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.
On the Move (Day 14)
Day 14: S78° 46' 30.34", E168° 33' 59.06"
Daily distance: 8.7 Mi
Distance to go: 1704.3 Mi
Altitude: 187 Ft
Due to the poor weather Ben and Tarka have limited power (from the solar panels) so there's no blog post from Ben today. They are however on the move since the storm and covered 8.7 miles on day 14. Providing the weather clears they'll be back online shortly.
In the meantime here's a short video filmed by Ben before he left explaining navigating in a whiteout; and to celebrate a fortnight on the ice vote for your favourite pic so far.
Comments
# Nick, November 8th 2013
1/18th of the way there - which means only 17 more laps to go. I think that helps the momentum.
# dj, November 8th 2013
From the looks of GPS signals, yesterday was an “on the move day” but today is another weather day. Thanks Cassie for the update, I suspect you’ll need to step in and do a few more before this is over.
It doesn’t look like being inside the ring of the ‘Hillary Coast’ is helping the weather any. As an FYI, they have recently updated the MODIS satellite image for the area Ben and Tarka are going through. There is a lot more texture to the image of the Ross Ice Sheet now with gives a better idea of what they are going through.
The image is available in the un-official Scott Expedition Resource File - a Google Earth file containing about every Antarctic resource available. To use, download the file and open it in Google Earth. Click on the folder “MODIS Mosaic Antarctica” to see the new images.
# Edwin (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
What is your favorite meal that you have to eat? Good luck!
# Scott Expedition Team, November 12th 2013
Ben and Tarka are debating whether it’s beef stew, lamb stew or chicken jalfrezi
# Iva (5th Grade, GB School, USA)), November 8th 2013
Have you found any living things, like animals? Best wishes!
# Scott Expedition Team , November 12th 2013
Four seals at the beginning but otherwise not many - more from Ben here http://scottexpedition.com/blog/stop-start
# Antwain (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
Why do you think no one tried the Scott Expedition in the 102 years since the first one? Good luck!
# David (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
What happens when you get tired and you are skiing and you can’t rest? Stay safe!
# Daniel C. (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
Are there any dangerous animals that can hurt you on your trip? Stay safe!
# Kristoffer, November 8th 2013
Daniel, the only dangerous animal they might have encountered if they had gone to the coast would be the leopard seal. So no, they shouldn’t encounter any dangerous animals.
# KFrost, November 9th 2013
Hi Daniel, Gareth Wood was one of three men who walked to the South Pole in 1985/86. He wrote an excellent book with Eric Jamieson called “South Pole:900 Miles on Foot” about that expedition. They did this journey without support - no dog teams, food caches, air-support or radio communications, the first in history to do an unsupported trip like this. He was attacked on the ice close to shore by a leopard seal and he tells about his chilling and frightening experience in that book. There is an excerpt on his website. Here is the link to an account of that experience:
http://www.garethwood.com/Sample-Passage-Leopard-Seal-Attack
# Quinn (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
What brand of electronics do you use that can withstand such cold temperatures? Stay warm!
# George Chapman, November 8th 2013
Quinn you can watch this video which explains what sort of electronics they use. http://youtu.be/WZYQOSGuVWw
# Esmeralda (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
What would happen if you ran out of food? Good luck!
# Kristoffer, November 8th 2013
If they ran out of food, they would probably have to be evacuated by aircraft. I hope that will not happen.
# Christian (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
Do you change your clothes? How do you do it since it is so cold? Stay safe!
# Scott Expedition Team, November 20th 2013
Yes - but infrequently, although Ben and Tarka change their socks daily, rotating and drying them so their feet stay relatively healthy. They change in their sleeping bags.
# Brandon (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
If you could average your speed per mile, what do you estimate it is? Thanks!
# Kristoffer, November 8th 2013
Brandon,
Ben and Tarka have gone 1,800-1704.3=95.7 statute miles as of day 14. So their average as of day 14 is 95.7/14=6.83571 statute miles per day.
# Ismael (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
What would you do if you fell in the water? Is there any water to fall into where you are? Stay safe!
# Kristoffer, November 8th 2013
The ice is too thick for Ben and Tarka to fall into water, but at places like the Beardmore Glacier, they will have to worry about falling into crevasses which have no water. They are prepared with climbing gear and harnesses so they don’t far too far and can climb out.
# Lexi (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
How do you prevent yourselves from getting frostbite? Stay warm!
# Justin (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
Can an avalanche happen? What would you do? Stay safe!
# Kennedy (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
I wonder how you take a shower without a tub, and how you spit out your toothpaste. Does it freeze? Stay safe!
# Gabi (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
Do you ever feel like coming back? What would you do if you came face to face with an animal? Good luck!
# Bryanah (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
Do you ever worry that you will lose a finger or toe to frostbite? Good luck!
# Micah (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
Do you wear extra layers of gloves or socks? If so, how many? Thanks!
# Jon-Charles (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
How long would it take to get from the South Pole to the North Pole? Good luck!
# Ashton (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
Why are you taking such a dangerous trip instead of just flying there? Good luck and stay safe!
# Kristoffer, November 8th 2013
They are traveling on foot to finish the journey Robert Falcon Scott started but was unable to finish. Two other expeditions-a three man team in 1998, and the Footsteps of Scott-have tried this but were forced to cancel the the return journeys.
# Quaniyah (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
You guys are big risk-takers to finish this journey, wow! Good luck and make it home safe!
# A.J. (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
What is your favorite thing to eat during the day? Thanks!
# Liam (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
What equipment would you use if you met an animal there? Good luck!
# Ah'Maiya (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
Why would you risk your lives in the cold? Good luck!
# Alexsandria (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
Are you having fun? What is your favorite part of the day? Good luck!
# Elise (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
Do you guys take naps on the snow? Good luck!
# Venus (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
What do you use to shove all the snow off of your tent? Stay warm!
# Sa'Niya (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
Do you guys sleep on the snow or do you put something on top of it? Do you have a heater in your tent? Good luck!
# Kamoni (5th Grade, GB School, USA), November 8th 2013
How do you take a shower? Do you? And not to be too personal, but what do you do about using the restroom? Stay safe!
# Ed Coats, November 8th 2013
Ben - I heard you speak at the Natural History Museum a couple of years ago about this trip. Interestingly it is a journey I have wnated to do for several years. I think back in 2012 you said in that talk about this expedition whe you had Al Humphreys and Martin Hartley in the team that this would be your first ever time in Antarctica. How are you finding it compared to the North Pole? Do you think your expedition strategy is working? Best of luck to you and Tarks! - Ed
# Scott Expedition Team (Chessie) , November 8th 2013
Lots of wonderful questions, thank you! We’re noting them all down and will come back to you as quickly as poss
# George Chapman, November 8th 2013
I do see you have a lot of questions to answer from the school class. When you have time I have a question for you. If the team was to encounter a serious emergency is there a plan in place for an airdrop or aerial retraction of the team? And who might provide such emergency services? Would that be government such as Coast Guard or some sort of private rescue service?
Following you on FB and Google Earth from sunny Central Florida U.S.A. Todays temperature 78ºF. at 2:00 PM ET.
# Shaun O'Boyle, November 8th 2013
Fantastic journey. I’ve read all the heroic era stories by Scott, Shackleton, Cherry-Garrard, and the newer books as well. Being able to follow your journey live is extraordinary. A question regarding photography - interested in hearing how you are using your cameras, how you carry and store them, problems with them fogging up or condensation problems, if you wear special gloves to take photographs, how you are able to charge batteries, do you store batteries in a warm place. I did read the photography post, but wanted a little more detail.
Cheers, and looking forward to the ascent of the Beardmore.
# George Chapman, November 8th 2013
From my tracking of the expedition on Google Earth I see no movement on 11-8-13. Are they stopped again due to weather or are we having communication problems? Wishing you all well.
Following you on FB and Google Earth from sunny Central Florida U.S.A. Todays temperature 76ºF.
# Kevin Wright, November 9th 2013
Well done guys. Just heard about your expedition. I look forward to following you all the way there and back again. As Robert Swan would say “Keep Going!” Robert inspired me many years ago and now inspires my 3 grandsons by suporting 2041 to help save this very special place. I’m sure your story will inspire many others! I will tick a box when I visit Antarctica myself in March 2015 and I look forward to it each day and your exciting daily updates. Take care. Kev
# Austin Duryea, November 9th 2013
Thank you for having the awesome video for us today. Stay safe and don’t get Lost.
How far are you able to see in front of you in the whiteout?
# Richard Pierce, November 9th 2013
Hope the weather gets better really soon, and for a long stretch of time so that you’re not starting & stopping all the time. God Speed. R
# Mal Owen, November 9th 2013
Just in case you were getting worried like I was….quote from the scottexpeditions facebook page 30 minutes ago…“The storm rolled back in and Ben &Tarka; were tent-bound yesterday…. We’re just sorting an issue with the website and Ben’s day 15 blog should be live shortly”
# George Chapman, November 9th 2013
Glad to see the team is on the move again 11-9-13 7:00AM EST. Wishing you a good day.
Following you on FB and Google Earth from sunny Central Florida U.S.A. Todays temperature64ºF.