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.
Monotone Monotony (Day 95)
Day 95: S80° 55' 5.16", E168° 48' 7.20"
Duration: 9 Hr 30 Min
Daily distance: 23.6 Mi
Distance to go: 247.5 Mi
Temperature: -6 °C
Wind chill: -9 °C
Altitude: 203 Ft
Another day, another whiteout. As we stood up groggily and got ready to start skiing again after our third or fourth break of the day, Tarka said "I'm amazed you're able to keep explaining to people on the blog just how awful this is". "I said it was like staring at a blank grey wall for nine hours", I replied. "I'm not sure they'd really understand", he said, threading his mittened hands into the wrist loops of his ski poles, "After all, how many people have done anything for nine hours straight?"
The man has a point, and it really is difficult to know how to put into words how mentally challenging this weather is proving for us at the moment. We travelled all day today - nine-and-a-half hours - with no visual reference points at all, just cloud and mist and the occasional faint pale cream disc of the sun, always too feeble to cast a shadow or dispel the freezing fog that clung to our clothing and gear. Tarka even spotted a monochrome rainbow today.
We took the tent down in a hazy mist this morning, we pitched it again in a hazy fog this evening, and in between we did all we could to force our weary bodies to keep trudging forwards to meet our minimum target of 38km today.
We both cracked up with genuine belly laughter at one of the breaks today (which hasn't happened in a while) when we both realised we'd been battling the same thoughts when following each other leading; namely the urge to stop and sit on our sledge to rest, and to shout forward to say that we just needed a little breather.
We both wake up feeling exhausted, we're both hungry around the clock, and we're both unable to hold any loftier trains of thought than fantasising about what we're going to eat when we're finished.
On a cheerier note, we've nailed a load of milestones: we're inside 80 degrees south, we've passed 2,500km total distance, we're into single figures (nine days left) and we're pretty sure we'd have lost sight of the mountains, if we could see anything at all.
We're very grateful for all the support online, and please do keep the messages and comments coming. It's great to hear that the amazing Leo Houlding has been chiming in (Leo - I'm looking forward to catching up over a slap-up dinner when I'm back!), and we were chuffed to get a video message from Mark Twight (though the last shot of the eggs-and-bacon breakfast haunted me for an entire day).
So that's it: a miserable day's slog, and it seems Antarctica is going to make us to suffer like dogs right down to the finish line. Onwards!
Comments
# Dave, January 28th 2014
I told my wife I would shave my Antarctica beard (nowhere near the vibrant colour of yours) when you complete your journey, so she is now among your most ardent fans.
I found the below interesting and wondered whether your route could be overlayed on the NASA image.
http://twistedsifter.com/2013/12/nasa-image-puts-size-of-antarctica-into-perspective/
http://twistedsifter.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/antarctica-from-space-nasa.jpg
Continued Safety and Progress
# CaninesCashews, January 28th 2014
Love these images.
# Laurence B Jacobs, January 28th 2014
Brilliant question of yours and Tarks, “After all, how many people have done anything for nine hours straight?”, well the glib answer is many endurance athletes, but actually the real question is how you and Tarka are managing to conquer this epic journey 9 hrs super human effort a day for just the modest 110+ days continuously, nnt just one. As no one has ever done this, you’ll be able to answer that in the coming weeks and months, after you’ve had a wee rest and a snack! Keep safe and enjoy making history.
# Matt (Minnesota), January 28th 2014
Throw away your alarm clock; the only schedule you need to keep is skiing your full measure. Without night and day, your body clock is going to drift. You’ll feel much better if you don’t fight it.
The only debate will be over whose body clock to follow.
# doof, January 28th 2014
WOW! only 9 days to go you must be really exited although you still have to travel just a bit more. You inspire me and lots of other people we all think you are very brave to go and do this and look how far you have come. in my school we have been learning about Scott and we are also following you guys as well. i just can’t wait for your next blog because when i read them it helps me to understand how hard some of the challenges you must have to face. we all hope you are ok and that you are safe hope to here from you soon.
# Uncle Pete, January 28th 2014
Sounds like a good case of ‘sensory deprivation’ - like wearing half ping pong balls over your eyes! No wonder you get a to feel ‘detached’. Maybe the music saves the day, if you put white noise into your ears it would sned you right off the rails. I hope the team keep feeding you the limericks, hey how about spending the hours composing your own, add the final edition to the auction site! Gosh those dots are streaming headlong for the finish - keep it together and well done. And yes, all Respect to the original Scott Team in passing.
# Intrepid, January 28th 2014
247 miles of skiing to go, 247 miles to go,
You ski some more, make tracks in the snow,
246 miles of skiing to go.
246 miles of skiing to go, 246 miles to go,
You ski some more, make tracks in the snow,
245 miles of skiing to go….
In the whiteout
There’s no telling
What’s the difference
Between here and there
Without markers
There’s no telling
What’s the difference
Belongs to everywhere
Dear Ben and Tarka,
(Theme Song of the Day: What a long strange trip it’s been)
You are right. I don’t know what it’s like to be doing what you are doing. I am also not getting tired hearing what it’s like. How many times have you read your favorite book or watched the same movie again and again. That’s what it’s like to read this blog. Perhaps you think you are saying the same thing, when really your words are never the same. So even if you feel nothing has changed, the story of your journey continues to unfold. I would say that our attention is easy to rivet, even if we are simply watching the changing statistics or looking at a new picture. We feel. We wish for your success.
And so even if I can’t ever fully understand the brevity of what you guys endure,I don’t tire from hearing about it.
Slog on! And may you someday soon find the sun and the moon. And then someday soon after that be arm and arm in arm with an expedition of memories, turning the endless fog into the brightest of something (like you have been doing for us).
Ardently,
Godspeed!
# Frederike, January 28th 2014
Hello Selfies,
Keep going! You can do it!
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
“But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.”
“Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how’.”
“If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete.”
“Man is capable of changing the world for the better if possible, and of changing himself for the better if necessary.”
“...it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.”
“Thus suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little. Therefore the ‘size’ of human suffering is absolutely relative”.”
(all quotes are from Viktor Frenkl)
And here are some words of my own: try to enjoy the last few days as much as you can, no matter how difficult these might be. You might never again experience what you are seeing, feeling and experiencing now (even if it is just boring, white fog). Use your imagination to see what you want to see (in addition to those delicious meals you will be getting anyway). You might one day, actually, miss this.
Enjoy!
Frederike
# McDowell Crook, January 28th 2014
Keep it up, fellas. You’re so close!
# Helena, January 28th 2014
Helllouuu Ben and Tarka, you heroes, good to hear you are eager to be at home, I bet last 10 days will shrink into 5 as you will run next days hungry for food and warm bed :-D
——————————————————————————
After the game, coach yells at players:
“I told you to play like never before, not like you never played before!”
# ChrisH, January 28th 2014
Looking forward to seeing you both return through the area. Your trip may be 15 miles or so shorter unless you plan to travel to Scotts’ Hut over land or via inflatable raft. The waters edge is encroaching closely to New Zealand’s Scott base
# Pat, January 28th 2014
Daily,I look forward to and am enthralled by your most excellent accounts, of how you both cope with the physical and mental trials encountered every day. You are both amazing . Wishing you well on the last leg of your epic expedition. Love the beards .
# Colin Buckley, January 28th 2014
Guys, it’s like that moment before lift off. The Countdown begins. -10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1!!!!!
That moment you’ve & we’ve been waiting for. To know you are both safe, and both back.
Not long now. The tension builds as those who’ll be there waiting for you, will be among the happiest in the world. Knowing it’s done and you’re home free! The Ice has been beaten. The record is set.
keep going, keep safe.
Colin