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.
Milestones - Take Two (Day 93)
Day 93: S81° 36' 12", E169° 5' 34.8"
Duration: 9 Hr 30 Min
Daily distance: 24.9 Mi
Distance to go: 295.1 Mi
Temperature: -9 °C
Wind chill: -17 °C
Altitude: 154 Ft
I realised that I'd given a blog post this title two days ago without actually writing about the milestones we're becoming increasingly obsessed by each day. Getting safely to the bottom of the Beardmore and safely through the Gateway on to the Ross Ice Shelf again has been a massive one for a while, then of course there are our string of depots dotted back to Ross Island. Aside from those, we have some arbitrary ones: losing site of the mountains behind us is one at the moment, spotting Minna Bluff, White Island, Dark Island, Erebus and Terror are big ones, and we're counting down each degree of longitude as well. Getting to single-figures as far as remaining days to go will be massive (we think we're 11 days away from finishing as I type this) and right now, getting through each day, 90-minute session by 90-minute session is often as far ahead as we can think.
Today was colder, with sunshine and patchy cloud when we set off, with the visibility deteriorating to near-zero again in the afternoon, and our morale slumping accordingly. Thankfully the surface has been really good on the Ice Shelf so far - the opposite of what we were expecting, and had been told to expect - and we're ticking along nicely with our light sledges. We're both as tired and as hungry as ever; I know a few people have asked why we're not taking a rest day, and the answer is that a) we don't have a huge amount of spare food until the depot-after-next (and we want to keep what we have spare for emergencies/storms/etc.) and b) we're keen to finish, get home to our loved ones, stuff our faces, have a shower and sleep in a normal bed as soon as we can!
Comments
# Andrea, January 26th 2014
This concentration is not just indispensable, it is also admirable.
# Judy, January 26th 2014
I find myself waiting for your latest posts, anxious for you to be finally safe, warm, full and once again rested and with family and friends. But, deep down I hide a little sadness that too soon the journey/ride along you have taken us all on will come to an end. (Thank you sponsors for making this possible.)
As I type there is a strange reverse rendition of the “12 Days of Christmas” going on in my head. In reverse (11th day) you would be “Lords a Leaping”, which apparently you are. God speed!
# Heidi, January 27th 2014
Well said, Judy. You capture the sentiment of many, me included.
# Nate B, January 26th 2014
A few of us here in McMurdo are wondering a couple of things. Firstly, where will the end of your journey be? Currently there is no ice route to the Hut at Cape Evans, as the ice has gone out. And Secondly where will you be flying out from? Also due to the ice not being around anymore, the ice runway you landed on has gone off to sea…Will you be flying from Pegasus Airfield courtesy of the US Antarctic Program/ KBA or is there another way to get back to Union Glacier? Many of us are watching your blog with great interest down here! Great work so far!
# Andy, January 27th 2014
Hi Nate,
We planned for the eventuality that the sea ice would have gone out and the official start and end point for Ben and Tarka was the edge of the McMurdo ice shelf and not Cape Evans. Getting back to Ross Island or the edge of the McMurdo iceshelf will complete the return journey. It is obviously a shame that Ben and Tarka will not be able to return to Cape Evans.
Our expedition’s air support and emergency cover is provided by Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions (ALE). ALE’s Basler aircraft is currently on sub-contract to the Italian National Antarctic Program and the pick-up plan for Ben and Tarka is that at the end of the Italian contract the Basler will fly to McMurdo and pick up the expedition from whichever runway is then in use. It’s wonderful to have people following the journey from McMurdo and thank you for your support! I hope you get a chance to meet Ben and Tarka when they reach McMurdo.
# amir azemi, January 27th 2014
Hi Ben and Tarka, i am following you since day 50 i think! And i didn’t miss a single day since,what you are doing is really great! So great that it had quite impact on me. For example i had a meeting today, and it was -7℃ but sharp one, and very dry! I could take my car but i decided to walk! Just to feel a glimpse of what you are feeling there! I tried to imagine but i think it was equal to imagine how big the universe it actually is, which is impossible.
Anyway, i have a question and i really hope you can answer me?! What will happen to the blogging after you are done, i would really want to follow at least a dozen other days how are you gonna cooperate the following days! Or how are you feeling after nearly four months without civilisition? And many more stuff! I really Hope you will continue to share for a little while!
Best of luck buddies.
# Quentin Brooksbank, January 27th 2014
A FANTASTIC achievement fellers! Your guts, determination and battle against the Antarctic elements is superb! Your expedition and daily blogs is what gives us folk inspiration and energy to take on the next big adventure! Following you in awe, Q
# Intrepid, January 29th 2014
Suggestion for the next expedition: engineer a watertight sled, able to go directly from snow to water. And don’t forget transformer poles so when you press a button the poles open up into paddles. Ice or no ice you could still get to Cape Evans!