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.
Deja Vu (Day 104)
Day 104: S77° 52' 32.34", E167° 24' 47.88"
Duration: 10 Hr
Daily distance: 25.1 Mi
Distance to go: 11.1 Mi
Temperature: -9 °C
Wind chill: -22 °C
Altitude: 197 Ft
As I type this, we're camped about 15km from our Ross Island finish line, which is less than four hours' skiing away. We'll have a massive lie-in tomorrow before setting off in the afternoon, principally as the bases here run on New Zealand time, which is 11 hours ahead of us, so if anyone's going to be there to wave us over the line and take a photo for our holiday snaps, we need to fit in with their time zone.
Antarctica, true to form, didn't make life easy or comfortable for us today, and the weather seemed to be messing* with us in a spookily adversarial fashion; luring us - wearing far too little - out of the tent with bright sunshine and a still warmth first thing, before pelting us with a blizzard barely ninety minutes later. The wind intensified just as we stopped to eat and drink at our first break, and as we sat on our sledges with our down jackets on and our backs to the gale, whirling eddies and vortices of sandy spindrift were spun up into our faces, filling our pockets and sledges and anything else left unzipped for more than a few seconds with fine, gritty snow. It calmed down before we started skiing, then revved up again at the next break, in a pattern that dogged us for most of the day.
As I mentioned yesterday, our sheer exhaustion seems to be overriding any chance of outright back-slapping glee at being so close to pulling this vast journey off (our GPS says we've clocked a cumulative 2,859km now, which is 68 back-to-back marathons dragging sledges) but team morale is definitely much improved, and the prospect of skiing a mere 15km after a big lie-in seems infinitely more manageable than another mammoth day. Interestingly, despite never having seen the view we faced today, skiing past White Island towards the giant flanks of Mount Erebus until we picked up our final (hundred-day-old!) depot, before hanging a left and heading past Castle Rock towards McMurdo Sound, the scenery felt strangely familiar after so many years of dreaming of reaching this point.
We'll start skiing tomorrow in the late afternoon UK time so don't be alarmed if the tracker doesn't budge for a while after our usual kick-off. We should finish in the evening, but it may take us a while to get online again and send a blog post back, so watch this space. I'm sure Andy, Chessie and the team in London will update the site as soon as we phone in from Ross Island, so you'll be the first to know when we're home and dry.
At the moment, the magnitude of it all hasn't really sunk in yet, though I'm excited about getting more than five hours sleep for the first time in weeks, and I suspect lying here tomorrow morning the excitement - and if I'm honest, the sheer relief - may start to finally kick in...
*This may not be the precise word Tarka used as we were shouting at each other in the blizzard, but it was hard to hear him over the wind.
Comments
# dj, February 7th 2014
From their last trackpoint they are only 2 miles around the corner from actual land. Of course their next point will probably be a straight line shortcut so they’ll only get credit for less mileage.
# Austin Duryea, February 7th 2014
Richard and everyone else the webcam is refreshing for me.
# dj, February 7th 2014
Great - now we’ve just got to get to stand in front of it long enough for it to refresh! (Andy… Anthony… Cassie)
# Andy, February 7th 2014
I can but ask….
# Richard Pierce, February 7th 2014
Ask, Andy, ask. Opened your post yet today? R
# Marielle, February 7th 2014
Congratulations for your wonderful achievements and this great human adventure you have handled so perfectly well up to now. Thanks again for sharing all these great photos and posts. Thanks for sharing your dream of exploration. I’m currently writing about a woman explorer for my memoir and your posts were great inspiration to me. I really enjoyed these nearly daily humorous posts: good for my English but mainly because so much about the main drive. Just savour the last hours before catching up with our crazy world. Just a question, have you noticed anything about global warming while at the South pole?
Many thanks again and again for being so accessible, inspiring and witty all these days. I know I’m really miles away from fully understanding what you have had to go through and endure physically as well as mentally, but, at least, I’m sure of one thing: to have a dream to fulfill, a quest to go for, no matter how big or small it is, it is just such a great way to reach happiness and self-confidence.
Simply thanks.
# Lydia, February 7th 2014
I wonder if Tarka will be moaning to Ben in that childish chant that we have al l done on our family holidays while growing up ‘Are we nearly there yet…...’ Ben replying ‘It’s just round the next corner…....’
What I would give to be at the finish line!
Can’t wait to wake up tomorrow and see the headlines!
Well done guys AWESOME!!!!
Lydia x
# Heidi, February 7th 2014
That is a sweet thought, Lydia. I believe I can just hear that conversation, too….
# CaninesCashews, February 7th 2014
So I’m a numbers guy as well as the arty guy, so a few stats while they make their sledless way…
Ben has written nearly 37,000 words in his blog posts on the expedition.
Also must mention the reclusive Tarka’s wonderful 709 word opus.
They have averaged nearly 8 and a half hours a day moving forward on the ice, covering just over 17 miles per day in an average wind chill of -25.
Now ignore almost everything above because the most extraordinary thing about this ‘camping trip’ is that you could never call any part of it average, nothing at all. This is an exceptional journey made by two remarkable men with an astonishing goal.
Nothing average about that at all.
Gav
# Phil Satoor, February 7th 2014
I think they’ll visit the Discovery hut. It’s such an iconic place in Antarctic exploration. Unless the went there on the way out, I can’t remember.
# Richard Pierce, February 7th 2014
They’d have a problem getting there, with the ice out, unless they walk through the Gap today and do it that way - without any support. R
# Phil Satoor, February 7th 2014
You mean it’s too risky. But my GE shows a white road that leads up to it. Is that passable?
# Richard Pierce, February 7th 2014
It’s a bit of a walk for two exhausted men. It would be great if they did go, because the history of the hut is rich. R
# dj, February 7th 2014
Richard… there’s so many threads going on I can’t keep up so I’ll start fresh. Re the web cam location. Refresh your link again and see if I’ve got it where you want it please.
# Richard Pierce, February 7th 2014
I think I have refreshed, and it needs to be at the other end of that side of the roof. Sorry if I’m not clear - spatial perception etc is not one of my strengths. And what I’m really indicating is where they should stand, not whee the webcam is. If anything, the cam is on the most left-hand corner of the buolding facing the one with your icon on it.
R
# dj, February 7th 2014
Richard… Ok, I think I’ve got it now. It doesn’t look too out of the way for the guys to stand in front of… If they will do it.
# Richard Pierce, February 7th 2014
Perfetto.
Just had to replenish supplies.
R
# Chris Anderson, February 7th 2014
Congratulations, gentlemen. I’ve read your post from the very beginning and am going to miss them greatly. You both have been quite the inspiration. I do believe Robert and Earnest would be proud.
# Dave, February 7th 2014
I feel like a drum has been rolling for the past several hours and that, somehow, “the moment” will last several days?
Why did they pitch their tent so far from the base? What will they do tomorrow? Will they just wait there for the plane?
While the webcam would be fun, I hope we’ll get better-quality images and video from base personnel.
# Austin Duryea, February 7th 2014
It comes down to this
# Lydia, February 7th 2014
Less than 1km to go - hope you all have your corks ready to pop!!
YiiiiiiiiiyyyyyyyyHaaaaaarrrrrrrr
Go Boys into those History books you go!!
Lydia x
# Heidi, February 7th 2014
For those not on Twitter, here is a musical suggestion that ScottBase suggested as a soundtrack: http://bondstreetbridge.bandcamp.com/
Listening right now.
# Intrepid, February 7th 2014
:) Nice!