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.
The White Hell (and Some Good News!) (Day 99)
Day 99: S79° 30' 46.98", E168° 35' 36.96"
Duration: 10 Hr
Daily distance: 23.6 Mi
Distance to go: 150.4 Mi
Temperature: -14 °C
Wind chill: -21 °C
Altitude: 200 Ft
Today was off-the-scale challenging, and Tarka and I concurred it was one of the hardest of the entire expedition. The weather was fine and our sledges are nearly empty, compared to the 200-odd kilos we were each dragging in slow motion in the opposite direction three months ago, but the surface was hellishly sticky and high-friction, and we had to force our weak, frail bodies onward for every minute of each of the ten hours we skied.
As we get closer to winter and later into the season, the sun is dipping lower each day at around our midday (local midnight) and we now get a very cold couple of hours part-way through the day. We both seem to be so depleted, with such low body fat and so little muscle left to generate warmth that - perhaps paradoxically, after spending 99 days on the coldest continent on earth - we're now very susceptible to getting cold, and we both struggle to warm up again if we do 'go down', meaning we have to be very quick to put on extra layers as soon as the temperature starts to drop.
We've had some wonderful, well-meaning messages imploring us to 'enjoy' and 'treasure' and 'cherish' these last few days on the ice, but the truth is that the days are - for 95% of the time at least - hellish now, and it's all we can do to keep moving for our 90-minute sessions, battling the ever-stronger desire to stop and rest (or give in and quit entirely). We have extra food from tomorrow (Saturday 1st Feb) so things may improve on that front but the enjoyment of these next few days will, I fear, only come in hindsight.
We passed the position of Scott's final camp today, by far the most poignant milestone of the expedition, the point at which Captain Scott, Edward Wilson and Birdie Bowers died in their tent, eleven miles short of their largest depot of food and fuel. Scott writes: "The surface... causes impossible friction on the runners. God help us, we can't keep up this pulling, that is certain. Amongst ourselves we are unendingly cheerful, but what each man feels in his heart I can only guess... We mean to see the game through with a proper spirit, but it's tough work to be pulling harder than we ever pulled in our lives for long hours, and to feel the progress is so slow. One can only say 'God help us!' and plod on our weary way, cold and very miserable, though outwardly cheerful."
After hauling our own sledges over every mile that Scott and his men covered, I think of what insight we can offer from our unique vantage point. Of course, we have had advantages that Scott could not have even dreamt of, yet after pulling our loads from the very start of the Ross Ice Shelf, we found ourselves in dire straits in the intense cold, wind and altitude of the high plateau, weakened by half-rations and closer to the brink of survival than I had ever anticipated this journey taking us. In that light, both Tarka and I feel a combination of awe and profound respect for the endurance, tenacity and fortitude of these explorers, a century ago.
I also find myself feeling intense compassion for Scott himself. Unlike Shackleton, who played the PR game well and won widespread public admiration and acclaim, Scott's diary and his last private letters were prized from his frozen body and picked over, becoming a poignant and tragic tale that has been retold by dozens of biographers and torn apart by countless critics ever since. Shackleton - quite rightly - was and is held up as an exemplar of leadership and a paragon of good decision-making under the most severe pressure, but my lasting impression of Scott is of a man whose true tale has been laid bare for all to see. As a result he emerges as a human being like all of us, with fallibility, self-doubt and insecurity, yet also as a man who galvanised and inspired his men by his own example to give their all against the most fearsome odds and nightmarish conditions.
In David Crane's brilliant book on Scott (I have it here in the tent on my Kindle) he writes "And if in small things he was found wanting, in big things very seldom. The worse the crisis... the better was Scott." Captain Scott lived and died with a rare degree of courage, and passing so close to the spot at which he wrote his final words, I feel a sense of privilege at our modest connection with his incredible story, and gratitude for having the chance to share the tale of our own journey over this vast continent with a new generation.
On that note, I'm finally allowed to tell you that I've had the honour of being invited to speak at this year's TED Conference, from 17-21st March. It's TED's 30th anniversary and the event is being held in Vancouver for the first time, so it promises to be a very special (and rather nervewracking!) few days. I can't wait.
Last up, I'm totally behind on your questions, but someone asked recently about what sort of dreams we're having at night, and the answer is that neither of us can recall them at all now; we fall asleep and wake up again (usually with a feeling of deep dread about facing another nine or ten hours) seemingly moments afterwards.
Finally, I need to send a big hello to Sam, who goes to St Andrews School and gave a talk to his class on Captain Scott. I hope it went well, and I'm sad I wasn't there to hear it!
Comments
# Leigh Phillips , February 1st 2014
Another fantastic post, how you keep it up under such arduous circumstances is beyond me. Can’t wait to see your TED conference speech. Hopefully you’ll do a UK tour as well.
# Bobby Saunders, February 1st 2014
Ben, Tarka,
Your words are no less inspiring than your amazing daily feasts. Continue winning small gains, stride after strife, minute by minute. I am truly in awe. Bobby Saunders (Key West, FL)
# Bobby Saunders, February 1st 2014
I’m truly sorry for not properly proofing my last post, which ought to have said, “daily feats.” I realize that your daily rations are no feasts. The feasts await much like a prize.
# Phil Satoor, February 2nd 2014
According to tomorrow’s blog (day 100) they seem to have extra rations so perhaps “feasts” is the right word after all!
# Paul Ayers, February 1st 2014
Hi Ben & Tarka,
Thanks so much for your informative diary. Your achievements throw significantly more light on the conditions which Scott and his men must have faced and demonstrate what a fine man he was and what a brave team he led.
# Sheila England, February 1st 2014
I’ll have to get David Crane’s book. It must have been a sacred moment passing the area of Scott’s last entry. With all you both have been through.
Try to remain positive & keep safe.
Thinking of you,
Sheila
# Melissa, February 1st 2014
Thank you for taking the time each day (night?) in such difficult conditions to fill us in on how this awe-inspiring journey of yours is unfolding. Your writing is splendid. How you do it under these conditions, I don’t know, but I’m captivated by every word. I can’t wait to watch the TED-ex video. And read the book. There will be a book, right? Please, please.
Hang in there. There are people you’ll never meet rooting for you all over the world. Sending good energy from the mountains of Colorado.
# Claudia Tynes, February 1st 2014
Praying for you both, for the strength, wisdom and courage you need to finish this awesome journey. I cannot begin to understand the physical duress and the mantel fortitude it takes to keep slogging onward. God bless and keep you.
# CaninesCashews, February 1st 2014
Hi guys,
Just got back home after an early start today – it seems that despite a terrible surface you are still managing to grind out those miles.
Not sure how you are accomplishing that at this late stage, with your depleted bodily reserves and lack of insulation, but the point is you are and that is what is so amazing.
I imagine every step you take right now is a feat of determination and a battle of wills against that amazing continent. It seems very reluctant to let you leave without knowing the full extent of its power.
There is a quote in an American book (I am paraphrasing because I can’t remember the exact words or in fact the title) but it is along the lines of “Adventures are only interesting once you are at the end of them. Before that they are nothing but fear, and being too cold or too hot or too wet or too hungry”.
I imagine you have experienced all these emotions out there on that ice and will be glad to see the back of them. I assume your overwhelming feeling at the moment is just to get it done and get home to see your loved ones.
My hope for you is that these last few hellish days are not the worst of your journey, but the best, whether you feel it out there on the ice or with the magnificent gift of hindsight in the warm glow of a fire with friends and family.
I won’t tell you to cherish it, enjoy it or treasure it but I will implore you to remember you may never have the opportunity to walk this way again.
God speed and onward.
Stay safe,
Gav
# Heidi, February 1st 2014
“Adventures are only interesting once you’ve lived to see the end of them. Before that, they are nothing but fear, and being too cold or too hot or too wet or too hungry, and getting hurt.”
Holly Lisle, The Silver Door
http://www.amazon.com/The-Moon-Sun-Silver-Door/dp/0545000149
# Sarah Thomson, February 1st 2014
Ben,
You may feel no joy at this point in your expedition, you may feel sad about missing out on events back at home, and you may feel lonely despite having a friend at your side, but your writing today made me think that perhaps you have truly answered your initial TED Talk question of “why get out of the house?” And if you have, then I will feel happy and joyous for you, because I know that this knowledge will help you keep going over the last few days. Congratulations on your new TED invitation! It is most honestly well-deserved and there are people the world over already looking forward to it.
# Offroading Home, February 1st 2014
It appears that Ben and Tarka’s Pilot GPS unit has gone off-line again and missed their 8:22 pm GMT transmission. Considering that no updates were transmitted from the expedition server from 12:22 am to after 10:22 am when 7 data-points came in one transmission and now it’s off again I’m wondering where the issue could be. I’m hoping that it’s a problem on the server/operator end and not the electronics going kapooie - cause the former can be readily fixed and later… not so much. It’s unfortunate that it happens on “cache days” where we could follow along - can’t do much “walking the final miles with them” when their tracker is on the fritz. Hope things are all right with them physically, I’m sure they’re tempted to “hog out” on the left over rations… not sure that their now-starved bodies will know what to do with a “full meal.” [I mean a meal full enough to match caloric expenditures not referring to what was calculated to be “full rations.”]
# Offroading Home, February 1st 2014
If we could edit our own comments I would, so that my statement “7 data points” would read “7 out of the ten data points” - three were never transmitted and are still missing. Point remains the same - worried for the status of the Pilot GPS unit and/or the location service.
# Gina, February 1st 2014
Wow….great post. Hang in there fellas. You’ve got this.
# Colin Buckley, February 1st 2014
The last night of sleeping in that tent is getting closer every day.
Conserve a thought for that last night.
And if you feel like it, one day you could share it with us all.
I think I’d just be the happiest man on earth that night.
Smiling and start laughing, almost as if i were insane, but it would be for the joy
of knowing that the next day will be the last, and that we’ve done it!
Keep going, find that strength, find that thought.
Stay safe.
Colin