back in the UK?
R
# Andy, January 30th 2014
Richard I’ll happily defer to your expertise and research. They will pass S79 50 in the first hour skiing tomorrow morning.
We will be announcing return plans to the UK once they have safely finished this incredible journey and have be picked up in McMurdo and flown back to Chile. Watch this space..
As always, that you for your (and everybody following the expedition!) support. It means a huge amount to Ben and Tarka.
# Intrepid, January 31st 2014
IMO, it is well enough to make the journey of completion. Intention is more powerful than the need for finding the exact resting place when it is actually in a state of drift. A tribute to all those whose lives froze in time, with respect and prayers; a symbolic heartbeat of hope which began as a dream and flourishes now through the efforts of Ben and Tarka.
# Richard Pierce, January 31st 2014
Andy, thanks for being so communicative. Much appreciated. I just want the boys’ autographs and want them to have copies of my book.
Intrepid, you are absolutely right. This is about B&T actually completing the journey that was never finished. And we can agree on the fact that they’re treading new ground once they pass 79.40S. Remembrance can pass in a heartbeat. I don’t want them to stop and kneel. I just want them to know, that once they pass that point, they are forging new history. ANd I am with them every step of the way, and wish I was there with them (and bearing in mind I’m wearing 4 layers in my house at the moment, I’d be sponsored by Michelin not Land Rover).
R
# Intrepid, January 31st 2014
@ Richard
And I would love to be there also!! I’d accept offers from any sponsor who categorically does more good than harm, and in particular, I’d proudly wear the emblem of any group actively involved in the audacious work of the Commons. Daren’t I say that where I am at the moment, I ran out of the house yesterday barefoot. I’d layer up in a heartbeat to be in Antarctica .
# jan, January 30th 2014
My goodness how you inspire so many people. Keep safe on later stages of your fantastic journey respect from us.
# Ann L., January 30th 2014
Dear Ben and Tarka,
If all I had to go on were the reports of your daily mileage for the past couple of weeks I would think that you were having a grand time down there, skiing under perfect conditions, perhaps on a slight downhill, and with nearly weightless sledges. Of course, we all know how far wrong I would be. Thanks for taking us all along with you. It has been one heck of a ride.
By the way, feel free to make all the snide and snarky responses you like to my comments. At this point anger is probably more useful than complacency.
Wishing you a good rest tonight and a clear sky tomorrow.
# Alastair Humphreys, January 30th 2014
In the style of Crocodile Dundee…
“That’s not a very long walk”
“This is a very long walk: (UK to Istanbul)”
Cred points to the support team - the unsung heroes of all this…
# TEells, January 31st 2014
It’s so good to see you two so far on the Ross Ice Shelf on the map! You’ve had several days of no grab-ass crevasses to worry about - I know that feels so good! Sorry it doesn’t quite make up for all the white out days. But fairly soon you should see a penguin, and then a seal. Soon you’ll be able to get down on your knees and kiss real earth - the dirt kind!
Say, have you ever wondered where all the water on this planet came from? It must have been quite a meteor! Probably not a fire ball. HA!
I really hope the sky is clear on your last sledge day. That would be so fine!
Prayers and Blessings for your strength and safety,
- Tim
# Sheila England, January 31st 2014
Love the photos, and the blog. Carry on!
& be well. We are all watching.
Cheers!
Sheila