Tracking
the Journey

  • 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.

Back in the Saddle (Day 71)

Posted January 3rd 2014,
by Ben Saunders

Category: Expedition, The Return Journey

Day 71: S88° 03' 14.04", E159° 10' 0.54"

Duration: 4 Hr

Daily distance: 9 Mi

Distance to go: 763.7 Mi

Temperature: -20 °C

Wind chill: -30 °C

Altitude: 10066 Ft

A modest day for us today (we slept for ten hours and skied for four hours after a pretty lazy start) and a correspondingly short update this evening as I'm on snow-melting and cooking duty.

Only now, after a lot of sleep and a lot of food, are we starting to realise quite how depleted we were a few days ago. It's still pretty fresh outside (-30 degrees C. windchill all day today) but our ability to generate heat and to carry out basic tasks outside in thin gloves (like zipping up salopettes after venturing out for a poo with a view) has increased dramatically, and I woke up warm this morning instead of feeling chilled and miserable.

Interestingly, Tarka and I have both gone from being almost unable to hold a train of thought, other than willing ourselves to carry on (and being haunted by food fantasies and cravings) to being able to daydream away the four hours we travelled today in relative happiness.

We'll do a full day tomorrow and should finish slap bang at the last depot we left, which is 21 miles (34km) away from where we're camped this evening. We were tantalisingly close to reaching it before we called for the resupply, but the more we reflect on things, the more I'm convinced the decision was the right and responsible thing to do, and even if we'd reached it on the verge of collapse, I'm not sure we'd have recovered at all before starting our descent of the Beardmore, a 180km stretch of technical, crevassed glacier where we have almost no chance of being reached by aircraft if we'd got into trouble.

We'll pick up our Pilot at the depot (our satellite antenna that allows to get online at far higher speeds than the phone we're using at the moment*) so we'll be able to read and respond to some of you then, but I know we received an overwhelming number of comments yesterday, and Tarka and I are really grateful for the support you're giving us.

You'll be glad to hear his thumbs are on the mend, and we're indebted to our doctor, Rob Conway, for his advice. A special mention also goes to Tony Haile for the best video message yet (Andy, my expedition manager, asked lots of friends and family to film short messages of support and we have them on the Ultrabook here, password-protected so Andy can drip-feed us motivation as and when we need it).

*To give you an idea of the difference, the heavily-compressed photos we're sending back by phone take about 25 minutes each to upload. In contrast, the Pilot sends a high-resolution photo in about a minute, and a 60-second HD video takes about six or seven minutes. We'll send a video back in the next few days...

Comments

# Paul Bower (Downe Arms hotel), January 4th 2014

Well done, keep focused you are now on the return journey, the best way to view it. You have a big following here, keep it up!

# Norman, January 4th 2014

I have been following your logs intensively since before you started the journey. It is, of course, easy for me to have an opinion with the hot Spanish sun shining down over my shoulder, but I must say that I am so impressed with you guys and your tremendous effort. May your God guide and protect you safely on your homeward journey.

# Janet Stanley, January 4th 2014

Ben & Tarka,sooooo pleased to see this picture of you, it really gave my heart a lift. I must admit I was worried when a blog wasn’t posted also the mileage was down but to my mind this was very sensible in the situation you were in, gradually does it or rather pace yourself! Please take care.

# Chris Williams, January 4th 2014

Brilliant job gentlemen.  There has been absolutely nothing that in my mind would detract from the Herculean effort you gave both undertaken.  Bravo and Godspeed!

# Chris Holmes, January 4th 2014

So disappointed I only learned of your expedition after you had started your return leg but have been following your progress in awe.

Your journey doesn’t become any less inspirational just because you made the correct decision in unimaginable circumstances.

Wishing you the best of luck for the remainder of your trek!

# rod pattinson, January 4th 2014

well done keep going storms flooding in uk still following

# Dave, January 4th 2014

I’m sure I’m not the only one encouraged by the hopeful tone.  Step-by-step, depot-by-depot you’ll make it.  Good luck on the Beardmore and thanks for taking time to share your stories and feelings while meeting all challenges.

# Phil B, January 4th 2014

Just been catching up with yesterday’s blog entry. So pleased to see that you made the right decision. It must be amazing to feel what difference a bit of extra food can make and a huge insight into what mental perils the Scott and Shackleton parties would have faced. There’s enough people that have already done the math to show that you just physically have to have a certain amount each day to do the task you set yourselves. Getting back to Cape Evans is your task and it’ll be a huge success even if not quite in the way you originally hoped. Stay safe.

# Sanna, January 4th 2014

Greetings from the other end of the world!
It ´s not an easy trip to do!
You are fiting from you life every day!
Every Day!
Everybody here in this cold and dark country knows that!
Stay safe.
Sanna, still reading

# Darren Moore, January 4th 2014

Ben, Tarka,  You guys are absolute machines, the fact you had to call in for some food takes nothing at all away from this amazing journey…  A Tour de France is always won with the winner having at least one or two bad days… Really pleased you’re both back to full steam… the bike boys in London are so proud of what you’re both doing…

Almost there now…
Best, Darren

# Sabine, January 4th 2014

Léonie se demande ce que vous mangez tous les jours ? Elle vous félicite car vous êtes sur le chemin du retour et vous êtes très courageux ! Good Luck ...
Gros bisous
Sabine, Clémentine et Léonie

Commenting is not available for this entry.
All entries