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.

Once More into the Mist (and a Secret Revealed…) (Day 101)

Posted February 2nd 2014,
by Ben Saunders

Category: Expedition, The Return Journey

Day 101: S78° 49' 36", E168° 33' 18"

Duration: 10 Hr

Daily distance: 23.8 Mi

Distance to go: 87.5 Mi

Temperature: -20 °C

Wind chill: -27 °C

Altitude: 160 Ft

The good news, weather-wise, was that we've had clear blue sky directly overhead all day today. The bad news is that we've had either low cloud or peculiar banks of freezing fog at ground (or indeed ice) level, so we've barely seen a thing in terms of scenery again, and we certainly haven't been able to spot Mount Erebus, Mount Terror, White Island, Black Island or any of the landmarks I've read and dreamt about for so many years that will guide us back to our finish line at the shore of Ross Island near Scott Base (I'll write about exactly where we're finishing in a day or two).

It's getting properly cold during the middle of the day now, as the sun dips lower and lower, and we had an ambient temperature of -20 degrees C. as we stopped halfway through today's ten hours. The surface continues to make life very hard indeed, and Antarctica certainly isn't letting up as we approach the final few miles. We picked up another depot today, the second we dropped on the way out, so we're well stocked-up with food and fuel, and we have the backs of the sledges to lug around now too, just to add to the fun.

While we still feel physically very weak, especially with an extra few kilos on the sledges, the additional calories we're taking on now have made a huge difference to our mental states; we're both able to hold trains of thought for far longer, and the sessions during the day seem to pass more quickly as a result of being able to lose ourselves in intricate daydreams and detailed future plans rather than drooling over imaginary burgers every few minutes.

Finally, I've finally been given the all-clear to let you in on something I've been excited about for the past year or so: the custom-made Bremont watch I'm wearing, called the Supermarine Terra Nova (named, of course, after Scott's last expedition). I've been working with Bremont for several years now, and I'm a huge fan of the brand, the incredible timepieces they make, and of the two inimitable brothers who started it all, Nick and Giles English. They're an inspiring duo, and they've worked astonishingly hard to do what many thought impossible, in building a British watch company from scratch that can not only stand its ground against some long-established and deeply-respected competition, but lead the way too. A reliable watch is one of the most critical tools of my trade, and I've been lucky enough to work with Bremont in creating my dream expedition watch, and one that will go on sale a little later this year.

Here's some more detail on the watch that has tracked every second of my 101 days in Antarctica so far from Giles himself:

"This is a custom mechanical watch developed for Ben to be a very effective tool for his expedition, made with an aircraft-grade titanium to reduce weight increase strength and make it 2000m water resistant. The mechanical movement is built with a special vibration mount that has the ability to protect the watch against extreme shocks and that also functions as a thermal insulator. Quartz (battery-powered watches) are prone to being affected by very low temperatures so the Bremont Terra Nova uses a mechanical automatic movement tested to -40c before Ben's departure. This is Bremont's first non-chronograph GMT watch giving a second time zone. This, when combined with the use of the 360 degree bezel, can be very effective as a tool for solar navigation. Scott would be pleased that the watch was developed and built in the UK."

Comments

# Helena, February 3rd 2014

Wonderful job, guys, I am so happy for you :-)
I wonder if anyone in the world will ever beat you with your 104-days record of making the journey :-) I guess no-one :)

Stay safe, we are with you, friends from Brno, Czech Republic

# Jon, February 3rd 2014

Well done guys - you are all done and dusted, I’ll put the kettle on, do you want Hobnobs or Custard Creams, see you on Sunday
Jon

# Offroading Home, February 3rd 2014

Ben and Tarka closing in on another day of slogging - it looks like lately their goal for each day is not to quit until they’ve done 24 miles - they will camp shortly somewhere just a little north of “Italy’s boot” made up of Mount Discovery and its Minna Bluff. Assuming they aren’t going to get to take any short cuts, the two more days that they seem to expect to travel will put them almost directly north of the northern point of White Island in the ice patch about 15 miles still east of Hut Point Peninsula. Not quite the old cabin that some had assumed they were heading for, because that’s where they made sure their trail line started; but, I for one at least, have no quibbles or agenda’s one way or the other.  They seem to have accomplished what they set out to do - what more can anyone ask?

It is interesting that they’ve begun giving us something else to think about, teasing us with something special (we would guess) that they are planning for the day they quit skiing.  AND seeing how we commenters have never been short of conjectures about “what the heck they are doing now"as we have watched their “dots,”  I’m wondering what you all think they might be up to this time.  Let’s see: they won’t yet quite be at Hut Point, don’t want to fully commit yet (?weather ?permits ?flight schedules?)—what could it be?

Let me start us off with a few possibilities: What if their Land Rover sponsor has brought down a “donation” for the McMurdo Station and are going to pick Ben and Tarka up at the end of the ice runway and let them ride atop a snow-cat like conquering hero’s; OR, what if their patron’s and sponsors are coming down to line the track at the finish line; OR, what if they’ve invited all the “locals” out to a banquet; OR, perhaps one (or some) of the Scott family have flown down to help them pull their sledges the last day (or some portion thereof).

Ok, those are my guesses at the moment and I’m sure I can think of others—what are ya’ll thinking they could do to end this ordeal with a bang!

# Richard Pierce, February 3rd 2014

I’m thinking they’ll either try to finish at the Discovery Hut, or at Scott Base where there is a hut originally built by Edmund Hillary when he reached the South Pole with a Massey Ferguson tractor, other assorted vehicles, and met Sir Viv Fuchs coming from the other side of the continent.

Looking at the ice conditions, they’d be hard-pushed to reach Hut Point with their sledges, while Scott Base still looks accessible from the East. And the base is named after Scott, and, I have suddenly remembered, in the south-facing lounge at Scott Base, there is a light that is always left on to show the Polar Party the way home. It would appear that this would be an appropriate place to end the expedition, and close enough to be able to say they have completed Scott’s journey. I might also surmise that they’ll then go up Observation Hill to the jarrah tree cross erected there by the Search Party on 22nd January 1913 in memory of Scott, Wilson, Bowers, Evans and Oates.

R

# Phil Satoor, February 3rd 2014

And on that cross they’ll find the words “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”, words which encapsulate the current expedition just as well as they do the original.

# Richard Pierce, February 4th 2014

Absolutely. R

# Intrepid, February 4th 2014

Only time will tell
:)

# dj, February 4th 2014

@richard… I knew if I through it out there someone would come up with some neat guesses.  (Franlky, I secretly hoped to smoke you out if you had already left to go walk with them the last bit); @intrepid… you’re no fun!

Those of us who have been glued to Google Earth, including me, have gotten a bit snow-blind.  Today, I’ve been oogling the webcams at McMurdo (all 6 of ‘em) and MAN things have changed!  They’ll need a boat soon!  The problem is that doing 24 miles a day, doesn’t get them but to 13 miles east of Mc Murdo in two more days.  Wonder if that’s where the water’s edge is located.

Let’s keep this going (even though Richard is probably right) - this seems like too big of a photo op to miss for sponsors and patrons.  We keep forgetting the they’ve actually got an Iridium Pilot and COULD if they wanted to - do a video conference with someone, or interviews with media, OR even a twitter meet-up!

# Simon, February 3rd 2014

Greetings from sunny Dubrovnik on St Blaise’s Day - he who saved a child with a fish bone stuck in his throat: I reckon that your smart rations have had the bone ground down to a calorific booster, so you won’t need St Blaise for a few more days.  Onwards to the finish: Croatia salutes you.

# Mike Wing, February 3rd 2014

There is a lot of open water around Scott Base & McMurdo at present which I assume is the cause of the overcast conditions. Check out these two webcams: http://antarcticanz.govt.nz/scott-base/current-conditions and http://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/mcmwebcam.cfm

# Mal Owen, February 3rd 2014

Good to know you’re back on form and well fed and fuelled. Double figures now , soon to be single…doesn’t seem five minutes since it was so much more… what trials you have faced in order to come this far.  Hoping for better conditions for you so you can be beckoned in by those very special landmarks.
Keep warm, think safe , we are all ‘watching you! ’ and waiting for that special moment of triumph you have coming to you.

# Mia Bentley, February 3rd 2014

One foot in front of the other boys all the way home xxx

# Barbara B from Clinton, CT USA, February 3rd 2014

Mia, I think you have it exactly right.

# Jacob, February 3rd 2014

Yeah, mechanical watches are very nice machines. How does the solar navigation work, is it reflection off the surface in relation to the watch hands and compass points?
I guess you never could have imagined how you would be coming home when you dropped off the depots.
Hello Field Notes.

# Mal Owen, February 3rd 2014

If your thoughts are correct Richard, that would be a fitting completion to this amazing journey.

# Richard Pierce, February 4th 2014

I could, of course, be entirely wrong. R

# Intrepid, February 4th 2014

You might even be optimally wrong…

# dj, February 4th 2014

@mal… yes, R is probably right. also lets keep this thread back up in one place so people can find it; @Richard, you probably are the closest; @intrepid… you still are no fun.

# Intrepid, February 4th 2014

Bwah!  dj, I know you were smiling….

The light on at Scott Hut would be a very fitting end; romantic, complete. Do you suppose they might be carrying something to put into place?  (Something already given clearance/legal)

PS. Not sure which thread is the ‘one’ to keep going so using this one….

# Intrepid, February 4th 2014

Just checked Google Earth for the heck of it and found B&T are truckin’ big time, as though they switched night for day. Holy Moly!! 

# Mal Owen, February 4th 2014

Apologies for messing up the thread ...it was after midnight, tried 3 times to repost reply correctly but the software wouldn’t let me ....

# McDowell Crook, February 3rd 2014

Outstanding!

# Austin Duryea, February 4th 2014

Good job on Great mileage. How much would one of those watches cost? Can’t wait to see you finish this thing off.

# Sue, February 4th 2014

I have read and followed you and Tara every step of the way. Both of you have been such a huge inspiration to so many of us. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I know longer have your daily blogs to read.

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