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
# Helena, February 6th 2014
Great! Can´t wait to see you back safe at home. Awesome job, I am so proud of you :D :D
# Marina Kleinwort, February 6th 2014
B & T.
So Antarctica throws one last obstacle in your way… hope the storm passes and allows you to finish those final kms tonight. Must be frustrating to be so near yet so far! Can’t wait to get the party started this end! I also hope the BBC will pick this up as your achievement and sheer bloody-mindedness is to be gazed at in awe. You have no doubt left more than a part of yourselves on that brutal ice continent, but your imprint is no doubt very deep and has impact beyond anything I could begin to articulate. You will inspire generations to come on many levels. Be very proud. I will start obsessively checking my phone again later on. Maybe your delay will allow me time to get home to actually watch the feed live. NO RISKS TODAY PLEASE! The champagne will wait another day if necessary! What an incredible journey you guys have also taken us, the armchair viewer on. It has been quite a ride from here too and one I would not have missed for the world.
# Heidi, February 6th 2014
Dear Gentlemen, to again paraphrase your own words, be safe, be well.
# Richard Pierce, February 6th 2014
While we wait then, dear Ben and Tarka, here are lines I put into Cherry-Harrard’s head as he stands on Observation Hill waiting for the Polar Party:
Observation Hill, 1913
Immaterial sentinel
At first it seemed,
A bare mound of lava
Jilted by the horizon’s volcano,
A place to watch for ships and men,
For sledges, survivors and rescuers.
Distance looks so short
From up here, everything so close,
But far away in fact, each
Stumbling struggling footstep
Too far, too hard, too monotonous
To bear, down there, too much.
And then, every day, we watched
For them, relentless windy hours until
Winter closed its blackness around us,
Forced our retreat. They never came,
And our final act was to drag their
Cross to the watching summit
Before the ship bore us away.
R
# T.g, February 6th 2014
Congratulations on the journey that you have succeeded. Glad you have made it all the way safe and sound.
from class 4
# John Fritz, February 6th 2014
Dear Ben and Tarka, only 11 MORE MILES???!!!! That is AAAWWWSSSOOOMMMEEE!!! Not that much to go! I’m sorry that you’re stuck in a storm. It will die down sometime vvvvveeeeerrrrryyyyysoon, I hope. Out here,we’re experiencing a “storm”(sunshower) too. I looked outside just now and it looked like it stopped. Stay strong, John age 8. P.S.we were praying for you that you would make it. So far, it looks like you will.
# John McNeill, February 6th 2014
I can totally relate you guys being to tired for celebrating and back slapping. Last September I went on a three night camp with a buddy through the rocky mountains. We totally over did it distance wise and were so exhausted we couldn’t even enjoy the scenery. Going into it you think you’re gonna feel a feeling of accomplishment and elation at the end, but the reality is we were just tired and cranky when we were done. The satisfaction and good memories didn’t come until we were fully rested days later.
Glad you guys made it through the trip safe. Hopefully you don’t have too much of a recovery ahead of you. It has be a pleasure following along each day. Thank you so much.
John
# Lila G age 9., February 6th 2014
Hi guys
Congratulations I wish you all the best of luck ,keep warm keep safe. We all are very proud of you .Hope you come back fit and healthy and have a nice hot cup of tea ,lots luck from all of class 4. We’re all cheering you on. :o)
# Andy, February 6th 2014
UPDATE FROM THE ICE
Conditions are improving finally! Ben and Tarka are starting to pack up camp and will be moving shortly. I’ll keep you all posted with more news as and when we have it.
Andy
# Heidi, February 6th 2014
Thank you, Andy. We will be watching and waiting….
# Rebecca, February 6th 2014
Thank you so much for keeping us in the loop today!
# Richard Pierce, February 6th 2014
Good to know. Thanks, Andy. You’re a gem. R
# CaninesCashews, February 6th 2014
Super.
# Mal Owen, February 6th 2014
Thx Andy for update….Can’t keep my eyes off the blog, fb, twitter, GE ... Talk about tension!
# Dave, February 6th 2014
Do my eyes deceive me, or do Scott Base’s webcams now show calmer seas (and, presumably, gentler winds)? Holding my breath.
Ben and Tarka’s Excellent Adventure
# david, February 6th 2014
thanks - I’m watchimg
# Intrepid, February 6th 2014
YES!!!!!!
# Leigh Phillips, February 6th 2014
Fantastic, my daughters and I were stood in front of the Scott memorial in Roath Park a little while ago and talked about their epic struggle. You’ve helped bring it to life for them and maybe inspired two future explorers
# Heidi, February 6th 2014
Ben and Tarka will now be time travelers in addition to explorers, as they part the curtain and cross from today into tomorrow. We wish you all a glorious Friday!
# stefania, February 6th 2014
A few more miles! ... it was a great trip, thank you for giving us so many emotions!
ciao Ben e Tarka, un saluto dall’Italia